For one Wagga woman, the challenge of becoming healthy was all about becoming the best version of herself.
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And, that meant, not focusing on what the scales showed.
Chelsea Sutton was diagnosed with irritable bowl syndrome when she was 20 years old. She tried multiple fad diets to try and get healthy, but none of them worked.
"I got diagnosed and at first I ignored it," Ms Sutton said.
"I was just not happy, my mental health was suffering. I was not happy with how I looked or felt."
Then just before the pandemic hit, Ms Sutton decided that she wanted to learn about the types of foods she should be eating and how much.
"I decided to get a coach online as I had gone back to the gym and discovered I really liked it," she said.
"So I wanted to get educated about calories and what you really needed to do to be healthy."
After meeting her coach, Ms Sutton was introduced to the competition world.
"It was never something I thought I would do," she said.
"But once I started going to the gym and seeing how it and having a structure helped my mental health, I decided I was going to have a goal to compete in Wagga."
For Ms Sutton, just getting onto the stage was an achievement. But, she went onto win three first places and two seconds in various categories.
"It was crazy," she said.
"It was a win for me to go up there and do it for myself, and then when they said my name, I started crying it was such a shock."
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Ms Sutton started sharing her journey to better health online, but there is one message that she is firm on.
The numbers are not what matters.
"I think mental health is really important and people become too focused on the numbers," Ms Sutton said.
"I was like that at the start but I had to get out of that mindset because it is unhealthy. Then if you want to build muscle, you also have to get used to putting on the weight to do so.
"I want to focus on what you achieve but not the numbers. I couldn't even tell you what I was when I went on stage, it was more about how I felt."
Ms Sutton said to anyone who finds the concept of changing their lifestyle scary to remember one thing.
It's OK if you have tried before and failed - she has too.
"You know that it is going to make your life so much better, but it does freak you out," Ms Sutton said.
"The hardest was probably that first month, until I started to see those changes and feel a difference.
"Just stick to it and believing in yourself. If you fail, that's OK. Try again."
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