How Rachel Dillon’s fitness struggle and success helped create Bodies by Rachel
Aussie fitness guru Rachel Dillon has revealed what her body looked like on a 1200 calorie diet – compared to the diet plan that changed her life.
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If you were to scroll through Rachel Dillon’s search history a few years ago, all you would find is “Victoria’s Secret diet”.
The Australian entrepreneur, who is behind the transformation brand Bodies by Rachel, was addicted to wanting to look a certain way.
She always had a passion for fitness but it was her lack of knowledge on nutrition that led her down an unhealthy path.
Rachel was a cardio fanatic who restricted herself from certain foods and while she believes the phrase “move more, eat less” is somewhat correct, she emphasised that “there’s a lot more depth to it”.
When the bikini model developed a better understanding of macros and calories, it helped her create the foundation of her hugely successful fitness app, Bodies by Rachel, as well as a cult Instagram following of nearly 1 million.
“I remember in one week I was aiming to eat just 1200 calories with no protein,” Rachel told news.com.au
“I would have three little rice paper roles, a coke zero and I would just choose certain foods and eat as little as possible, but come weekend I was binge eating and going crazy.”
The 26-year-old would then feel an extreme level of guilt. Average calorie estimates range from 1,600 to 2,400 calories per day for adult women.
“I would then do endless amounts of cardio,” she said.
“I was so down on myself all the time. I really just had no idea why I wasn’t changing or looking a certain way.”
Rachel then took part in her first bikini fitness modelling competition in 2015 and that’s when she learned that you don’t have to abandon certain foods.
Through the knowledge of her own fitness coaches and by doing research and online courses, Rachel ditched her obsessive cardio sessions and moved into weights training, combined with an increase in protein consumption.
At first, Rachel said she was hesitant to pick up weights for fear she would get “bulky”, but she “watched my body transform and I fell in love with it,” she told news.com.au.
“It’s crazy how much weight can transform your physique — just by building your legs and glutes can give you so much shape.”
Rachel went on to win three world WBF Bikini World Championship titles.
Her popular six-week Bodies By Rachel program was born off the back of her fitness modelling success when she was just 18 years old.
She launched the program when she was studying a business marketing management degree at university while also working three jobs — as a personal trainer, with her dad at his law firm, and as a gym receptionist.
What started out as bootcamps in the park with about 50 clients, then turned into an online program boasting a membership of thousands of women worldwide.
“It was crazy. As much as there were things like ‘body attack’ back then, there wasn’t that much female-only stuff available especially with weights training.”
She was also one of very few personal trainers who were showing transformation photos of her clients which she says was part of online success.
Rachel’s fitness app also includes nutritional guidelines on food choices.
“There’s a lot of people who don’t understand how important protein is — so it’s about educating people on food,” she told news.com.au
She said what makes her program such a success is refusing to neglect clients once they sign up.
“I want to make sure my clients are getting the best results as possible — that’s why I love doing this because I know the feeling of being lost, overwhelmed and having no idea about what to do. It’s a sad feeling.”
But she also knows the feeling of achieving goals.
RACHEL’S DAY ON A PLATE
If Rachel is competing or taking part in any fitness challenges, she will peak at about 2150 calories.
“I spent years tracking my calories but now I am at a stage where I have enough knowledge to know what and how much to put in my body — I say to a lot of my clients, don’t expect to track forever, but do it to understand what you are consuming,” she said.
“It can play a big role in understanding why you’re not losing weight or gaining muscle — that’s why I am such a big advocate of learning the nutritional value of foods.”
The fitness guru intermittent fasts which means she consumes foods during an eight-hour window — for her it’s 10am to 7pm — and she avoids eating for the remaining 16 hours a day.
“I prefer to have bigger meals rather than small meals,” she said, adding she will have about four large meals a day.
Breakfast includes protein oats with almond butter and frozen berries. For lunch it’s a tuna and rice salad. A snack will be Chobani Fit yoghurt and Natures Ville bar for extra carbs and when it comes to dinner she will have salmon or lean turkey mince with sweet potato, rice and vegetables.
She will end her day with a peppermint tea.
RACHEL’S TRAINING REGIME
Rachel had an ongoing battled with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It was also the lack of muscle definition and structure that prompted her in wanting to reinvent her body.
Today she spends three days focusing on lower body workouts (glutes, hamstrings, quads), two days on upper body, followed by just one session a week on cardio (walking/ sprints).
Each of her session vary between 45 minutes to one hour.
Through her personal transformation came a more noticeable and defined booty — something many of her followers have noticed.
“Back then I was training a lot of everything. I didn’t have much structure so I changed a lot of my workouts to incorporate a lot more glute days from hip thrusts, lunges where I aim for a longer stride, to sumo dead lifts and squats,” she said.
“I always get asked about it — every girl wants a bigger and perky behind. For me, obviously genetics plays a role and where we store fat, but I am lucky enough that if I do put on body fat, gain it in my glutes, but I also gain it in my legs.”
Off the back of her impressive “booty gains”, Rachel also went on to release personalised resistant bands, as well as a bunch of other fitness merchandise.
If there is one thing she is big on, it’s accountability, explaining the best way to maintain consistency and work towards your goal is to have a specific plan to follow.
Just one look through her Instagram feed you will also notice she is big on before and after photos.
“Photos don’t lie — they always allow us to see the slightest changes which will keep us accountable and build momentum,” she explained.
“Tracking your workout and nutrition are major keys to making progress.”
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