I had struggled with my weight for 5 years, continually losing and regaining about 5 or 6 kg, and never seeming able to stick to a "diet" for long.  Apart from being miserable about the way I looked, I was suffering from some health problems, some of which were related to or aggravated by being overweight.

My transformation actually began in late June 2003. I had just been through a barrage of medical tests and procedures and had been told by several doctors that I needed to lose weight. I think it was changing the focus from how I looked and how much I hated the "fat" me, to wanting to improve my health that made things different this time.

At 78 kg, I somehow found the strength of mind to begin to eat healthier food and walk most days. Over the next 9 months, I joined a gym, added more protein to my diet, bought a bike, began using supplements and signed up with a personal trainer.  I discovered I enjoyed exercise, particularly weight training and cycling, and was no longer the couch potato I had always been. By the end of March 2004 I had lost 12 kg and was beginning to see some muscles I didn't even know I had!

Then I stumbled across Body for Life.  I saw an ad for EAS supplements in a fitness magazine, featuring Debbie Rossi's before and after photos and I just went "Wow!".  I checked out the website, bought the book and the rest is history.  My transformation really took off -  I learned even more about weight training, cardio, proper nutrition and supplementation.  But I also learned about setting goals, making plans and sticking to them.  In only 12 weeks I lost a further 7 kg.

I realised that I was capable of even more and set myself another challenge, beginning straight away.  Although the weight loss was minimal, a further 12 weeks of Body for Life resulted in a much leaner body, with more muscle definition. It wasn't smooth sailing though - I had obstacles to overcome in both my challenges, surgery plus illness in the first and then an old back injury resurfacing in the second. But Body for Life taught me not to use these things as an excuse to quit, and instead I found ways of achieving my goals in spite of the difficulties.

I took a break of a few weeks after challenge 2, then began again, and have just completed my third challenge. My results were a little mixed this time - weight and measurements were not terribly inspiring, but I can see a huge difference when I look in the mirror. I have yet to find an accurate way of measuring body fat, but I suspect that I have decreased fat and increased muscle quite a bit over the last 12 weeks.

Tomorrow (21st February) I begin challenge number 4, with a group of like-minded (slightly insane?) women. If you're interested, you can follow my progress here: Bootylicious Babes Buff-up challenge