Big muscles aren't just for boys

The 28-year-old woman has figured fitness out.

She dropped 40 lbs, went from a size 12 to a size four and motivated herself to exercise.

Veronica Villarreal of McAllen competes in women's figure competitions. Unlike body building, judges look for lean muscle rather than mass, evaluating women on athleticism rather than muscle size.

Villarreal has engrossed herself in these contests. She figured it all out.

"I've never been small. I was always overweight," Villarreal said recently, sitting in the lobby at Pump 24 Hour Fitness in McAllen. Her 9-year-old son Marc played in the daycare area behind her. "Then I started training here in July. I was 173 pounds."

She now weighs a healthy 132 lbs., most of which appears to be muscle. She made the transition in three months, training for a figure competition.

Villarreal competed last month for the first time in a McAllen contest sponsored by Gold's Gym. More experienced competitors and trainers helped her prepare.

Heather Baker, 23 of McAllen, has competed in two figure contests. Baker became obsessed with fitness at age 14, reading a magazine article about Pump owner Marina Garza. Baker admired the pictures of Garza, who has an impressive resume of figure competition wins.

"I've always looked through magazines, and said I want to look like that," Baker said.

With the help of boyfriend Alex Garza, Baker began training for figure competitions. In the past three years, she has competed in Austin and Houston. She plans to compete next year at a national competition in Miami.

Baker helped Villarreal form an effective diet.

Sitting with Villarreal recently in the lobby at Pump, Baker outlined a typical diet for a figure competition.

Competitors don't eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. They eat Meals 1 through 6. Here's a quick sample.

Wake up. Eat four egg whites and half a cup of oat meal. In a few hours eat 3 ounces of chicken breast with a small salad. Work out.

Then eat five egg whites with half a cup of brown rice. Wait a while. Drink a protein shake. Wait a while. Eat 4 ounces of tuna with half a sweet potato. Do a cardio work out. Drink another protein shake. Eat five more egg whites.

Even with all that food, the women said they still felt hungry. Blame the workouts. Baker and Villarreal lift weights for about 45 minutes each day. They also spend about 45 minutes running on treadmills or using other cardio equipment.

And that's easy compared with the week preceding the show.

Women use water to fill their muscles, Baker said. For the five days preceding a show, she drinks 2 gallons of water daily. About 48 hours before the show, she drinks 3 gallons. The final 24 hours, she drinks nothing.

All this, and the ladies still have to look fetching.

Women in figure contests must appear tan, smiley and beautiful. They frequent tanning salons. They special order sequined swim suits and they get their hair and nails done.

Why do that? Why invest that energy and time while raising a family like Villarreal or taking college courses like Baker?

Simple. The results.

Villarreal still remembers the moment her husband snapped the after photo of her. She had worked out hard for months, noticing a few small differences. Then her husband took that photo on a digital camera. She looked at it. She looked at the before photo.

"When I saw it, I learned I can do anything if I set my mind to it," she said.

Villarreal knew then, she had figured it out. She vowed she would never again be overweight.