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Celebrating her 41st birthday on May 14 put Ada Nicodemou’s willpower to the test like nothing else so far on her eight-week fitness challenge.
Hitting the four week mark, the Home and Away favourite cheerfully admits: “I did allow myself a couple of cheat days. It’s been a really busy time for me, with a lot of friends’ birthdays and two engagements as well. That’s been a little challenging, not being able to drink! I didn’t really take that into account when I set out on this challenge.”
Cheat days aside Ada, a busy single mum to five-year-old son Johnas, believes she is already reaping the benefits of training 4-5 days a week for 45 minutes with fitness and nutrition guru Lia Jones, from Fit Me Jones.
The 155cm star has sacrificed her usual three breakfasts – “I get up early for work. I’m a Greek girl and I love my food, what can I tell you?” – and changed her diet to include more protein and fewer carbs. As a result, her arms, legs and butt are firming up.
But the real challenge for Ada, a petite size 6 to 8, is not about weight loss or body aesthetics. It’s about becoming “a better version of myself,” finding more balance in her life and greater energy.
“I still feel I could work on getting more rest,” she admits. “That’s still a struggle. For me, like so many women, I’m time poor. I’m trying not to do too much, that’s a big thing.
“I tend to say ‘yes’ to everyone and everything, I don’t focus on just one thing – but that’s important when you’re training. Just focus on one thing. When you’re organised, you make better choices.”
Laughing, she admits: “I haven’t actually lost any weight yet and I haven’t measured myself, but I do notice a difference in my body.”
So those “couple of cheat days” – and those glasses of champagne and cake – haven’t tipped the scales? “I did have a piece of cake, but not the whole thing,” laughs Ada, best known for playing Summer Bay’s feisty Leah Patterson-Baker since 2000.
“Having a timeframe (for the challenge) is great, because it makes you accountable. I want to achieve the goal and follow through. I say to Johnas all the time, although he’s only five, it’s really important to follow through, your word means everything.”
Check out Ada’s best core tips in her exclusive how-to video below!
For more on Ada, pick-up a copy of WHO on-sale now!
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