Sometimes in life you hear or read of stories that are inspirational. And that’s exactly what Kim Hamilton is.

Just by looking at her before and after shots you can see the hard work and dedication she’s put in over the three months. But when you read her story and the other personal battles she has had to overcome, you realise she really is one in a million.

Kim Hamilton was always interested in health and fitness and she loved lifting weights and keeping in shape. Exercise was fun for her, an outlet and a way to cope with the stress and pressure of everyday life. However sometimes when life consumes us, exercise can be put on the back burner. This is what happened with Kim. About five years ago she bought into a real estate business and to put her heart and soul into this new project, she gave up the one thing she loved – dabbling in weights.

“I really am a perfectionist and when I bought into the business I really wanted to prove to myself that I could run a business and do it well, so I really just put everything into my work,” says Kim.

However, unbeknown to Kim, she was about to get the biggest shock of her life. Five months after she bought into the own business she was diagnosed with breast cancer. After operations, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and ongoing medication, Kim gained six kilos and her body had lost an enormous amount of muscle tone.

“During this time I continued to work and live my life as though it was as normal as possible. This was hard because I was having chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and something had to give so I wasn’t doing any exercise or training at all. Now that I think about it exercise would have been really good for me at the time, but I was so determined to continue with my work,” explains Kim.

After several years in remission, last Christmas Kim had another scare. Upon receiving the all clear she decided it was time to build the healthiest mind and body she’d ever had. Kim purchased a few copies of Women’s Fitness & Health magazine and was attracted to the idea of the Body Blitz challenge. With the added inspiration of monthly success stories of everyday people, she knew this was a challenge she could give 120 per cent to.

EXAMPLE OF CARDIO & RESISTANCE TRAINING PROGRAM

Cardio: • Power walking – 3 x 45 minutes • Interval running – 2 x 30 minutes Resistance training: Upper body 2 x week: • Back • Chest • Biceps • Triceps • Shoulders Lower Body/Abs 2 x week: • Quads • Hamstrings • Calves • Abs

"I actually saw Sue Gilman's story in the magazine and one day I just decided to email her. She was really my mentor and trainer and she believed I could do the Body Blitz challenge. I always wanted to successfully do something like this and I was so nervous getting in a bikini and taking the before shots, but now that I've completed the challenge it's just a fantastic feeling."

Kim knew this support was exactly what she needed and signed up straight away. Sue's website (www.idealbodiesonline.com) had all the right information and even Sue herself was there for Kim whenever she needed motivation.

"Sue knew firsthand the pitfalls and obstacles I would encounter during the 12 weeks. I couldn't have accomplished my goals without her daily email support, advice and prompt answers to my never ending questions. Sue designed a program to suit my goals and my lifestyle, changing it according to my progress to make sure I would achieve outstanding results in a short period of time," says Kim.

Having someone like Sue to ensure motivation and support during these tough 12 weeks was definitely the reason behind Kim's fantastic results. Sue even helped Kim prepare a professional photo shoot and designed a special 'final week' nutrition plan. Yet as easy as all this sounds, staying on course for Kim presented difficulties. She was working long hours in her business and those three months were the busiest three months of her life! She had seven trips to Sydney and eleven other social/business engagements that all included junk food and alcohol. Plus she organised her daughters 21st birthday party combined with a family reunion and had 20 people sleeping at her home.

DAILY DIET FOR 1 WEEK

Meal 1 – 6 egg whites, mushrooms, capsicum and leek, plus an orange.

Meal 2 – 150g tuna, 0.5 cup rice or 100g sweet potato, plus a lettuce, cucumber and capsicum salad.

Meal 3 – 100g turkey, plus apple/orange or 250g strawberries.

Meal 4 – 200g turkey/tuna/salmon or one whole egg and seven egg whites (I don’t eat red meat). Unlimited steamed or dry stir-fried vegetables

Meal 5 – Protein shake with banana and honey (after training).

* One day per week – extra carb day. Diet as above but add extra 1 cup dry oatmeal and 1.5 cups cooked pasta.

* One free meal on Sunday Anything at all – pizza, chocolate, dessert, wine, etc.

To make sure Kim followed all her training and diet commitments she kept a journal and it became her bible. Everything was planned at least a week or two beforehand so all her exercise sessions could fit into her week. Kim would also cook and freeze her food and then take it wherever she went, (even on aeroplanes!) She looked upon every challenging situation as another hurdle she could easily overcome.

“I turned every obstacle that confronted me into positive mental power that made me even more determined to complete my challenge!”

What’s even more amazing about Kim’s results is that she did all her workouts at home. All she had was a weight bench, barbells and dumbbells in the shed. She planned her workouts and training to suit her lifestyle and this ensured that not only did she complete her training sessions, she always put in extra effort.

Her diet was kept simple eating good, clean foods. These consisted mainly of protein sources such as turkey, tuna and egg whites (she doesn’t eat chicken or beef), quality carbohydrates such as oatmeal, rice, sweet potato and low glyceamic fruits and vegetables. To ensure she stuck to this eating plan, Kim allowed herself one free day every week.

BODY MEASUREMENTS

 

	Before	After
WEIGHT	58.6kg	52.1kg
BODY FAT %	26.6%	17.5%
WAIST	69.5cm	64cm
THIGH	53.5cm	48.5cm
HIPS	94cm	91cm
ARM	29cm	2.5cm
CHEST	92cm	87.5cm
CALF	34cm	33cm

“I really think I ate more rubbish and unhealthy food in that 12 week period than a would normally eat because of the one free day I allowed myself. My husband and I would plan what dessert we were eating on my day off and I would save this for my last meal of the day. I also made sure I have my chocolate fix, I never really pigged out on this day but this day was really a necessity to stick to my eating plan during the week.”

Now that she’s completed her challenge (and become a Body Blitz monthly winner in the process), Kim admits she finds it hard to put her results into words.

“The challenge for me was not so much about body image – it was to create a healthy body to keep cancer at bay. I love the way I look now, but it is how I feel on the inside that has impressed me the most. I can tackle any challenge head on, be it business or personal and I know I’m capable of achieving extraordinary results if I put in consistent effort.

“I am so positive and confident, and I have a big smile on my face all the time! I want to keep this feeling forever – I feel outstanding and I want to help everyone else who is ready to change to feel the same.”

With this fantastic story, I’m sure Kim is going to inspire a lot of people to do the same."

MAKE THE DECISION TO CHANGE TODAY