Stats Before After Height 167cm 167cm Weight 64kg 56kg Chest 89cm 89cm Waist 79.5cm 68cm Calves 38.5cm 35cm Arms 30.5cm 29cm Thighs 53.5cm 50cm Hips 100cm 96cm

As a child and later as an adolescent, I was obsessed with ballet and becoming a ballerina, which needless to say, did not happen. The obsession with food and exercise, however, remained. I have never managed to be one of those (lucky) people who are comfortable “just the way they are” regardless of their weight.

My husband and I immigrated to Australia a few years ago, and suddenly I found myself facing the usual obstacles: lack of social network, job, absence of family and friends, and loneliness. The depression was slowly creeping in, accompanied by stages of extreme bingeing followed by dieting and exercise. I have always had a ‘sweet tooth’, which I managed to control (or so I thought) but all of a sudden, the floodgates had opened and there was no switch or a door to shut them down. I was fully aware I was comfort eating, which was quite ironic and contradictory, as I received no real comfort, only guilt and self-recrimination for being so out of control.

This cycle continued for quite a long time until a couple of months before my wedding a year ago. I managed to ‘pull myself together’ (I swore I would look and feel fabulous on my wedding day even if it killed me) so I got myself obsessively into shape.

Upon returning back from the wedding and a honeymoon (both took place abroad) I lost all control. Having been surrounded by family and friends for a few weeks and all the excitement that weddings usually bring without it even being your own, I found myself (all too sudden again) feeling empty, lonely and even bored. I guess I was going through the post-wedding blues. I started eating a lot and stuffing myself with high-carb, high-sugar food. Within a couple of months, I gained 10kg.

I truly turned into was what I was eating – a donut! I looked puffed up, wobbly, round… Got cellulite on my legs and my arms and for the first time in my life, a muffin top was crowning my hips.

Needless to say, I felt even worse and started exhibiting all the signs of depression like isolating myself, mood swings, loss of confidence, lethargy, lack of motivation and loss of libido (not a great start to the marriage I must say – my husband deserves a medal for all the support he had given me throughout this dark times). I started covering up and wearing shapeless clothes. Of course my clothes did not fit any longer and I refused to accept that I had gone two or three sizes up and stubbornly had refused to buy new clothes to compliment my new weight and shape. So one day, to my own shock and horror, I found myself shopping in maternity clothes shops and thanking God for the elastic bands attached to the pants and skirts. That way I could still kid myself I was size 10 or 12 when I was not. Even the simplest things were ever so difficult, like paying a bill or tidying up my wardrobe. The only thing that provided true comfort was doing the work I loved and being surrounded by amazing colleagues and friends at least between the hours of nine and five. Without this being the case, I probably would have ended up not leaving the bed at all.
I entered the BodyBlitz Challenge twice, however did not manage to complete it. This is the third time and this time I did it.

The turning point came when I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror and did not recognise the person I was seeing – ‘what a slobby, unhappy person’ I thought and then had a shock awakening realising it was me. Something clicked in my head and my heart and I decided that I’d had enough of being unhappy, tired and desperate. I decided that I would end the years of unhealthy eating habits and that I would stop sabotaging myself. Life happens and food is not a pacifier – nothing is and can’t be.

I decided I was not going to concentrate on losing weight for a change but on feeling toned and healthy. I also decided that from then on food was not going to be used as a reward or a punishment.

I simultaneously entered a Body Challenge competition in my local gym and enlisted the help of PT Cynthia Ducca, who has been absolutely brilliant. She has changed my eating habits and has given me a fantastic exercise regime with lots of variety so I never got bored. The biggest challenge was getting up at 6am and doing the workouts before work. I also faced those little ‘Gollum’ voices telling me not to bother with doing the exercise or that ‘one little cake won’t make a difference’or that I wasn’t getting results quick enough.

I simply decided to ignore them and do my own thing and soon after those negative thoughts disappeared. Five weeks into the Challenge, I dropped a size and went on a shopping spree for the first time in a year! Most importantly, I started feeling normal again, my energy came back and so did my zest for life. My husband was unbelievably supportive throughout the Challenge and stuck a big note on the fridge with ‘NEVER GIVE UP’ written on it. He truly accepted me and was comfortable with however I looked – he just wished I could do so too.

My eating habits remained the same throughout the Challenge – I have three main meals a day and a protein shake between meals and after the weights workout. Fruit has been reduced to two pieces a day and always after the main meal. My coffee intake was reduced from three a day to one cup after lunch. It is one treat I refused to give up. I have completely stopped eating sugar except for in fruit) and I feel born again!

Although I never really indulged in those free days and meals – as I never had the craving for them – I introduced new food groups like bread, and full-fat products into my diet. Eaten in small portions they were nutritious and harmless to achieving my goals.

I was unbelievingly proud of myself for finishing the Challenge and for achieving amazing results. The most amazing transformation was not perhaps physical, but definitely mental and emotional. I look at the ‘before’ photos and see an unhappy miserable person and am reminded of the prisoner holding a newspaper hoping that someone would pay the ransom. I never want to look or feel like that person again.