I’m originally from Brazil & I moved to Australia in October 2009. I have always been active and love sports. While in Brazil I was eating a well-balanced diet as most of my meals were in my family house but life being an exchange student in a foreign country changed things completely.
It felt like a six months’ holiday. Alcohol, fast food, and sugary foods was part of my “lifestyle,” and as a result, I went from 50kg to 64kg in a short time.
I only realised it when none of my winter clothes fitted me. I jumped on the scales , look at the mirror and start to cry. I keep questioning how I let myself put on 14 kilos of fat? I didn't know what to do or where to start; I just knew that I wasn't happy with my body.
It felt like a six months’ holiday. Alcohol, fast food, and sugary foods was part of my “lifestyle,” and as a result, I went from 50kg to 64kg in a short time.
I only realised it when none of my winter clothes fitted me. I jumped on the scales , look at the mirror and start to cry. I keep questioning how I let myself put on 14 kilos of fat? I didn't know what to do or where to start; I just knew that I wasn't happy with my body.
I experienced yo-yo diets, emotional eating, no eating at all and eating everything I saw in front of me. It is very easy to find comfort in food, but the ‘good feeling’ is temporary and not the solution to your problems. I was the kind of person that would google “how to lose 5kg in a week?” Lol. Well, real results don't work like that.
After a few fails and lots of tears I was convinced that there is no shortcuts and to see a change I would need to be patient, consistent and committed to my goal.
I slowly changed my eating habits and got in love with nutrition and how the human body responds to each food. I read many nutritional articles and began to understand how my food choices was affecting my health. I then started to use a food diary and exercise everyday. Those changes helped me to lose 10 kilos.
In 2014 I started working out with a personal trainer (Coby) and found that lifting weights was just what I needed. I learned so much about the exercises and muscle groups that we worked on each session. Strength training challenged me, gave me stress relief from uni studies & work and created more self-confidence within myself. Then I never stopped.
My fitness goals changed many times. I love the feeling of beating my own records, limits, and challenges. It never gets easier but you just get better.
The body will always achieve what the mind believes so don’t let negative thoughts hold you back and trust that you can do it, you need to take this first step to see results.
I have been training for seven years. What I can tell about my journey is look after yourself, eat healthy foods and exercise every day!- That's the formula...BUT focus, commitment, determination, and consistency are key factors to achieve any goal.
