INSPO Fitness Journal July 2017

Happy body –
HAPPY LIFE
When it comes to encouraging and supporting
women to feel confident and happy in their skin,
Hamilton’s Sonja Gardiner is absolutely passionate
about helping people achieve success.
The vibrant nutritionist’s passion for
good health and wellness began from
a young age in South Africa, where she
was born.
“Struggling with my own childhood
challenges, I started to question what I could
do – or eat – to feel better,” she says.
“I was an anxious child and I figured
there must be something I could do to help
myself feel better. Despite growing up in an
era where mums would whip their children
off to the doctor with even the smallest of
sniffles, I was born with the innate belief
that food is medicine.
“So I went to the library (no Dr Google in
those days) where I worked out that I needed
more B vitamins and exercise. I began to eat
plenty B vitamin-laden foods and focused on
getting plenty of fresh air and exercise. And
all this did exactly what I thought it would do
… I started to feel better.”
From then, Sonja’s belief that food is
medicine and her interest around that became
a passion.
“I went on to nurture my awareness and
appreciation for these natural, nutritious
building blocks of life. I was always reading,
learning, curious.”
It wasn’t until after her first baby was born
in 2013 that Sonja decided to fully embrace
what had become her purpose in life: ‘to help
other women enjoy the radiant good health
that I had come to understand and revel in’.
Sonja left her career in human resources
and went back to school.
“During my studies, and subsequently
working with clients, I came to a deeper
understanding of how modern living and our
tendency to take a symptom-only approach
was robbing women of wellbeing and joyful
living.
“In the arena of weight loss, I saw countless
women who were tired and frustrated
with the lack of sustainable results. The
narrow, calorie-focused approach that is
often taken when trying to lose weight was
failing many women, and so I became deeply
passionate about helping them secure longterm
results.”
Now a registered clinical nutritionist,
Sonja’s early focus hasn’t wavered and her
driving passion is to help women achieve
sustainable weight loss through a whole-
“Statistics say only
10 percent of people
who lose weight using
the traditional calorie
equation, keep it off. I
help women step off the
weight loss roundabout
and achieve lasting
results.”
body approach.
“Statistics say only 10 percent of people
who lose weight using the traditional calorie
equation, keep it off. I help women step off
the weight loss roundabout and achieve
lasting results.”
Sonja’s online programme, ‘The Summer
Body Challenge’ launched in October 2016
as a shortened version of her flagship Reset
programme, a three-month one-to-one programme
focused on sustainable weight loss.
“It was one of the most rewarding and fun
things I’d ever done in my business. The support
and sisterhood I witnessed in the private
Facebook group left me inspired. I knew I
wanted to hold space like this for women on
an ongoing basis.”
Sonja went on to run another two rounds
of the Summer Body Challenge, before
committing to launch The HappyBody Club;
an online membership site.
As a busy working mum of two, Sonja
knows how hard it can be to prioritise health.
She understands how confusing the overwhelming
amount of information available
can be, and that working one-on-one with
a nutritionist is not accessible for many
people. The HappyBody Club allows her to
reach more women with a healthy philosophy
that they will be excited to live by, not
enslaved by.
Sonja wanted to put everything she knows
about gaining and sustaining a Happy Body
at New Zealand women’s fingertips. She has
spent the last six months sourcing and creat-
>WIN
Sonja Gardiner
ing the various elements of the club as well as
building the back end where she will be able
to deliver content to members on a regular
basis. But, for her, one of the most important
aspects of the HappyBody Club is the private
Facebook group.
“Community is how we women get things
done. Surrounding yourself with positive,
encouraging people is the difference between
sustainable, successful weight loss and that
sinking feeling as yet another diet or exercise
plan lets you down.”
Enter to win one of TWO 12-month
memberships to Sonja Gardiner’s
HappyBody Club.
The HappyBody Club is a
membership site where you have
access to meal plans, exclusive
recipes released weekly, exercise
support, eBooks and resources, a
private Facebook forum filled with
tips and inspiration, as well as deals
from health providers around the
country. Each month has a distinct
theme, which also comes with a live
webinar and Q&A session with Sonja.
Two lucky INSPO Fitness Journal
readers will each win a 12-month
membership to the HappyBody
Club. To enter, email your name and
contact details, with HappyBody to
win@fitnessjournal.co.nz or enter
online at inspo.co.nz
Entries close on July 31, 2017
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