Young woman, 22, reveals how she transformed her life and look by losing 23 kilograms

A 22-year-old business owner has shared how she transformed her life in just five months by losing 23kg – without a costly gym membership.

In November 2017, Angel Bowyer, from Sydney, weighed 73kg but was motivated to lose weight by a friend who used to be a personal trainer.

The Instagram influencer, who confessed she used to gorge herself on McDonald’s an KFC nearly every day, shed the weight over five short months by working out in the backyard or at the park.

‘I started incorporating a lot of high intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions into my week, as well as some strength training and started eating well,’ Angel told FEMAIL.

‘I did four HIIT workouts and three strength sessions each week without even being signed up to a gym – I was too shy to join!’ 

By April 2018, she tipped the scales at 50kg and reached her goal of fitting into a size six.

‘Within the first month I saw drastic results and that only motivated me to work harder and educate myself more about health and fitness,’ she said.

‘I then started reading ‘Beach Fit’ by Kim Beach, which explained a lot about workout routines, why specific things are important and dieting examples.

‘HIIT changed my life – the high intensity workouts became super addictive, I love to sweat and they sure do make you look like you’ve just come back from the pools.’

This type of training style often involves multiple body-weight or light weight exercise combined with short rest times. 

Angel said when others asked how she lost the weight so quickly she would always respond with ‘HIIT, protein and salad’.  

Prior to committing to a new lifestyle and fitness routine, Angel admitted she would eat fatty foods, including KFC and McDonald’s, almost every day.

‘I ate out a lot and that caused me to gain weight so quickly! I still have the occasional fast food feast but I try to maintain a healthy diet during the week,’ she said.

Angel changed her diet by eating delicious fresh fruit, vegetables, salads and high amounts of protein to build strength. 

While committing to exercising regularly was difficult at times, Angel said the ‘biggest challenge of all’ was learning how to apply makeup well and changing her look.

She taught herself how to apply makeup by watching YouTube tutorials online, but she’s still currently learning how to perfect eyeliner.

‘I dyed my hair to ash blonde early last year and I would have to say that it gave me a huge confidence boost! I absolutely love Ariana Grande and get a lot of my inspiration from her,’ she said.

‘I also often learn new trendy hairstyles from TikTok or YouTube and try to put my own little spin on them.’ 

Since reaching her goal weight of 50kg and fitting into a size six, Angel’s life has changed ‘drastically’ in a variety of ways.

‘In all aspects, both mentally and physically, I feel like I am super motivated when I see results in what I’ve achieved and it really boosts mental health,’ she said.

‘My days consist of being active compared to when I was always stuck on my laptop watching Netflix.

‘I have always been into fashion since I was younger as well and being overweight though really pushed me into wearing mostly oversized and baggy clothes – I didn’t mind It but I am now so comfortable with my body,’ she said.

After transforming her look and lifestyle, she gained the confidence to join a gym in March 2019 to maintain her toned physique and gain strength. 

With her 100,000 Instagram followers, Angel hopes her weight loss journey can inspire other young people to exercise and lose weight if needed.

But on the other end of the spectrum, she also hopes women aren’t too concerned with their body image if they happen to put on a little bit of weight.

‘I always preach that the scales don’t matter! When I first started weight training at the gym I gained five kilos within a month and I was so confused and upset, I felt like I was going backwards, but I slowly realised that muscle weight is a thing,’ she said.

‘I try now to base off how I look, and not the numbers on the scale. I’m currently 57kg but super happy with the way I’m looking.’ 

Angel is very proud of what she has achieved and is ‘absolutely ecstatic’ about reaching a six-digit social media following, as she is able to promote a healthy lifestyle to others online. 

When asked what advice she would give to others wanting to lose weight, Angel said to ‘not be too strict’ with yourself all the time as this could make you lose motivation. 

‘I feel like if you’re too hard on yourself, there is a bigger chance that you will fail and be discouraged,’ she said. 

‘If you feel like eating some of that cake, have a few bites! It won’t hurt and you will save yourself from going nuts later.’