Melissa THOBEI

“ONCE SHE CHANGED HER APPROACH TO EATING, EVERYTHING FELL INTO PLACE”

Crafting a competitor’s physique

You can’t out-train a bad diet. This transformation truism is one that Melissa Thobei learnt firsthand when no amount of effort in the gym yielded the results she was after.

“I was the biggest food junkie ever! I used to train hard to improve my conditioning, but never saw the results because of my bad eating habits. I was also relatively unhealthy because I wasn’t cautious about the food I ate. In fact, I had a horrible mindset towards eating.”

To make matters worse, most of the women in her family also tend to gain weight quickly, especially after having children. “Part of my motivation to change my approach to weight loss and improve the quality of my nutrition was to also fight that genetic predisposition.” When she did, that’s when she finally started to make progress.

COMMIT TO COMPETE

To remain committed to a healthy eating plan, which she admits was the hardest part of her transformation, Melissa made the decision to compete as a Bikini athlete. “I was hesitant at first, but I told myself that I had nothing to lose. I must say, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made!”

She adds that it was only when she started to prep for her first bikini competition that she really got serious about transforming her body and her lifestyle. “It took a lot of discipline and focus because it was the first time I had ever followed a diet, but I felt inspired to set a good example for other women and show them that anything is possible.”