A MUM-OF-FOUR has revealed how she dropped more than half her body weight and became a bodybuilder after her size stopped her from teaching her kids how to ride a bike.
Eva Underwood, 48, weighed 21 stone at her heaviest but decided to lose the pounds as she wanted to do more for her children.
The mum from Dewsbury has struggled to keep on top of her weight her whole life.
Bullies at school would pick on Eva and call her “tree trunk legs”
She became stuck in a vicious cycle and used food as a comfort during her lowest periods.
In 2007, Eva underwent a gastric bypass and lost a staggering nine and a half stone.
Weight loss surgery is a treatment for people who are severely obese.
It makes the stomach smaller so it feels fuller sooner and less food is eaten.
He was adamant that I would never do it but I said I will – watch this space
Eva Underwood
Unfortunately for Eva, this wasn’t the case and by 2015 she had put on all the weight she had lost during the surgery.
She told Yorkshire Live: “But then between 2007 and 2015 I gained it all back again, I had two more children and life just got in the way so by December 2015 I was back to the same weight I was to start with.”
She attempted “yoyo dieting” but never managed to maintain a healthy weight and size.
However, the mum started to notice a change in her size once she began doing PE lessons with her kids at home during lockdown.
When the gyms reopened, Eva decided to take on the challenge of becoming a natural bodybuilder.
She dedicated her time to learning about nutrition and fitness and transformed her body.
Today, Eva co-owns a gym in Dewsbury where she tries to inspire other women, especially mums to become fitter and healthier versions of themselves.
She recalled jokingly announcing her gym membership, claiming she was on her way to becoming a bodybuilder.
This sparked a reply from a retired athlete, who insisted that without a trophy, she couldn’t truly claim the title.
This motivated Eva even more and she began looking for a coach that would train her.
She found a coach based in Bradford called, Jaymal Dickson.
At first, he thought the mum-of-four was joking when she told him she wanted to compete as a bodybuilder within a year.
“He was adamant that I would never do it but I said I will – watch this space, you tell me what to do and I will do it,” she said.
After eight months of training, Eva competed at her first competition and placed a respectable fourth.
However, the best reward she’s gotten is being able to do activities with her kids.
Fitness has become a large part of her children’s lives with her daughter now a PT, her son is about to do a marathon and her two youngest are taking martial arts classes.
The kids know how important it is to stay healthy as they’ve seen Eva’s experience first-hand.
She became a role model to them and now hopes to inspire mums to “turn their life around”.
Melody Wakelin lost 16 stone to become an elite bodybuilder.
She qualified as a personal trainer and came second in a major fitness competition in 2017 when her world was turned upside down.
She began suffering from severe brain fog and muscle spasms.
Her family are now trying to raise more than £100,000 for treatment in Barcelona, as they claim the NHS doesn’t offer the exact treatment required.
She was diagnosed with atlantoaxial instability and Occult Tethered Cord Syndrome.
It is caused by excess movement in the vertebrae, which are bones in the spine.
Katie Summers had a shockingly high BMI of 40.
After a gym worker rudely called her a fat b****, she snapped into action and now looks completely unrecognisable.
Katie, from Richland in Washington State, USA, started bodybuilding when she hit her target weight of eight stone.
She now flaunts her slender size 6 body on stage, in front of up to 75,000 people, in competitions and works as a personal trainer.
The 38-year-old, from Northampton, England, has competed in eight shows since she first hired an online coach in 2020, with the goal of shedding her excess pounds.
Sherolyne revealed that from a young age, she has been active but her diet was always “horrendous.”
She tried a variety of fad diets which would help her to lose a few pounds, but found that she was unable to keep the weight off.
But now she’s a competitive bodybuilder, showing off her impressive muscles in a glitzy bikini at 141 pounds.
Sherolyne went from 224 pounds to 141 pounds for her first show and was surprisingly able to eat similar foods throughout her weight loss journey.
She admits her family was surprised by her decision to pursue bodybuilding but says they have been supportive throughout.
