Madison Benbow, 37, couldn’t believe it when she saw ‘100’ on the scales.

It was 2019. The busy site manager and new mum from Cairns had struggled with her weight since the age of 18 and she’d tried everything to control it – including ‘every’ fad diet.

But after giving birth to her baby girl her weight became even harder to manage.

‘I know I had just carried and birthed my daughter but all the same I wanted to make a change – though I was very anxious about reaching out to anyone,’ Madison told the Daily Mail.

Instead of opting for weight loss surgery, Madison decided to give it one last go after stumbling upon a health account, CindaFit, on Instagram.

Designed by nutrition and weight loss coach Lucinda Porcelli, the program focuses on female weight loss and offers handy tips and tools instead of strict diets or restriction.

The core focus? The 80/20 rule: eat 80 per cent clean and target macros, with 20 per cent more relaxed choices.

‘My hot tip is to work out a deficit tailored to your needs and lifestyle rather than following extreme restrictions,’ CindaFit’s Lucinda told the Daily Mail.

‘When your approach is built around balance and enjoyment, the habits you create to lose weight will be the same habits that help you maintain it for life.’

‘Before this program I was very self conscious about my weight,’ Madison said.

‘I had no energy, didn’t want to exercise, would barely walk anywhere, had terrible eating habits and I think I was just at a complete loss on how I was going to lose some weight and make it sustainable.’

She never ate breakfast, would indulge in a block of chocolate or Nutella daily, and was a huge fan of fast food. She’d also ‘binge on anything in the cupboard’ as she had no set meal plan and never did any food prep.

‘When I found Cinda I was recently engaged and was planning a wedding, which is what sparked my desire to change my lifestyle and be present in my daughter’s, fiancé’s and nephews’ lives’,’ Madison recalled.

‘I reached out to her – to say I was anxious would be an understatement. I was struggling but I didn’t want anyone to know, and didn’t know how to fix it.’

Madison opted for a 20-week plan with the goal of losing five to ten kilos. She picked her own recipes – there’s no set meal plan – and focused on hitting her macros where possible.

Eighteen months on, Madison was still going strong.

‘She taught me to just be consistent, hit my macro target and follow the 80/20 rule. I still stick by this six years later! The theory works and I stand by it 100 per cent and always will,’ she said.

As of 2024, Madison has also developed a love for exercise. Before, she found workouts ‘boring’ and saw such great results from nutrition she never considered it very important.

Now she’s an avid F45 fan and strength trains at her local branch two or three times per week.

‘It’s a safe place for me and I feel completely at ease when I am there. I go in warm up, do the session with a class of really wonderful people and then leave… all in 45 minutes which fits into my busy lifestyle,’ she said.

‘They taught me everything from breathing correctly, posture, balance, correct way to train and then introduced weights into my training which has been a great change overall for my body.

‘I got my body strong enough that I decided to take up running in between. I started in April 2024 – running non-stop for 1.22km. I just kept adding to that until I signed up for the 5km Cairns Marathon Festival and entered my first timed race.’

Since then, she has competed in the 10km at Townsville Running Festival, 12km City to Bay in Adelaide and her first Half Marathon in June 2024.

‘If the “old me” had heard those words come out of the “new me”, I think she would have fallen over in complete shock,’ Madison said.

For those looking to follow in Madison’s footsteps, her message is simple:

‘The CindaFit method works, it’s literally as simple as that. I am where I am today because I asked for help, and that could be you too if you’re in the same boat as me.

‘I’m still me – I just look a little different within the skin I was born into.’