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Published on Sunday, 14 June 2009 01:52

Celia Romero has come a long way since February 2008 when she weighed close to 200 lbs! She decided to take matters in to her own hands and take control of her body. She made a major transformation on her own, documenting her progress on her BodySpace page along the way.  She was so impressive in her journey that she caught the eye of photographer Dan Ray and has already done a photo shoot before ever even competing.

RX: Where do you currently live?

CR: I live in Jacksonville, North Carolina, Camp Lejeune.

RX: Are you in the military?

CR: Yes. Active duty Navy. I am a corpsman.

RX: What does that mean? What do you do?

CR: It's similar to being a medic in the Army. Or it can be compared to a nurse or medical assistant in the civilian world.

RX: How long have you been in the military?

CR: Three years and three months. (But who's counting? Haha) I was supposed to enter right after high school, but then I changed my mind and about a year later, I changed it back again.

RX: So that makes you about 21 years old?

CR: I'll be 22 September 7^th.

RX: I checked you out on your BodySpace page; very impressive. You've come a long way in a fairly short amount of time. When did you first become interested in bodybuilding?

CR: Well, I got tired of being fat! I was close to 200 lbs

Celia at over 190lbs

last year when I decided to make a change. I started with just doing cardio at first and the weight actually came off pretty fast. I became more and more interested in fitness and looked at the girls in magazines and online and decided to try lifting weights. I fell in love with it! I saw my body changing and my muscles starting to "pop" and I couldn't stop.

RX: So you decided to enter a bodybuilding competition?

CR: Well, somebody came up to me in the gym and told me I should do a show and it wasn't even really on the radar. The more I thought about it, I thought, "why not?"  And then I was dead set on doing figure. That was not even 12 weeks out of the show. Since then, I have had several people tell me that I've got a lot of muscle and I should do bodybuilding. I really like the harder, leaner and more muscular look on the women, too. It seems like figure might be moving away from that and going toward a more "girly" standard. I don't like the softer look as much.

RX: How many weeks out were you when you decided to do it?

CR: Between 10 and 11.

RX: Wow - that's quick. What kind of diet are you following to get ready for the show?

CR: The same thing I've been doing. I don't count calories or anything. I'm not making many changes and I don't follow any one person's diet. I do what works for my body. I pay attention to the things I eat and how they affect my body and I stick to the things that make my body look the way I want it to. Basically, my protein is fairly high and I watch my carb and fat intake.

RX: Does anybody help you with your prep or training?

CR: No - I do my own stuff.

RX: Aren't you two weeks out right now?  Which category have you decided on?

CR: Yes. I'm exactly two weeks out from the Gold Classic. Honestly, I still haven't completely decided, however, this show allows you to cross over, so I'm thinking about trying to do both.

RX: Good for you. What class will you be in each?

CR: I think I'll probably come in at around 135 lbs and I'll be in the over 5'4" class for figure. I'm not certain, but I think there are only a couple of weight classes for the female bodybuilders, so wherever I fall in at that weight is where I'll compete.

RX: It's amazing to me how stress free you seem about the whole thing.

CR: I guess because this is my first show I really just want to be the best I can possibly be. I only have to beat me. Of course I want to place, but I'm just trying to do the best I can for the first show.

RX: I think that's an admirable approach. Do you have any particular figure, fitness or bodybuilding females who inspire you or that you model yourself after?

CR: No. I know that sounds weird. People tell me all the time that they wish they had this person's body or that persons looks and I say to them; "Why?!? You can't have their body and you can only work with what you've got. There's no sense in wanting something else that you can't have." I just want to be a better me. I can't be unhappy with that.

RX: Wow! There's a lot to be learned from that wisdom. I imagine we'd all be more positive if we just focused on our own progress.

CR: Yeah. This sport changed my outlook on life. I can see myself doing this forever.

RX: What fitness plans do you have for the future?

CR: I haven't really looked past this upcoming contest yet. So as far as competing, my only plans are the immediate ones. I do, however, want to get my Personal Training Certification and go to school to pursue Nutrition or Health Sciences.

RX: What do you do in your personal time? Any hobbies or interests?

CR: What personal time? Haha. I haven't had much spare time since I started getting ready for this contest. I like to go to the beach and I love spending time with my Chihuahua, Lucky. He's like a having a kid. The rest of my time is spent training and preparing my meals for the week.

RX: It's pretty cool that you were "discovered" by Dan Ray even before you have competed in a show. How was your photo shoot with him?

CR: He was great. He made me feel very comfortable and relaxed and he told me exactly what poses he wanted me to do. As far as the posing goes, it was easier than I thought it would be. But I was wiped out and sore the next day from the photo session! He moves fast! He probably took 500 pictures in 45 minutes. It was tons of fun!

RX: Do you have a website or email where your new fans can reach you?

CR: I can be found at: http://www.myspace.com/celiaromero or http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/celiaromero/

RX: Celia, it's been a pleasure getting to know you. Good luck on June 13^th. Do you have any motivational advice for us?

CR: I always say, Go Big, Heavy and Hard. . . or go home!

CELIA ROMERO PHOTO GALLERY

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