Melissa's Transformation Is So Impressive, Even Kim Kardashian Is Obsessed
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Say what you want about the Kardashian family, but under all the sparkly dresses and colorful hair changes, we can agree that they have some bangin' bodies. Pop culture junkies and anyone who's a sucker for a solid weight-loss story watched Khloé Kardashian's emotional and physical transformation last year in awe. Now, we've got a new sister who wants to flip the switch on her lifestyle and gym habits, and that's soon-to-be-momma-of-three Kim Kardashian.
I'm just going to put this out there now: I watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians. Sure, it provides a lot of laughs and a lot of SMHs, but if I didn't watch the show, I wouldn't have been clued into the pure greatness that is Kim's new trainer and my new favorite fitspo. Meet Melissa Alcantara, or more appropriately, FitGurlMel, as her 79K Instagram followers know her as. During a recent episode of *gulp* season 14, Kim tells her mother that she found Melissa on Instagram and was blown away by her postpartum body.
Say no more, Kim. I immediately grabbed my phone, pulled up Melissa's account, and knew exactly why Kim was so inspired by her. Melissa's insanely ripped figure didn't appear overnight. For years, she put in intense work at the gym to prepare for bodybuilding competitions, but it took a lot of work to get there, and she learned even more on the journey. "I went from overweight to skinny to muscular because I thought I wanted to be skinny, but that's not what I wanted, I wanted to be 'toned' which just means building muscle," she captioned a recent photo on Instagram. "Building muscle doesn't mean you're going to become Arnold. So the next time you say I want to be toned, what you really mean is I want to lift weights."
Melissa explained that it may take time to evoke that desire for a lifestyle change within oneself, but after that light bulb turns on, the rest is history. "The recipe for motivation is within you, it starts with being really f*cking tired of not being the person you want to be then one day you say enough is enough and you change your life," she wrote on Instagram. "You start to wake up at 5am even though you just want to sleep, 3 weeks go by and it's not so bad, you start to work out at 6am even though you don't know exactly what you're doing but 3 weeks later you start to feel like a pro."
With bodybuilding competitions, Melissa was HARD on herself, working out multiple times a day and not fueling her body with the proper nutrients. But eventually, she learned about the importance of nutrition. In the KUWTK episode, we see Melissa completely wipe out all the "processed crap" from Kim's kitchen and truly test her self-control. In terms of the workouts, the trainer told Kim she does it all — low-intensity interval training, high-intensity interval training, and weight training. There's no "trick" or shortcut to looking and feeling the way she does, it's simple: she takes good care of herself consistently.
"You have to drink your water (a gallon a day), eat your veggies (more than 4 pieces of broccoli), eat your carbs (not processed or fried crap) and exercise with intensity, with good form and with focus," she wrote on Instagram. "IF YOU EAT WHAT THE EARTH GAVE YOU (not processed or fried crap all the time) and exercise with intensity, focus and form you WILL get results over a LOOOONGGGG period of CONSISTENCY and TIME (think years). There are NO shortcuts, stop looking for one. Once you accept that, your journey begins!"
Out of all the intense transformations Melissa has had throughout her life, she said that 2017 was "by far the craziest one" after winning her first bodybuilding competition and being contacted by Kim. The moral of the story is to work hard and never give up on your dreams, because, as Melissa said it best, "1 week turns into 2 and before you know it it's 6 years later and you're training Kim Kardashian."
Read on to see photos of Melissa's applause-worthy "toned" journey, and prepare to feel incredibly inspired by her motivational quotes about lifestyle changes and nutrition.
"I went from overweight to skinny to muscular because I thought I wanted to be skinny but that's not what I wanted, I wanted to be 'toned' which just means you want to build muscle. Building muscle doesn't mean you're going to become Arnold. So the next time you say I want to be toned, what you really mean is I want to lift weights."
"The recipe for motivation is within you, it starts with being really f*cking tired of not being the person you want to be then one day you say enough is enough and you change your life."
"Eat for leanness, train for gains, and sometimes do whatever the f*ck you want."
"In 2017 I won my first BodyBuilding competition and was contacted by Kim Kardashian to train her. I want to post this so everyone knows there's a struggle behind most success stories! I've had a couple of transformations but this is by far craziest one. For anyone who wants to follow their dreams, who wants to do what they love, TAKE RISKS!!"
"18lbs of dedication in 1.5 years, only forever to go! Let's get it!"
"Don't starve, don't stay away from carbs, don't just juice, don't do anything that you can not sustain for life. Your body will know and you will pay the price. Trust me."
"I got the regular body of one who consumes carbs, works out 5-6 days a week, rides her fixie when she can, walks when things are within a miles distance, drinks so much water her toilet is tired of seeing her ass, and cooks the sh*t out of some veggies."
"Can't I just do cardio and be good?! NOPE, doesn't work that way. I lift, I do cardio, I eat nutritious food, NUTRITION not empty bullsh*t calories. And sometimes I have my treat. We used to eat to stay alive, we used to move around, lift sh*t, throw sh*t, sweat and do it all over again."
"I just want to show people what the body is capable of if you put in the work."
"Cardio vs cardio and weights. I had that flat back, anybody got syrup for those pancakes."
"For real though, just keep going cuz 1 week turns into 2 and before you know it, it's 6 years later and you're training Kim Kardashian."
"There will always be curveballs and obstacles but time isn't going to wait for you to 'get better' or 'get started' so I suggest you get a move on and hop on the happy train stat. It's a teeny tiny life we live, get those #bootygainz while you still have it in ya!"
"I just want you to know that I feel soooooo much better right now, so much #stronger and #healthier and although I do still struggle with the thought of not being as lean, I know it's normal to feel this way after a #competition."
"IF YOU EAT WHAT THE EARTH GAVE YOU (not processed or fried crap all the time) and exercise with intensity, focus and form you WILL get results over a LOOOONGGGG period of CONSISTENCY and TIME (think years). There are NO shortcuts, stop looking for one. Once you accept that, your journey begins! THE END."
"I hardly do #abs and not as much #cardio as you think. It has almost nothing to do with either one. People want to believe its #exercise because it's the easy way out. I'm here to tell you, it's NOT EASY but that doesn't mean it's not doable, you just have to decide and commit. What would you rather do, eat a healthy meal or run 10 miles?"
"There's nothing better than to eat #guiltfree and enjoy your little 'cheats' here and there. So remember, just because you're full doesn't mean you're gonna 'get fat' IF you're eating the right foods. You should feel satisfied and energized not like you're gonna fall asleep standing up lol."