Katie appearing in a bodybuilding competition last year that she won under the transformation category. Picture: Caters News
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AFTER an obese mother was called a ‘fat b**ch’ by a gym worker, she was spurred on to lose 44 kilos. And now she’s winning bodybuilding competitions.
Katie Summers, 26, turned pale with shock after hearing the cruel comments made by a stranger who was talking to her friend on the phone.
Despite having a shockingly high BMI of 40, Katie was so horrified to have been victimised without reason she knew she had to lose weight.
The 95-kilo mum-of-two from Richland in Washington State, USA, ditched her diet of pizzas, cookies and cinnamon rolls for healthy home-cooked meals.
Within two years she shed 44kg and after hitting her target weight of just over 50kg she started bodybuilding.
Now Katie flaunts her slender size 6 body on stage in front of thousands of people in body building competitions.
Katie, now a personal trainer, said: “One day my daughter walked in on me crying because I couldn’t fit into any of my clothes.
“Not even maternity clothing fitted me — I knew then I needed to exercise more.
“On the way to the gym I got called a ‘fat b****’ in the car park by a member of staff at the gym, which was humiliating.
“I was really shocked that someone I didn’t know only perceived me by my weight and nothing else.
“I went as white as a sheet, I couldn’t believe it and once I got inside I burst into tears, I’d never been insulted by a stranger like that before — it made me feel so awful.
“She said ‘oh my god, you’re not going to believe this’ then went on to call me a fat b**** and started making fun of my body.
“It was such a weird moment she was just walking talking on the phone with her friend, I don’t think she thought I could hear her.
“I got into bad habits during my pregnancies, I started ordering food and not shopping and then would binge on fast food, easily eating an entire pizza to myself in one sitting.
“When I was at my largest I remember my trouser button breaking and flying off at the dinner table and also splitting my trousers, it was pretty horrible.
“After being insulted over my weight I knew I had to fight back and since then I’ve gone on a very dramatic body transformation.
“I don’t understand how I lived in that body before, I was so wide and broad, and took up a lot of space — now I’m an athlete, can fit in a size 6 and I’m really pleased I’ve found my petite spot.
“Last year I started bodybuilding, whenever I walk out on stage I felt so proud and couldn’t be happier — there were 75,000 people watching me last time it was amazing.
“I did it for me and my children, as well as all the mothers out there, I wanted to show them that with ambition and determination you can do anything.”
After starting her weight loss mission in March 2013 when she measured a size 18 she lost 27kg in the first eight months and from there has been able to hit her target weight.
Katie attributes her success to healthy eating and cramming in exercise between taking care of her kids Gracie, five, and Henry, aged three.
She added: “I started trying to squeeze in exercise whenever I could, even doing squats with my kids on my back, dancing with them and going for long walks.
“Now whenever I show my children pictures of my before and after they are amazed, they keep telling me ‘mummy looks so pretty now.’”
Last year Katie entered the transformation category of the Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation Championships and came in first place, to qualify for the finals.
She’s gone on to train others to help them, but despite her drastic transformation not all the feedback has been positive.
She said: “I had a lot of people online thanking me for doing it despite having stretchmarks, because it was empowering to see someone be so strong.
“But on Instagram some of the trolls think I’ve had surgery or I’m a fraud, but now I’ve grown to ignore them as I know the truth.
“I earned my spot on the stage and took myself out of this crappy place I was in and changed my life, now all I want to do is to help others.”
Katie recently started working with personal trainer Jonny Straws to tone and prepare her muscles to enter bodybuilding competitions.
Jonny said: “She’s arguably the most successful client I’ve worked with.
“Katie went from the couch to the stage, not only losing weight, transforming herself, but also has gone onto successfully help others too.
“What she needed from me was accountability and a deeper understanding of the next level of where she needed to go.
“She soaked it all up like a sponge and was able to easily implement the plan I recommended.
“She’s amazing in every way, shape and form, if I could have 100 Katie’s my life would be much better for sure.”
