A mum has shared how seeing herself in a bikini on Christmas day led to her transforming her body and overhauling her lifestyle in just 12 weeks.
While wearing the new costume, Micha Hibel, a café manager from Brisbane, felt deeply self-conscious – so much so that she was unable to enjoy the festive day with her family as much as she’d have liked.
The 32-year-old said she had put on weight after her third pregnancy and was struggling with self-confidence at 60kg – a figure she was uncomfortable with at her 162cm (5’3) height.
‘I was a stay-at-home mum of three kids and felt completely alone and insignificant; I was struggling with my mental health and my body image,’ Micha told FEMAIL.
But after seeing an advertisement for the Sweat App by Aussie fitness queen Kayla Itsines that night, she committed herself to taking part in the 12-week challenge in the new year.
Micha Hibel, a café manager from Brisbane, (pictured) decided to commit herself to a 12-week fitness challenge after feeling self-conscious while wearing a bikini on Christmas day in 2017
At the time Micha said she was struggling with her mental health at the time but transformed her lifestyle with help from the Sweat fitness app
The mum-of-three had put on weight after her third pregnancy and weighed 60kg (middle image from Christmas day 2017)
As soon as she saw the Sweat Challenge ad Micha said she knew that’s what she needed to do to reach her goals.
‘My journey was about so much more than weight, I started out wanting to lose my mummy “pouch” and ended up with so much more,’ she said.
Prior to committing to not missing a single one of the home workouts, Micha said her diet was ‘absolutely terrible’ as she ‘never ate a single vegetable and never drank water’.
She doesn’t follow a set diet but tries to eat as much fruit, vegetables, fibre, whole grains and protein as she can each day.
‘My journey was about so much more than weight, I started out wanting to lose my mummy ‘pouch’ and ended up with so much more,’ she said
Prior to committing to not missing a single one of the home workouts, Micha said her diet was ‘absolutely terrible’ as she ‘never ate a single vegetable and never drank water’
‘I worked out in my lounge room with zero equipment and my coffee table for a step,’ she said
After the first few weeks of taking part in the challenge, Micha noticed she started to feel motivated to begin a new way of life.
With assistance from the app, she learnt how to fuel her body with food and how physical exercise can benefit mental health too.
The Sweat App is a great tool for beginners to use as it guides users through the workout and demonstrates how to do each exercise.
With her busy home and work lifestyle, Micha finds the platform useful to work around her schedule.
‘I worked out in my lounge room with zero equipment and my coffee table for a step,’ she said.
With assistance from the app, Micha learnt how to fuel her body with food and how physical exercise can benefit mental health too
The Sweat App is a great tool for beginners to use as it guides users through the workout and demonstrates how to do each exercise
After completing the 12-week challenge, Micha felt a great sense of accomplishment, purpose and self-worth.
Micha said making a commitment to herself has helped her in more ways than she could ever had hoped for and is incredibly proud of what she had achieved.
‘I’ve gained confidence, I’ve gained friends and have stopped caring about how much I weigh a long time ago,’ she said.
She also dropped down to 55kg and managed to build muscle during the short period of time.
Micha is now studying a Certificate 4 in personal training with hope for a career change and has been working out consistently since 2017.
Micha said making a commitment to herself has helped her in more ways than she could ever had hoped for and is incredibly proud of what she had achieved
Micha is now studying a Certificate 4 in personal training with hope for a career change and has been working out consistently since 2017
Micha’s main piece of advice to others is to ‘do what you love’ when it comes to exercising but expect the results to occur over time.
‘It’s important that people know that results take time and this is a lifelong commitment,’ she said.
‘Do the workouts that make you happy, wear the clothes that make you feel good and listen to music that sets your soul on fire.
‘It’s your journey no one else’s so do it your way.’
Today Micha shares her workout and nutrition advice with her 11,000 Instagram followers to assist those wanting to commit to a similar fitness challenge.