Mom shows off her amazing bodybuilder transformation after birth

California mother, 36, who struggled to recognize herself in the mirror post-birth shows off her INCREDIBLE ‘life-changing’ transformation after losing 35lbs and becoming a BODYBUILDER

• Aurora Cristiano, 36, started her weight loss journey in July 2021
• She went from 167 pounds to 132 pounds in nine months by counting macros
• The consultant competed in her first bodybuilding competition in April 2022  

A California mother has detailed how she lost 35 pounds in nine months and completely transformed her figure after signing up for a bodybuilding competition.

Aurora Cristiano, 36, from Newport Beach, is known as @bicepblonde on TikTok and Instagram, where she shares her diet and exercise tips for sustainable weight loss with her combined 45,000 followers. 

The supply chain consultant credits her success to counting macronutrients, or macros for short, which helped her go from 167 pounds to 132 pounds in less than a year. 

‘It was not just a weight loss transformation. The entire process changed my mindset… It really changed my life,’ she told DailyMail.com.  

Aurora Cristiano, 36, from Newport Beach, California, went from 167 pounds (L) to 132 pounds (R) and completely transformed her body in nine months 

The mother of one told DailyMail.com her weight loss journey changed her mindset and her life

Cristiano put on weight after the birth of her son in 2018. When she first started working out in May 2021 (L), she was inconsistent and only lost two pounds in six weeks (R)

Cristiano explained that her weight started to creep up after the birth of her son in 2018. Like most new parents, she felt like she was in ‘survival mode.’ 

In her early years of motherhood, she gave herself grace and reminded herself that ‘having a child is a beautiful process,’ but she started to miss the woman she used to be. 

She would minimize her feelings by telling herself she didn’t care what she looked like anymore. Over time, she didn’t even want to have her picture taken.   

‘It really just got to a point where you look in the mirror, and you realize like, wait, the woman looking at me is not the woman that I see in my head,’ she said. 

As a working mom, she wasn’t able to fully commit to her workouts and meal-prepping until her son started school three years after his birth. 

When she embarked on her weight loss journey in July 2021, she signed up for a bodybuilding competition to keep herself motivated and consistent. 

Cristiano started lifting five days a week without making any changes to her diet. After three months, she noticed her body had changed, but she had only lost six pounds. 

‘I’d wake up, have a cappuccino. I’d go to the gym on no food. I’d come home and be like, “I’m gonna eat a salad. I’m so healthy now,”‘ she explained. ‘Then by the end of the day, I would be starving because I wasn’t feeding my body properly. I would binge on things.’

Cristiano began lifting five days a week without making any changes to her diet in July 2021 (L). After three months, she noticed her body had changed, but she had only lost six pounds (R)

The supply chain consultant (pictured with her coach Tamara Haddad in October 2022) credits her eventual success to counting macronutrients

Cristiano had signed up for a bodybuilding competition to keep herself motivated, and she lost a total of 35 pounds before she started training for the contest 

Cristiano used an app to track her macros and a food scale to make sure she was eating the right portion sizes. Instead of three meals a day, she had six smaller ones

The mom noted that she did not follow a low-carb diet, but she did limit herself to 20 to 30 grams of carbs per meal. She is pictured in November 2021 (L) and November 2022 (R)

She had struggled with bulimia when she was in her 20s, and she made a promise to herself that she would lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way and would not relapse.  

Her nutrition coach, Tamara Haddad, introduced her to counting macros (protein, carbohydrates, and fats), which she admittedly knew nothing about at the time.   

‘My initial macros were 200 grams of carbs, 120 grams of protein, and 50 grams of fat, which was just over 1700 calories,’ she said of her daily nutrition goals.  

Cristiano used an app to track her macros and a food scale to make sure she was eating the right portion sizes. Instead of three meals a day, she had six smaller ones. 

She noted that she did not follow a low-carb diet, but she did limit herself to 20 to 30 grams of carbs per meal to avoid insulin spikes. 

The working mom typically starts her mornings with half a cup to a cup of egg whites with spinach and a packet of oatmeal from Trader Joe’s. 

The rest of her meals consist of four ounces of protein, half a cup of rice or potatoes, and vegetables. 

She also has a protein shake after she works out, and a few snacks throughout the day such as caramel rice cake with a tablespoon of peanut butter. 

Cristiano is known as @bicepblonde on TikTok, where she shares her diet and exercise tips for sustainable weight loss with her nearly 40,000 followers 

Cristiano competed in a total of four bodybuilding competitions in 2022 after first taking the stage in a bikini that April 

‘If you can only do one thing tomorrow, I would tell someone to start changing their nutrition and their food intake,’ she told DailyMail.com 

Cristiano is not an expert in fitness or nutrition, but she feels her content is resonating with others because she explaining what worked for her in simple terms 

Cristiano is also offering her transformation program on her website Bicep Blonde

Cristiano, who shares the nutritional breakdown of her meals on social media, said her initial  macros were 200 grams of carbs, 120 grams of protein, and 50 grams of fat

The working mom insisted that change is possible as long as you are consistent 

Nothing is off limits, as long as she is eating the right portion size.

Cristiano noticed that as soon as she changed her diet, the weight started to fall off, and she lost a total of 35 pounds. 

‘Diet is the first place you should start when you talk about weight loss, in my opinion,’ she said. ‘If you can only do one thing tomorrow, I would tell someone to start changing their nutrition and their food intake.’

Not only did Cristiano meet her goals, but she had a six-pack by the time she took the stage in a bikini for her first bodybuilding competition in April 2022.  

‘After having a baby and never having a six-pack in your life. I just felt very proud of my abs,’ she recalled. She went on to compete in three more shows that year. 

Educating others about fitness and nutrition has become a rewarding passion for Cristiano, who shares her transformation program on her website Bicep Blonde.

‘I do not have a technical background [in fitness and nutrition], and I do not claim to be an expert,’ she said. ‘However, I have been successful by doing, and I think the reason why it’s catching on is because I’m explaining it in a simple way through my experience.’

She noted that she would never want new moms to feel pressure to lose weight, but she does want women like herself to know they have options if they don’t like what they see in the mirror. 

Cristiano believes consistency is key, and she has found that is ‘applicable to any area of life.’

‘If we’re not happy with our career, if we’re not happy with our relationship, if we’re not happy, in our own skin, we have the ability to take action,’ she said. ‘As long as we are consistent, we can change.’

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