Roxie’s transformation to hit shelves

Within less than 12 months, Roxie Bennett has dropped 25 kilos, overcome hardship, and begun writing her first book.

The life coach and media personality, who is best known for her work as a host on commercial radio station Bay 93.9, found herself struggling to get out of bed during the final days of 2018.

Exhausted, medicated and failing to see the light at the end of the tunnel, Roxie plummeted to a point where she was unable to recognise the person who stared back at her when she faced a mirror.

“I was a very different person. I was 25 kilos heavier – that’s one thing. I had long, dark hair, that’s another. I probably looked 10 years older than I do now,” Roxie, 57, said.

“I think a lot of that was around the fact that I had a bit of tough stuff in my life, and tough stuff’s fine, everyone has that, but it had maybe taken its toll. I’d put on a lot of weight, I hadn’t been doing any exercise, I’d injured my knee and that stopped me doing much.

“It had been a really tough few years. I thought by the time I was 66, I would either have a chronic illness, or a life-threatening illness, if not a life-limiting illness, because my waist was telling me so.”

But the Newtown mother of two was determined to turn her misfortune around and use it as fuel to hurl herself out of the slump that was so rightly consuming her.

It took a short stay at the Torquay Caravan Park in February for Roxie to develop a plan which saw her begin her weight loss journey.

Dubbed The Butterfly Plan¸ Roxie’s own success story has inspired her to help women who may be experiencing similar physical and mental difficulties by culminating her knowledge into a self-help book.

She said over the course of her research and wellness study, she discovered a noticeable gap in the market for women over 40.

“Women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are really struggling. We’re the first generation of women who could ‘have it all’ but in doing so we’ve found ourselves completely depleted,” said Roxie.

“For many of us, the only relief comes from things that just add to our malaise.”

She said there’s currently about six women trialling The Butterfly Plan, a 12-week program that focuses on the mind, movement, gut health, food and the importance of “finding joy” in one’s daily routine.

Having battled and beat breast cancer at 35, Roxie understands first-hand the fragility of life.

“The magic isn’t in the rainbows and unicorns; the magic is in the tough stuff and the grit. That’s where you find magic and inspiration, and I guess that’s what I did,” she said.

“I really wanted to see it (The Butterfly Plan) more as wellbeing plan, and I don’t want to see it as a diet as such. I want it to be an opportunity where across 12 weeks you do the plan and then actually change your life.”

Roxie has completed the outline of the book and is now pitching the idea via crowd-funding literary agency, Publishizer. She said four publishers have already expressed interest in The Butterfly Plan.

She is also formulating an online wellness guide which will cater to a broader demographic. To pre-order a copy or find out more information, visit publishizer.com/the-butterfly-plan.