Melanie
Nevins
“I realized that I needed a complete lifestyle change, not a crash diet… The Eat-Clean Diet® saved my life and marriage.”
Age: 33
Height: 5’3
Heaviest Weight: 210 lb
Current Weight: 135 lb
My Journey:
I have always been an athletic person. In high school I accepted that I would never be tall and thin, so I decided to sculpt my petite figure with weights. I began seriously weight lifting at 16 and competed in three bodybuilding competitions, two as a high school athlete and one as a collegiate athlete. I battled with yo-yo dieting between my competitions, losing up to 60 pounds in four to five months to step onstage. After my last competition, I quickly gained back 80 pounds of fat! My training became sporadic and serveral cross-country moves led to a lot of stress and very poor eating habits.
In 2004, I decided to return to school and earn my second degree. Unfortunately between school, working full time and maintaining a household, my health was neglected. My weight topped out at a whopping 210 pounds on my 5'3" frame! In April 2007, I was taking anxiety pills to get through the day, sleeping pills to get through the nights, and my marriage of 12 years was on the rocks. I had high cholesterol, high blood pressure and borderline blood-sugar levels. I was depressed. One day I looked in the mirror and said, "That's enough. I am miserable because I hate myself!" It was time to make a change.
At first I incorporated some of the dieting techniques I learned as a bodybuilder, but after several months I realized that I needed a complete lifestyle change, not a crash diet. I learned the basics about eating clean from my husband, a certified sports nutritionist, and picked up my first issue of Oxygen magazine. Oxygen provided me with many great recipe ideas and connected me to The Eat-Clean Diet®. I took the basics and incorporated the variety and flavor provided in recipe ideas from Oxygen, Clean Eating magazine and The Eat-Clean Diet® Cookbook to create a nutrition plan I will follow for the rest of my life!
I now weigh a tight and muscular 135 pounds. The only pills I take are multivitamins and calcium. I am confident, happy and passionate about life again. My cholesterol and blood-sugar levels are now in the desirable range and my blood pressure is amazing. My husband and I rediscovered the love we have for one another and could not be happier. I entered my first NPC figure competition in November 2008 and look forward to competing again in 2009!
The Eat-Clean Diet saved my life, my marriage and my personality!
Melanie Nevins