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Everything you need to
kick start your bodyblitz |
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When we contacted Melinda Troughton to congratulate her on winning this year’s BodyBlitz Championship, her initial reaction was one of pure disbelief.
“I was so excited. I didn’t expect to win. I was hoping to win the monthly one, because I knew how hard I had trained,” she says adding that the shortlist of monthly winners was extremely impressive.
While Melinda had expected to be a contender in the monthly competition, she had ruled herself out of being the grand champion. Although Melinda had shed a remarkable 20kg, she believed that as one of the bigger finalists she did not stand a chance.
“There were some smaller girls that came up really cut. I guess that’s where I doubted myself, I thought that the magazine would want someone like that rather than someone like me.”
To us however, Melinda was always one of the main contenders. After carefully studying the finalists, it was clear that Melinda had undergone a great transformation – both physically and mentally. In meeting her it was clear that we had made the right decision.
Not only does Melinda project an image of natural femininity, but her attitude towards herself has far surpassed the time–frame of a 12 week challenge. To Melinda the challenge was more about changing her life for good, rather than changing her life to win a competition.
“Winning this competition ensures that I keep this promise to myself and continue to maintain my healthy outlook on life,” she says.
Fundamental to Melinda’s challenge was the role of re–educating herself on the benefits of food for sustenance.
As many young women do, Melinda had fallen into the habit of eating for comfort rather than eating for sustenance. A self–confessed sugar addict, Melinda’s favourite snacks included flavoured coffees, picnic bars, muffins and apple danishes.
“With work I had fallen into a routine of going to a bakery for morning tea, as well as the coffee, plus another flavoured coffee before work. Lunch would be either hot chips and gravy from the take way shop or maybe a hot dog” she says, reminiscing about her bad eating habits.
Then there were the social outings. From nights at the pub, to pizza with her partner, Cameron, Mel had seen herself (and her partner) pile on the kilos in a short space of time.
“Cameron decided to do his own type of challenge, which made it a lot easier for me. We emptied our cupboards of all the bad foods and really changed our eating habits. Instead of pizza for dinner we’d sit there and eat our steamed fish and veggies.”
Mel says that in ditching the sauces, and excess topping on her meat and veggies she started to appreciate the flavours and taste of fresh and wholesome food.
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| Weight |
77kg |
65kg
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| Chest |
101cm |
88cm
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| Waist |
90cm |
63.5cm
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| Calves |
37cm |
34cm
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| Arms |
32cm |
29cm
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| Thighs |
60cm |
56cm
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| Hips |
101cm |
90cm |
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One of the hardest things to overcome, Mel says, was the social aspect of eating. In the initial stages Mel made the choice to avoid eating out, because she knew that this would be her greatest temptation.
“One of the frustrating things was not going out for dinner with my friends. I went occasionally. I felt really rude in the end. That was definitely the hardest thing”.
Once renowned as the house for wine and cheese sessions, and not-so-healthy snacks, Mel has earned a reputation as the healthy one out of her friends. Mel has opted for the sensible approach, and has not completely cut out ‘bad’ foods from her diet.
“The alcohol was hard, but in the end it was one of the easiest things to get over”, Mel says, adding that now she prefers to have a couple of glasses and savour the taste.
Since completing the challenge, Mel has overcome her tendency to use food as an emotional outlet.
“Initially it was hard to do, but when I realised I had been doing it for a few months, it was a lot easier to skip running across the road to buy a picnic.”
In the initial stages, Mel sweated her frustration out in the gym and soon found that exercise was a great form of relaxation.
“Instead of going out and snacking after a big day at work, I’d go to the gym, and escape home and work.”
Mel attributes much of her success to her personal trainer, Sally, who provided her with the support and motivation to complete the challenge.
“My trainer is a figure competitor and she was doing her comp at the same time so we were doing it together” she says, “It was good having someone who knew exactly what I was going through with the food”.
Sally kept Mel motivated with regular phone–calls, from lunchtime check up calls, to early morning wake–up calls. On weekends they’d go for jogs together and by the end of the challenge had become good friends.
Melinda’s original goal, when beginning the challenge, was to have the confidence to wear a bikini.
“I wanted to look good in a bikini. When you are that big you want to get the weight off – I wanted to look fit.”
As this year’s Champion, for Mel the challenge has just begun. She is determined to lose a few more kilos, and is testament to the fact that a 12-week challenge is only part of the plan.
• Get out, do it.
• Read other people’s stories.
• Empty out every single bad thing in your cupboard.
• Don’t have anything that’s going to tempt you.
• The reason people look fit, is because they are doing something about it.
• Use protein shakes in your cereal.
• Experiment with different cooking styles.
• Embrace spices – they are a lot better than sauces.
• We all get cravings, just try to control them! |
Sample Diet for the
12 weeks |
• Breakfast: Porridge mixed with Red Bak protein shake/egg white omlette/muesli.
• Meal two: 10 almonds/apple and Red Bak protein shake.
• Lunch: Tuna salad or grilled chicken and vegetables.
• Meal four: Corn thins and avocado or apple and a protein shake.
• Dinner: Grilled chicken and plate full of steamed vegetables/fish and salad.
• Dessert: Bowl of strawberries. |
• Cardio: Twice a day – running, walking, bike riding.
• Weight training: Monday – back and legs.
• Wednesday – triceps and biceps.
• Core stabilisation work: bracing abs and centering everything while working out. |
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