A bodybuilding mum told how she took up the sport to help deal with the stress of looking after her severely disabled son.
Mum-of-three Laura Beesley, from Stirling, did barely any exercise from 2012 to 2018 after leaving the military. The 32-year-old got into going to the gym with the encouragement of husband Mike, 33, who works as a firefighter, and found it helped her mentally.
Her eldest son, Logan, 13, is in a wheelchair due to a neuronal migration disorder similar to cerebral palsy and can be physically demanding. Laura said she found the gym became a coping mechanism, but this year she stepped up her efforts and lost 8kg.
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She competed in a competition in Manchester in September coming second place in the athletic figure category, and came second place in the British finals in Telford. The next competition she has is the PCA World Championships held on November 20 at Birmingham Town Hall.
Laura has put her job as a personal trainer on hold while she pursues competitive bodybuilding in Stirling, where she lives, although she does not have a rigid diet during training. She works out for around three hours a day and is working with a coach to improve posing for the competitions.
Her kids, Logan, Lewis, aged nine, and Nathan, seven, are really proud of her achievements, and she has spent nearly £650 on bikinis. Laura said: "At the moment it's prep, prep, prep and I'm going to the gym two or three hours a day.
"I had to give up my job as a PT to focus on bodybuilding. My oldest son is in a wheelchair and he can by physically demanding. It helps me to deal with stress, you need something to focus on. The gym helps me mentally.
"I didn't think I'd get this far. I just started this year and I've been on prep since May. When I did my first show it was just for a challenge, getting that far against ladies who have been doing it longer was amazing. I've been training for about four years consistently."
Laura has lost 10kg since she began training weighing 56kg, and has slimmed down to 46kg by introducing a significant calorie deficit. When she started prepping in May she weighed around 54kg.
She said: "My son is probably the same weight as me. Most of the time he's quite content but he can lash out and hit you.
"I started going to the gym to manage stress, my husband encouraged me. It's my thing now, I don't drink alcohol anymore."
Laura joined the army aged 16 in Harrogate, North Yorks, and left in December 2011. She served for around six years while Mike did a tour of Afghanistan.
During that time Laura was a stay-at-home mum and found it quite isolating. The couple met in the 1 Royal Horse Artillery, where Laura was a gunner.
She then worked as a carer and a cleaner, while looking after her own children. Bodybuilding has helped her restore her confidence but it has impacted her social life.
When she was bulking for her most recent competition, was demolishing 3,500 calories per day. She splits the week into high carb days, low carb days and uses almond milk rather than normal milk.
Laura said: "I have porridge with almond milk and a scoop of protein which is 350 calories. For lunch I might have an omelette with chicken sausages, and I don't track veggies.
"Or I might have a tuna bagel or a jacket potato. For dinner I might have chicken because it's low calorie, with sweet potato chips and veg."
Her goal was to have abs, after years of being out of shape. Laura said: "After the competition in Birmingham I'll go into a reverse diet to get more muscle and bigger and stronger.
"I'm eating the same food but cooking it differently, I've been eating chicken curry a lot. I'll have 125g rice and 250g of chicken, I always have chicken or salmon.
"I've done it in the past where you eat the same food but you want to enjoy it. I've not got a strict diet plan, I've got three kids. "I don't think I could eat mince and potatoes every night.
"My husband has lost a lot of weight, he eats the same food. I go to the gym when the kids are at school for 2.5 hours. "It leaves less time for going shopping.
"You have to plan, it is very restrictive. I couldn't go and meet friends for coffee at the moment.
"I'm very unsociable at the moment. We still go out and do things as a family.
"I didn't plan to get this far or expect it. I have had to make sacrifices, I had a job before this so I had some money put by."
A second-hand bikini cost £150, a custom made one cost £375, and Laura was chuffed when she found a woman making bikinis for £120. She also was spending £80 on a 30 minute session with a posing trainer, and had around five sessions.
Laura said: "I feel more comfortable, I feel a lot more confident. I believe in myself more.
"I don't doubt myself so much, I'm working on that and it's improved. My clothes are getting bigger but I live in gym stuff.
"I'm looking forward to the competition being over and living more normally. The kids love it, my son sometimes says 'why don't I eat like you'.
"It's just trying to get them to understand."
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