A mum-of-two who used to eat four sandwiches for BREAKFAST has completely transformed herself – to become a bodybuilder.
For years, Irina Nagevica, 35, lived on a diet of “ridiculously big portions,” admitting to sometimes eating five yogurts and four sandwiches in just one morning.
Also binging on scones, cakes and beer, she eventually grew to a size 16.
Then, tired of feeling unhappy with herself, she vowed to change and has now dropped to a size six and trains in the gym seven days a week – sometimes with her daughter Veronika, 12, in tow.
“I’d look at pictures of fashion models in their nice clothes and nice bikinis – but I knew they wouldn’t look like that on me,” said Irina, of Watford, Hertfordshire.
“I looked in the mirror and I really wasn’t happy with what I saw – big belly, big thighs, big arms, cellulite, horrible double chin. I thought, ‘I need to do something with this body.’
“I was destroying my own life and my own body. I wanted to be healthy and look happy, and that was my motivation to change.”
As well as a poor diet, Irina also battled with an under-active thyroid, which contributed to yet more weight gain.
She got to the point where her size made it difficult to walk.
Eventually, with her confidence at rock bottom, she joined a gym in a bid to transform her lifestyle.
At first, the mum-of-two said she “didn’t know what she was doing” when it came to working out.
But she refused to quit and, throwing herself into a grueling exercise regime, managed to lose five and a half stone.
Then, realizing that she had found her passion in life it wasn’t long before she quit her job as a teacher to become a personal trainer, using her own experiences to inspire others.
“I’ve stayed focused. Since I started losing weight and stopped eating all the bad food, I’ve become much happier with myself,” she said.
“I became really interested in a career as a personal trainer, so I worked by way up to qualify and also completed courses in nutrition and weight management.”
Now a full time trainer at Watford Leisure Centre Woodside which is operated by Everyone Active in partnership with Watford Borough Council, Irina leads ‘Fit Model Mum’ and ‘Over 35 Bikini/Glamour Model’ classes for those looking to transform themselves, just like she did.
In October last year, she also competed in a UK Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation competition, which she had to train 19 times a week to prepare for.
And her hard work paid off, as she won in two categories, came second in one and third in another.
Now, Irina is a world away from the woman who couldn’t bear to look in the mirror.
She lives by a strict ‘eat clean’ diet, eating protein-packed meals like chicken with broccoli and brown rice or egg whites and asparagus, allowing herself just one cheat day per week.
She also drinks between four and ten litres of water a day, depending on how hard she is training.
Though her youngest daughter Inna, nine, is too young to join her in the gym, her eldest Veronika loves coming along to watch her mum train.
“The girls are really proud of me. They always say they want to come to the gym with me,” she said.
“They’re too small to do most things, but Veronika and I will do ab workouts and crunches together.
“I’m so much happier now, I’d never go back to the way I was.”
Courtesy of: Mirror