We were always a very active couple when we lived in Brazil. Despite our busy schedule, we always found time to work, have fun and work out. But we lived in a very violent city and for security reasons we moved to Germany in 2016.

Adapting was not easy for me. I didn't speak German and I had no contact with anyone other than my husband and son, who were out most of the day. I tried to learn German, but without social contact, it was very difficult. As time went by, depression set in without me realizing it. In short, I felt all the depression, anxiety and discontent of living in a country I didn't identify with. I went to work as a volunteer at a school for children and young people with intellectual disabilities and they were my German teachers and the human contact I had in my day.

In an attempt to help me, my husband got a job in Switzerland, and there I went to study nutrition. I started testing my new knowledge on myself and it worked. I got clients and was getting better, but then Corona came and the depression returned. My son didn't adapt to school and we had to go back to Germany. There, even during the Corona crisis, I got a job, but I couldn't control my anxiety. I was so fat that I was in a lot of pain. I could no longer climb stairs, go down a hill or get up without help. Then I received my diagnosis. My orthopedist said that I had very serious osteoarthritis and would have to replace both knees with prostheses. But if I didn't lose at least 20 kg by the next appointment, which would be in 3 months, he wouldn't even see me. That was in April 2023. In October, with this diagnosis, I put into practice everything I had learned as a nutritionist and lost 20 kg. I went from 120 to 100 kg in October 2023. At the appointment, the doctor encouraged me to go back to bodybuilding and build muscle mass in my legs and thus postpone the surgery for a few years.

My husband was my biggest supporter and started dieting to encourage me and also went back to training to recover from a herniated disc crisis. We were on the right track.

Once again because of school, we returned to Switzerland, where I went back to studying nutrition to update myself and taking advantage of all the know-how in bodybuilding training, my husband encouraged me to also take advanced courses in strength training, rehabilitation and personal training. He also went back to studying so he could also work here in Europe as a coach. We both started training and eating healthily and adopting a training routine.

In April 2024. Just 1 year later, he participated in his first bodybuilding championship at the age of 37 and won second place, behind a 17-year-old boy. At 47 years old and currently 30 kg lighter, I was invited to work as a trainer at a gym, since I have become an example of overcoming obstacles. I no longer need surgery, because with more muscles to support my knees, I no longer feel pain and can do almost everything. We currently work with clients who want to lose weight or build muscle mass, bodybuilders and people with mobility problems. In addition to our private clients, I work as a nutritionist and senior trainer at a gym in Schlieren, and my husband works as a trainer and personal trainer at a gym in Rümlang.

From Obese Couple to Fitness Couple

How changing our lifestyle transformed our lives

Alessandra Prado