I’m a mum and quit my job to become a bodybuilder – I’ve spent £650 on bikinis and work out three hours a day

A MUM has told how she quit her job to become a full-time bodybuilder – and devotes three hours a day to working out in the gym.

Mum-of-three Laura Beesley, 32, did barely any exercise from 2012 to 2018 after leaving the military.

But she got into the gym with the encouragement of husband Mike, 33, who works as a firefighter, and found it helped her mentally.

Laura has already bagged second place in the athletic figure category at a Manchester event, and came second in the British finals in Telford.

The next competition she has is the PCA World Championships held on November 20 at Birmingham Town Hall.

And Laura – mum to Logan, 13, Lewis, aged nine, and Nathan, seven – has put her job as a personal trainer on hold while she pursues competitive bodybuilding in her hometown of Stirling.

She works out for around three hours a day and has spent £400 on coaching sessions with a posing trainer.

She has also splashed out nearly £650 on bikinis for competitions.

Laura said: “I feel more comfortable, I feel a lot more confident.

“I believe in myself more.

“I don’t doubt myself so much, I’m working on that and it’s improved.

“My clothes are getting bigger but I live in gym stuff.”

She added: “At the moment it’s prep, prep, prep and I’m going to the gym two or three hours a day.

“I had to give up my job as a PT to focus on bodybuilding.

“I didn’t think I’d get this far.

“I just started this year and I’ve been on prep since May.

“When I did my first show it was just for a challenge, getting that far against ladies who have been doing it longer was amazing.

“I’ve been training for about four years consistently.”

Laura has lost 10kg since she began training weighing 56kg, and has slimmed down to 46kg by introducing a significant calorie deficit.

When she was bulking for her most recent competition, the mum was demolishing 3,500 calories per day.

She eats meals including porridge, baked potatoes and chicken curry.

Her goal was to have abs, after years of being out of shape but she refused to be too restrictive.

She said: “I’ve not got a strict diet plan, I’ve got three kids.

“I don’t think I could eat mince and potatoes every night.

“I’m looking forward to the competition being over and living more normally.”