Melinda lost 32kg
“I no longer feel embarrassed when I eat out or go shopping.”
It all started in April 2008 for Melinda Brockhus. Stuck in a job that was making her feel depressed and stressed, she finally found the courage to resign. Stepping on the scales later that same day, Melinda was horrified to see the dial register her weight in triple digits.
Melinda says, “There were a few reasons why I had let myself get really big. I was in a job I hated and I turned to food to lift me up. I was on the road a lot and found myself stopping at country bakeries and take-aways and I was eating without thinking. I would munch on a couple of cheesy rolls for lunch, wash things down with an energy drink and still be hungry for more. I wasn’t focusing on how much or what I was eating at all.”
With her weight at 100kg, Melinda realised it was crunch time, so she dried her tears and promised to change her life.
Click to enlarge photos
Melinda before
Goodbye old self
Melinda after
Fun run
Slim and smiling
Life change
Diet dabbler
Melinda had tried numerous diets beforehand. She lost 15kg by eating homemade soup for two months, but when she stopped cooking up batches of soup, all the weight went back on. “That’s because I hadn’t learned any life changes and eating skills,” says Melinda.
She also found Weight Watchers effective, but didn’t stick with it. Then, after seeing an ad on TV, Melinda decided to try The Biggest Loser Club. In the first two weeks she was delighted to lose 4kg and she hasn’t looked back since.
Diary fan
On The Biggest Loser Club program Melinda was a big fan of the online food diary. She loved that she could access it wherever the Internet was available. “The diary taught me so much about the calories and fat in foods that I’ve actually been put off some treats that I used to adore, like fast foods.
“I also loved the weight-loss charts. It was especially great to see how many fat blobs I was losing from my body and so satisfying to see the charts with the little figure of me moving towards my goal weight. Knowing that I had to weigh-in every Tuesday kept my motivation high and I just wanted to lose more each week.”
Fitness fan
Melinda became a daily gym-goer and while it was a chore and hard work initially, it soon became fun. She invested in a few sessions with a personal trainer and used the fitness skills and knowledge she learned to train smarter. Melinda then decided to train for the 5km Run Melbourne event that she took part in this year, something she describes as one of the most satisfying things she has ever done. She realised how far she’s come from the days when she wouldn’t even have run for a train!
How losing weight has changed my life
Determined not to rush things and to learn healthy habits for life, it has taken over a year for Melinda to lose 32kg. She has shed almost a third of her body weight, dropping from 100kg to a slimline 68kg. She loves her healthier lifestyle and is now focusing on toning up. Melinda has also inspired some of her colleagues at her new job with the Victorian government to join The Biggest Loser Club.
Melinda can’t stress how much happier she is now saying that, “Losing weight has been the greatest thing I have ever done. Looking in the mirror and liking what I see is a feeling I’d love everyone to have! I just want friends and family to feel as positive and healthy as I now do. I no longer feel embarrassed when I eat out or go shopping. And if a guy stops to look at me I don’t think he must be staring at how fat I am. Now, I sometimes think that perhaps he likes what he sees!”