Transformations Series: Betty Curiel

At 6 Pack Fitness, we understand that developing a healthy and active lifestyle can be difficult and the process requires an incredible amount of determination and dedication to maintain. So we decided to start our Transformations Series, which features some of our favorite inspirational fitness transformation stories that we hope will help motivate people who are looking to make similar changes in their own lives. In today's post, we'll introduce you to Betty Curiel, a 26 year old that is overcoming her past struggles with weight loss and self-esteem to train for national bikini competitions. Betty was born in Mexico and raised in Arizona. She comes from a big boned family where being overweight was the norm. As a result, Betty never really cared about her body. Betty began to put on weight, which caused her to struggle with several bouts of low self-esteem. At her heaviest Betty weighed in at 197 pounds, which was really unhealthy for her age and height. Looking back, Betty realizes she wasn't really thinking about how unhealthy her diet was: "Why did I let myself go so bad? Maybe it was because I didn't care how I looked, or maybe I was too comfortable living a fast-paced life, partying and drinking." Things finally reached the tipping point in 2013 after Betty was the victim of a catfish scenario. Betty was fooled into thinking she was in a relationship by a woman pretending to be a man online. Being catfished was the most frightening and challenging experience of Betty's life. But when Betty found out the truth, something incredible happened. Betty didn't get depressed, and she didn't turn to food for comfort, either. She decided that it was time for a change, and so began her fitness transformation.

"I told myself enough is enough. I need to love myself first."

So Betty began dieting and exercising regularly, and in an incredible twist of fate, she met the real life man whose pictures were used to catfish her! He introduced Betty to Herbolife, but she quickly realized that the program wasn't sustainable for her fitness transformation. Betty developed her own diet, nothing too strict, but focused on eliminating junk foods like soda, sweeteners, baked goods, and fried foods. There was a moment when Betty wanted to give up on herself because she was losing weight but not gaining muscle. But she realized she had come so far and wasn't about to give up on herself. So Betty hired a personal trainer and started training in August. Her goal is to qualify for and compete in a national bikini competition.

"I've sacrificed, I've cried, I've been to the point where I've wanted to give up. But I remember why I started and push myself even more."

And just how far has Betty come along? At the time of our interview, Betty was down to 140 pounds! Everything Betty has accomplished with her fitness transformation has been the result of her own research and she even plans on going back to school to become a personal trainer herself. Betty has been able to achieve her goals by finding her own motivation, attending the gym 6 times a week, dancing salsa, and prepping her meals every night with the help of her new Innovator meal management bag. It may not have always been easy, but Betty feels that anything worth having requires hard work. As Betty continues to focus on her training, we're positive this is just the beginning for her. If you're interested in continuing to follow Betty on her journey be sure to find her on Instagram, and check out more of our inspirational Transformation Series here!