Kacey’s 12WBT Story

The mum of three had tried twice to get on board with the Michelle Bridges program, but admits that despite signing up, she’d never even cooked a 12WBT recipe. “I wanted to commit myself but I just wasn’t ready. I wasn’t in the right mindset at all,” she says.

“This is the last photo taken of me before I did 12WBT properly,” says Kacey. 

And so, Kacey found herself at Christmas 2012 in the biggest clothes she’d ever worn, and utterly miserable. “I thought, how can I be miserable? I have three beautiful children and a great husband. But the little voice inside my head was there every day. I wasn’t comfortable meeting up with friends or going to events because I was so unhappy with the way I looked.”

Letting Go of the Past

On a camping trip in January 2013, around the time Kacey decided to make a change – for good!

A negative voice in her head was something Kacey had been hearing since she was 12, when her dance teacher would weigh each girl in the class in front of everyone. “I remember the humiliation and devastation so clearly. I would leave every class crying,” she recalls. “That’s when the emotional eating started. I became very good friends with food.”

But last Christmas, Kacey confronted that voice in her head. “I just thought to myself if I want to be truly happy with everything in my life, I have to commit to becoming a better version of me. That’s when I decided to join up to the program again, and this time go at it full tilt.”

“When I saw photos from my sister’s wedding, I was so embarrassed.” Kacey says overcoming negative thinking has been one of the crucial things she has learnt through 12WBT. 

Which was exactly what she did. Now Kacy was following the program to a ‘T ‘— even cooking all the recipes. “I’d been using my family as an excuse not to cook these healthy meals, but they loved them. My six year old son even wanted to take the rump steak with creamy mushroom sauce to school in his lunchbox!”

Supporting Yourself

Kacey and her little girl show of their guns with some tire rolling! 

Not that it was all smooth sailing. “My biggest problem was fighting with myself, with that voice in my head trying to sabotage me,” says Kacy. But she only realised just how loudly the voice had been shouting when doing the Pre-Season Tasks for the first time — one of which was declaring her commitment to the program to her loved ones.

“It was the moment that changed me forever — the reaction from family and friends. I’d always been a “gunna” — I’m gunna exercise, I’m gunna lose weight. So I shouldn’t have been surprised by the laughter, the eye-rolling and the comments on how unrealistic my goals and plans to change my lifestyle were. But in that moment I realised the saddest thing of all: I didn’t believe in myself.”

“It was one of my goal to be able to complete the 1000 steps on the Kokoda track. This photo was take after I completed it three times with a total of 20kg weight vest!”

12WBT started and, as each day went past and her commitment stuck, Kacey did start to believe. In another first, Kacey learned how to make time for herself. “When I had my first child 11 years ago, I was on my own. I’d been making my children number one ever since. I wasn’t happy in myself, and it affected my mothering. When I decided I wanted to be a better mum — that meant putting myself first for a while.”

And the naysayers? “Those people changed their tune about six weeks in when they saw the results, and they’ve been very supportive ever since,” Kacey says.

Big Results

A victorious Kacey on stage with Michelle Bridges at the 12WBT Round 1 2013 Finale Party.

Fast forward to the twelve-week mark, and Kacy had lost 24 kilos. “I still can’t believe it!” she laughs. “The feeling I have is priceless: how I look, how healthy I feel, and how positive my mindset is. The way my positive energy has affected my children and my husband has just been awesome,” she says.

Kacey at the 12WBT Round 1 2013 Finale Party.

Positive doesn’t even begin to cover how Kacey felt after receiving the Top Transformation Award for Round 1 2013, an accolade she feels genuinely worthy of. “I’m honoured. These 12 weeks have been fuelled by my promise to change, cherish the body I’m privileged to live in and give my kids the mother they deserve. My mind and body have accomplished more of a transformation than I ever thought possible, plus I’ve smashed every goal… and then some. Most importantly, I’ve become a role model. My son even wants to take me to school for show and tell!”

Kacey’s 12WBT Tips

Don’t Skip 12WBT Pre-Season
“Finally doing all the Pre-Season tasks changed my mindset about where I should be at and what I should be doing. It was the only way I could have succeeded with the exercise and the nutrition.”

Don’t Rely On Support From Family and Friends
“I was looking for people to support me so I could find the strength to transform. Give it a go, do your best and you’ll succeed. Don’t worry about your family not being into it, they’ll go with it. Just don’t expect other people to get you there, you have to do it yourself.”

Do Look For Support Within 12WBT
“I love getting on the Forums and hearing other people’s stories to inspire me.”

Make a plan to achieve your best body and achieve your goals with the 12 Week Body Transformation. Register for 12WBT today.