Melissa Ricks lost 35 pounds in 2017, her fitness journey an uphill climb.
The 27-year-old actress openly shared her experience on social media.
In a November 2017 post, she said she “felt terrible” being told she was “bigger” than most people in show biz.
The comments she received after gaining weight from having a baby also affected her. Aside from this, she suffered from postpartum depression.
“I was made to believe that there was something wrong with that, that it made me less of an actress, less of a role model, even less of a person,” the “Star Circle Quest” alum said in her social media post.
“I was told to lose weight or nothing was there for me.”
She said “all kinds of diets” and workouts failed her. “I would drown myself in tears because I felt so disappointed in myself, nothing worked.”
But things started to look up when she “stopped doing it for other people.”
“[I] did it for myself, I took my time, and when I was finally ready, started again.
“It all begins with self-love,” she stressed.
According to the Philippine Entertainment Portal (PEP), she lost 10 pounds in October 2017. By the end of November, her weight loss was up to 35 pounds.
She shared on Instagram on Jan. 2 that she aims to lose 20 pounds this year, and revealed her frustration on gaining 1.4 pounds over the holidays.
“My goal is to look good at any angle,” she said.
On her Instagram stories, she shared her slim figure from years before.
“2018 Happiness peg,” she captioned the pictures.
Image: Instagram/@mellyricks09
Image: Instagram/@mellyricks09
Fitness regime
The actress told PEP that her workouts would last four hours every day. She has since cut back to one hour every other day.
“I’m taking it slower para yung metabolism ko mag-build up,” she explained.
She also went on the Ketogenic diet, a high-fat and low-carb diet. She said that slowly, she is “seeing results…I’m getting there.”
Showbiz comeback
However, she isn’t ready to jump back into show biz just yet.
She told PEP, “More than yung pagpapapayat kasi, yung self-confidence din, kelangan i-improve (More than losing weight, I need to improve my self-confidence).”
She recalls that her “last regular project” was back in 2013.
“2018 hopefully, maabot ko yung quota ko (I hope I can reach the quota) for a brand-new Melissa, and then I’ll go back to show biz,” she told PEP. Niña V. Guno /ra
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