First time mum Chantelle Sisco admits she ‘felt disgusting’ before 65kg weight loss

Eighteen months ago Chantelle Sisco could barely walk around the block with her baby son without feeling breathless and wanting to sit down.

Now she is preparing for a bodybuilding competition after shedding 65kg so she could ‘enjoy being 21’ and run after her son.

Speaking to FEMAIL, the determined mum from Ipswich in Queensland said she had always been ‘a big girl’ but it wasn’t until after she saw a photo of herself after giving birth that she felt she needed to change.

‘I will never forget it, I was at my friend’s baby shower. I had already given birth and was the biggest one there,’ she said.

‘I saw the photo and thought “do I really look like that? I am disgusting”.’

At the time, she weighed 162kg and was feeling unfit for the first time in her life. 

‘I put on 30kg when I was pregnant, I wanted to lose that and I wanted to be able to play with my son,’ Chantelle said.

The mum, from Ipswich in Queensland, said this was the photo that made her reassess her lifestyle: ‘I felt disgusting’ 

Chantelle said she would ‘eat anything that would fit in her mouth’ before deciding to change her habits.

‘I wouldn’t have set meals, I would just eat everything all the time. Kind of like one continuous meal of pizza, McDonald’s, chicken schnitzel, whatever was in the fridge and always anything deep fried,’ she said.

She still enjoys eating all of those foods, but does it in moderation.

The busy mum is sharing her story to help inspire other people to hit their health and fitness goals – and wants them to know they don’t have to hit the gym everyday to get results.

Chantelle lost her first 10kg by ‘going for five minute walks around the block’ with her mum, who joined her in her weight loss journey ‘whenever she could’.

Chantelle was 162kg at her heaviest and couldn’t walk around the block without getting puffed out 

Now she works out every day – and is confident – even when it comes to showing off her legs – which she’s always been insecure about

‘I had tried to lose weight before, but fell for quick schemes and crash diets and it never worked and I never stuck to anything,’ Chantelle said.

Her most important diet change was not ‘throwing it all away’ the first time she ate or drank too much.

‘One bad day isn’t going to undo everything you do,’ she said. 

Chantelle is now 97kg but wants to lose up to another 30kg for a body building competition

‘I used to fail because I would eat one small thing I wasn’t supposed to and think I had ruined everything – so just devour everything else in sight,’ she said.

Chantelle has consistently lost weight with this more realistic and flexible approach.

‘I want to enjoy my life, I want to have pizza with my family but now I know how to balance that.’

Chantelle said she used portion control to lose weight by limiting the size of her meals rather than counting calories. Instead of a whole pizza she would have two or three slices. 

However people who follow her journey on Instagram might be confused by her advice – as her grid shows a woman dedicated to heavy gym workouts and counting calories.

‘I am only watching macros and calories now because I am keying up for a body building competition,’ she said.

Chantelle will need to lose up to another 39kg and work on getting as much definition as possible for the competition.

‘This is just an extra challenge for me, I know that the (body building) weight isn’t sustainable and I don’t want to do it long term,’ she said.

Chantelle wants people to know they can ‘start small’ and don’t need to try dramatic diets to see results

Chantelle says her biggest tip is ‘don’t start Monday’.

‘If you want to do it you will. You won’t wait until you have eaten all the junk food in the cupboard, or until next week, or until after the event.

‘You’ll start straight away,’ she said.