HOW WE LOST 359 kg
‘I HAD TO WEAR MATERNITY CLOTHES’ Melissa Mouawad, 29, Sydney, NSW These fifive weight-loss wonders never thought they’d beat the bulge, but they made the impossible possible and just look at them now…
Wearing a huge maternity dress, Melissa Mouawad looked at her reflection in the changing room mirror and recoiled in disgust.
At 18, she should have loved spending a day out clothes shopping but at 135kg, shame raged as she avoided the fashionable racks and was instead forced to buy clothing from the maternity section as they were the only things that fit.
“The clothes were elasticated, and they were the only things I felt comfortable in,” says the 29-year-old.
That moment, along with a routine visit to the doctors – where she was told she was pre-diabetic and could have a heart attack any day – finally gave the Sydneysider the reality check she needed to beat the bulge.
Now, five years on, inspirational Melissa has gone from maternity wear to miniskirts, downsizing seven dress sizes from a size 24 to size 10!
Losing 65kg, she’s more confident than ever flaunting a svelte 70kg figure.
For as long as Melissa can remember she’d had an unhealthy obsession with food. “I’d binge on a dozen doughnuts, blocks of chocolate and soft drinks,” she admits.
Melissa found changing the bad habits of a lifetime “incredibly difficult”, but when she found her perfect health plan there was no stopping her. By following an intermittent fasting weight-loss program, which involved counting calories and monitoring g carb, protein and fat intake, the weight began to disappear.
“I forced myself to do fitness classes wearing my maternity gym clothes, too,” she recalls.
In time, Melissa increased her cardio-based exercise and moved onto weight training. Now she works out six times a week.
What’s more, she married the love of her life Edward, 30, last year and sashayed up the aisle with her “dream body”’ in an elegant size 10 wedding dress.
“It was wonderful to throw out my old maternity clothes. I can shop wherever I want and I feel like I’m finally living my life.”