CANADIAN PHYSIQUE ALLIANCE DECEMBER ISSUE | Page 57

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MARYAM BAMDAD
I am an IT professional, foodie for
beer, burger, pizza, cheesecake and
anything else in between that
shouts unhealthy. You name it. This
was how I enjoyed life until I tipped
the scale at 210 pounds a few years
ago.
I had to make some changes.
Having never picked up a dumbbell
in my life I looked for a personal
trainer that could help me shed
some pounds, and that was it. 
I started working with my
current coach, Javier Martinez, in
May 2013. That did change my
life, I lost 80 lbs in 7 months but
more importantly, I began to fall
in love with bodybuilding, mainly
the mental and physical
discipline it took to train 6 days a
week and follow a strict diet to
build a beautiful physique.  The
symmetrical physiques
immortalized by Candice Lewis,
Cydney Gillon and Nicole
Wilkins's of the world. To see how
far I can go, I entered my first
regional competition and
finished 6th. That almost ended
this ride as I was telling myself I
had achieved my goal already.
 Why go through all the pain, the
fatigue of balancing a
demanding career with endless
hours of training, cardio, meal
prep and no life outside of this?