YOU GOT THIS: How Sydney woman transformed her body

A Sydney woman who went on to drastically transform her body has revealed the biggest mistake she made prior to her impressive shred.

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Hannah Saad spent eight years “fumbling” around with diets, “not having a clue” about what she was doing until she finally figured out the reason behind her staggering shred.

The 31-year-old from Sydney said the biggest mistake she made was having the mindset of wanting to “look good”.

“Honestly, I think that’s why I didn’t succeed at first. I didn’t have a strong enough goal,” Hannah said about her lifestyle change.

“But then in 2016 I began deeply working on my mindset and personal development, and I connected strongly with my deeper motivation.”

Hannah, who is now a fitness trainer, said she wanted to be strong and healthy, as well as to look good.

Hannah Saad, 31, from Sydney, said she needed to change her mindset and goal from wanting to ‘look good’ to wanting to be ‘healthy and strong’. Picture: Supplied

“I wanted to be an example for my sister, niece and my future children. I wanted to show them that they can achieve anything they set their mind to, and in order to do that I first had to achieve my own goals,” she told news.com.au.

Hannah said that while she ate healthily, her portions were out of whack.

“A lot of the things I was eating are marketed as ‘healthy’ — but I was eating too much of them and I didn’t understand what I was doing wrong.”

“I would also have ‘cheat days’ because I felt so restricted during the week sticking to ‘healthy’ foods. On the weekends I would sometimes behave like a human dustbin, ‘treating’ myself to a lot of junk food and chocolate.”

She embarked on a mental and physical transformation in 2016. Picture: Instagram/thehannahsaad

Hannah said it was never about the number on the scales, but more about how she felt.

“It’s frustrating to be so unhappy with your body and so self conscious, and to have no idea how to change it. I felt like I’d tried everything.”

It wasn’t until she signed up to her local gym, hired a coach and learned about tracking calories that things began to look up for Hannah.

While the 31-year-old, who is originally form the UK, went on to compete in her first bikini competition, the WBFF in LA, she said she still had a lot to learn.

She then hired Alicia Gowans of Allys Angels and Alphas, who she met at the competition, to be her trainer.

Hannah said it was never about the number on the scales, but more about how she felt. Picture: Instagram/thehannahsaad

Alicia is an Aussie sports nutritionist and three-time WBFF champion.

“In the past I’d had coaches, but Alicia was different. She really taught me about training, nutrition and mindset,” Hannah explained.

Five weeks after working with Alicia, Hannah jumped back on stage competing in the same competition, this time in the Gold Coast, where she placed 10th.

In July 2019, she switched form the bikini category to the fitness category, again placing 10th.

She decided to challenge her body and went onto compete in three WBFF competitions. Picture: Hannah Saad

Hannah mainly trains weights and now lives by an 80/20 rule — 80 per cent ‘whole food’ and 20 per cent ‘soul food’. Picture: Instagram/thehannahsaad

“It has been a huge learning curve, but one of the biggest lessons has been that consistency over time is what matters the most,” Hannah said.

“At first my focus was to lose fat, so I would train five times a week and do cardio one or two times per week, and lots of walking.”

However, over the past four years, Hannah said her goals have changed.

“Now I go through phases, so I will spend six months building muscle, where I train four times per week and focus a lot on rest and recovery, and then I will go through a fat loss phase where I will train more frequently (five days a week, weights and one day of cardio).”

“But most important is my nutrition. One thing I learnt the hard way was that no amount of training will work if you don’t get your food right.

Hannah said she feels stronger, happy and healthier than ever. Picture: Instagram/thehannahsaad

“I think the biggest thing is portion control — you can enjoy all foods in moderation. The problems come when you’re too restrictive and cut out foods, and that’s when the binge/restrict cycle takes over. That was something I struggled with a lot in the past.”

Hannah said since making her lifestyle change, she has never felt more proud of her body.

“I do love the way my body looks, but I’m also proud because I’m strong and fit and healthy.”

Hannah is now preparing for her next onstage competition in the Gold Coast, which is 10 weeks away.

“I always preach ‘you can do anything you set your mind to’ so I felt I had to follow though myself.”

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