Sally Symonds is an Australian author, wellness coach, speaker and communications professional whose career has moved through education, health and fitness, publishing, media, and public relations. She first became widely known for documenting her own dramatic weight-loss journey and turning that experience into books, coaching programs and media appearances.
Her story attracted attention because it combined a personal transformation with a practical approach to long-term lifestyle change. Symonds went on to publish several books, including 50 Steps to Lose 50kg… And Keep It Off, 50+ Recipes to Lose 50+kg… And Keep It Off and 50 Ways to Weight-Loss Motivation. She also developed the online program Love Your Weight Loss and became a contributor to health and fitness publications.
In later years, Sally Symonds shifted her professional focus toward public relations. Her current business, Public Relations That Actually Works, identifies her as its director and highlights her work in publicity, branding and social media.
Early Life and Education
Sally Symonds was raised in Queensland, Australia. In an interview about her journey, she described growing up on a cattle property in Mackay before moving into higher education and eventually working as a Speech and Drama teacher.
Her academic background is broader than her later reputation as a wellness professional might suggest. Symonds has discussed holding a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Master of Arts, alongside qualifications in Speech and Drama. In later professional biographies, she has also been described as holding certificates in fitness, wellness-coaching qualifications and training as an NLP practitioner.
Her education in literature and speech helped shape a career that eventually combined communication with health and lifestyle coaching. Before becoming known for her weight-loss work, she worked in teaching, including Speech and Drama.
That background would later prove useful in another part of her career: speaking publicly, writing books and communicating ideas to large audiences.
Sally Symonds’ Weight-Loss Journey
The turning point in Sally Symonds’ public career came from her own experience with weight and health.
In an interview published by SBS, Symonds recalled that after leaving high school and moving through university, her weight increased significantly. She said she eventually reached 106.5 kilograms and experienced a moment in 2002 when she decided she needed to make major changes to her lifestyle.
Her approach was not built around a short-term transformation. Instead, Symonds increasingly focused on developing habits that could be maintained over many years.
Her story became particularly notable because she lost more than half of her original body weight. Health and fitness publications have repeatedly identified this achievement as the foundation of her later work as a weight-loss coach and author.
The experience also influenced her philosophy. Rather than presenting weight loss as a quick challenge, Symonds has emphasized consistency, practical lifestyle changes and finding forms of exercise and eating habits that people can maintain.
That message became central to her books, coaching programs and media appearances.
Career as a Weight-Loss Coach
Following her own transformation, Symonds moved into the health and fitness industry.
She became a wellness coach and developed Love Your Weight Loss, an online weight-loss system designed around longer-term lifestyle changes. Earlier descriptions of the program presented it as a 26-week system that incorporated food, exercise and motivational resources.
Symonds also worked as a speaker and media contributor. Her experience made her a natural source for discussions about weight loss, exercise, motivation and lifestyle habits.
ABC Radio featured her in a 2011 program about losing large amounts of weight, where she appeared alongside personal trainer Andrew Cate and discussed her experience of losing 50 kilograms.
She was also interviewed by SBS for a report examining Queensland’s struggle with obesity. The profile focused on her personal transformation and her work encouraging people to make sustainable changes rather than rely on short-lived approaches.
Over time, her work expanded beyond one-on-one coaching. She wrote articles about exercise, motivation and food, while also appearing in Australian media and lifestyle publications.
Books by Sally Symonds
Writing became one of the most visible parts of Symonds’ health and fitness career.
Her first major book was 50 Steps to Lose 50kg… And Keep It Off. The title reflected the philosophy behind her work: weight loss was presented as a series of manageable changes rather than a single dramatic event.
The book became a significant commercial success in Australia. In a 2021 article for the Nonfiction Authors Association, Symonds said the self-published book sold more than 10,000 copies. She also credited mainstream media exposure with helping the book reach a much wider audience.
Her publishing work continued with 50+ Recipes to Lose 50+kg… And Keep It Off, a recipe-focused book built around her approach to eating while pursuing weight loss. Bibliographic listings identify Palmer Higgs as the publisher and 2011 as the release year.
Another title, 50 Ways to Weight-Loss Motivation, focused more directly on the psychological and motivational side of making lifestyle changes. In a 2012 interview, Symonds explained that she designed the book to be easy to carry and consult during moments when motivation was difficult.
Her published work eventually expanded into more than 20 ebooks, according to her contributor biography at InShape NewsFlash.
Media Career and Public Profile
Sally Symonds became a familiar media voice through her combination of personal experience and professional training.
In her own account of promoting her first book, she said she made more than 100 media appearances. Those appearances included Australian television programs and publications such as A Current Affair, Sunrise, Today, The Morning Show, ABC News, Women’s Weekly, New Idea and Woman’s Day.
Her media experience eventually became an important part of her professional identity. Instead of simply being interviewed by journalists, Symonds learned how publicity could help authors and businesses communicate with broader audiences.
That experience later became the foundation for her transition into public relations.
Sally Symonds’ Move Into Public Relations
One of the most interesting developments in Sally Symonds’ career is her move away from health and fitness.
Her current professional website states that after years working in health and fitness, she realized that public relations was the field she wanted to pursue. The site identifies Symonds as the director of Public Relations That Actually Works, a business focused on publicity, branding and social media.
The transition makes sense given her earlier experience.
As an author, Symonds had to promote her own books, secure interviews, communicate with journalists and build a public profile. Those experiences gave her practical insight into how publicity works.
Rather than leaving her previous career completely behind, she appears to have carried its strongest skill into her new field: communication.
Her professional background now combines writing, media relations, public speaking and promotional strategy.
Sally Symonds and InShape NewsFlash
Symonds has also remained connected to health and fitness publishing.
InShape NewsFlash lists her as a Weight Loss Coach, Author and contributor. Its biography notes her fitness qualifications, wellness-coaching background and NLP training, while also highlighting her books and online coaching work.
More recent InShape NewsFlash material continues to publish advice under her name. In 2026, the publication featured Symonds in its health and fitness content, identifying her as a weight-loss coach and author.
That continuing association shows that her health and fitness work remains part of her public professional history, even though public relations has become a major focus of her career.
Sally Symonds’ Approach to Weight Loss
A recurring theme in Symonds’ writing is sustainability.
Rather than encouraging people to depend entirely on extreme exercise or highly restrictive routines, she has argued for changes that people can continue over the long term. Her own experience informs much of that philosophy.
In her media work, she has spoken against fad-diet thinking and promoted gradual changes in eating and exercise habits. A 2015 press release quoted Symonds supporting the Dietitians Association of Australia’s call to move away from fad diets and toward sustainable habits.
Exercise is another important part of her approach. In articles published through Australian lifestyle outlets, she has encouraged people to choose activities they are actually willing to perform consistently rather than viewing exercise as punishment.
This emphasis on consistency has become one of the clearest themes associated with her work.
Personal Life
Sally Symonds has built her public profile primarily around her professional work rather than celebrity-style exposure.
Her published interviews focus heavily on her transformation, books, coaching philosophy, education and career. She has also used her personal experience to connect with readers who are attempting to make similar lifestyle changes.
Her public identity has therefore remained closely linked to her work as an author, coach, speaker and communications professional.
Rather than making her private life the center of her public image, Symonds has generally used her own experiences as a way to explain broader ideas about motivation, lifestyle habits and communication.
Physical Appearance
Sally Symonds became publicly recognizable during her years as a weight-loss author and wellness coach largely because her physical transformation was central to her professional story.
She has spoken openly about losing more than 50 percent of her body weight, and that achievement became an important part of the identity surrounding her books and coaching work.
Specific measurements such as height or current weight are not necessary to understand her career and are not central to her public work.
Net Worth
There is no reliable public figure that establishes Sally Symonds’ current net worth.
Her career has included book publishing, coaching, speaking, media work and public relations, but those activities do not provide enough information to calculate a trustworthy personal wealth estimate.
For that reason, a specific dollar amount would be misleading rather than informative.
Sally Symonds Today
Sally Symonds’ career has evolved considerably since she first became known as a weight-loss author.
Her current professional focus is public relations. Public Relations That Actually Works identifies Symonds as its director and describes services covering publicity, branding and social media. Her company website also traces that direction back to her experience promoting her own books and securing more than 100 media appearances.
At the same time, her previous work in health and fitness continues to appear in Australian wellness publishing. InShape NewsFlash still identifies her as a weight-loss coach and author and continues to publish material associated with her expertise.
The combination gives her career an unusual trajectory. She began by transforming her own relationship with weight and health, turned that experience into books and coaching, developed extensive media experience, and eventually applied those communication skills to public relations.
Interesting Facts About Sally Symonds
- She lost more than half of her original body weight. Her transformation became the foundation for her work as a weight-loss coach and author.
- Her first major book was self-published. Symonds later said 50 Steps to Lose 50kg… And Keep It Off sold more than 10,000 copies in Australia.
- She has a background in Speech and Drama. Her education included both Arts degrees and formal Speech and Drama qualifications.
- She developed Love Your Weight Loss. The program became part of her work helping people make longer-term lifestyle changes.
- She has appeared extensively in Australian media. Her own account lists appearances across television, news and women’s lifestyle publications.
- She later moved into public relations. Her current business is Public Relations That Actually Works, where she works across publicity, branding and social media.
Frequently Asked Questions About Sally Symonds
Who is Sally Symonds?
Sally Symonds is an Australian author, wellness coach, speaker and public relations professional. She first became known for her personal weight-loss transformation, books and coaching programs before moving into public relations.
What is Sally Symonds known for?
She is best known for losing more than 50 percent of her body weight, writing books about weight loss and motivation, creating the Love Your Weight Loss program and appearing in Australian media.
What books has Sally Symonds written?
Her best-known books include 50 Steps to Lose 50kg… And Keep It Off, 50+ Recipes to Lose 50+kg… And Keep It Off and 50 Ways to Weight-Loss Motivation. She has also written more than 20 ebooks.
What is Love Your Weight Loss?
Love Your Weight Loss was an online weight-loss program created by Sally Symonds. Earlier descriptions presented it as a 26-week system incorporating food, exercise and lifestyle resources.
What did Sally Symonds do before becoming a wellness coach?
Symonds worked as a Speech and Drama teacher after completing her education. Her academic background includes Arts degrees as well as Speech and Drama qualifications.
Is Sally Symonds still involved in health and fitness?
Health and fitness remain part of her public professional history, and InShape NewsFlash continues to identify her as a weight-loss coach and author. Her main professional focus, however, has shifted toward public relations.
What does Sally Symonds do now?
Symonds is the director of Public Relations That Actually Works, a business focused on publicity, branding and social media. Her current career reflects the communication and media skills she developed during her years as an author and wellness professional.
Conclusion
Sally Symonds’ career is defined by reinvention. Her public journey began with a major personal weight-loss transformation, but it developed into much more than a fitness story. She became an author, wellness coach, speaker and media personality, using her own experience to create books and coaching resources for people pursuing healthier lifestyles.
Her later move into public relations added another chapter to that career. The media skills she developed while promoting her books ultimately became the basis for a new professional direction.
Today, the name Sally Symonds remains associated with both Australian health and fitness publishing and a growing career in communications. Her story stands out not simply because of the amount of weight she lost, but because she turned a personal challenge into writing, coaching, media work and eventually a business built around communication.
