Kellie’s 12WBT Story

The moment Kellie crossed the finish line of her first marathon, she burst into tears. Tears of joy, brought on by the sight of her children’s happy faces cheering her on, and the intense relief she felt after completing the massive 42 kilometre run. “In the last seven kilometres I was hurting, and I kept thinking I’m never doing a marathon again,” the mum of two recalls. “But when I finished I just had this amazing feeling and I was like, I want to do it again!”

Getting Started

Photos show Kelly’s amazing transformation. The far left is photo was taken in February 2012, middle photo was taken in November 2012, the final photo was February 2013.

Rewind just six months and a marathon hadn’t even entered the Perth-based legal secretary’s mind. Instead, she found her hours taken over by her two daughters, aged six and seven, and her full-time job.

“The weight just started creeping up,” she remembers. “I put on about nine kilos over a year but I only it noticed one night when I was meant to be going out with my husband. I couldn’t find anything nice to wear – none of my nice clothes fitted me! I felt horrible,” she says. Already a fan of Michelle Bridges, having successfully followed the program in the Crunch Time book, Kellie decided to sign up for the 12 Week Body Transformation. “I realised that all in all I was about 12 kilos overweight, and I just needed to get on top of it. I wanted to fit back into my clothes!”

Learning to Run (Again)

Instead of simply choosing to focus on weight loss, Kellie decided to set herself the goal of completing a half-marathon after her first 12WBT round. “I wanted a challenge,” she says. “I used to run, and I’d managed 10k before. Even though I hadn’t run in ages, I wanted to go beyond that.” Kellie signed up for the half marathon program.

Kelly before she started 12WBT, left, and at a 12WBT Finale Party, right.

The busy mum dropped back to part-time work and threw herself into the strenuous training. “I knew having a half-marathon goal would drive me, and it did,” she says. “The hours of training per week were a big commitment, but I just kept trying to beat my own times and get on with it.”

Three months later, Kellie completed her half-marathon goal. Six months on, she clocked her very first full marathon and decided to move onto 12WBT’s Lean & Strong program.

Finding Her True Passion

Kelly struts her stuff on stage at the 12WBT Finale Party in Brisbane in February 2013.

Along the way, Kellie also discovered a passion for exercise that extended beyond just getting fit. “I remember when I first started going to the gym as a teenager, I always looked at the personal trainers and thought, ooh I’d really like to do that. I don’t know what stopped me, but I had my kids pretty young. But 12WBT made me realise how much I loved the whole thing. I thought, right, I’m just going to bite the bullet and do it,” she says.

And when she came second in the Lean & Strong program for Round 4, 2012, Kellie couldn’t have won a better prize to help her meet that new goal: a Master Trainer eCampus course at the Australian Institute of Fitness, along with a package of goodies. “Honestly, discovering what I really want to do in my life has been the best thing out of this whole experience,” she says.

“I’ve started training people, and it’s so rewarding,” Kellie says. “I want to combine training with massage therapy, and I’m hoping to be fully qualified by August.”

A Family Affair

Kelly and her husband complete a Tough Mudder obstacle run together.

And the trim, fit mum is still setting herself new fitness goals—her next goal is to compete in a figure competition! “I definitely didn’t expect that I’d be personal training and I never thought I’d be competing in a bikini on stage in front of thousands of people, but after Lean & Strong I really got into weight training—and I never want to stop having goals,” she says.

Kellie’s daughters Olivia and Chloe are her “mini cheersquad.”

Reaching them is something Kellie says she couldn’t have done without the support of her husband and kids. “When I wanted to go out for a run at six o’clock at night but the kids hadn’t been bathed yet, he would just say, “Go!” I couldn’t have done what I did without his support. He’s always been really proud of me,” she says.

“And my girls are very sweet about it. On Mother’s Day I got a bookmark that said ‘My mum’s great because… She can run 20k’s.’ I was so surprised! But I’m so glad I’m setting a good example. I’m so enthusiastic about life and what I’m doing these days.”

Kellie’s Top 12WBT Tips

• Trust in the program. Don’t worry about the scales too much, don’t get fixated with numbers. Just keep going.
• Don’t stress about slip ups – it happens to everyone. Just take it day by day and get back to it – don’t waste time and energy beating yourself up, because it doesn’t help.
• Keep setting goals for yourself. I learned that I was more motivated by being able to achieve goals other than just weight loss. Find what drives you!

You could be like Kellie. Sign up to 12WBT and in 12 weeks you could change your body for the rest of your life!