WHEN Victoria Craig isn’t busy with her job working in technical sales, she glamorously struts her perfect bikini body on stage as a Miss Galaxy Universe contestant.

But the 31 year old wasn’t always so body confident. Victoria, who is 5ft3ins, once weighed 10st 9. These days, she weighs just 8st 2.

Her body is now perfectly honed and toned - so much so that she came sixth in the Bikini Diva category at the contest, held in Crawley on June 1.

She said: "I was really happy with that. There were a lot of girls - 26 in the diva category and 100 in total in the show."

Victoria, from Great Missenden, started training for the contest after she was hit by a number of personal issues and injury including a prolapsed disc. One of her closest friends has also been her coach for the past six months preparing her for competition. Victoria said she loved being on stage, she now has the bug for competing and has entered the next Miss Galaxy Universe on October 26 and WBFF (World Beauty Fashion and Fitness) on November 9 at the O2 arena.

She said: "I had a difficult year last year and had totally lost my confidence. I was unrecognisable to my normal chatty and social self. Training for competition and making it to stage has really brought my confidence back. I am now more focussed than ever and know what I want out of life."

The technical sales account manager, who works for J&J Pneumatics in Sands High Wycombe, says the regime can be tough, working full time while preparing for a competition, training can be up to three hours a day in the last eight to ten weeks but it can be achieved if you get into the right mindset. She believes once you gain control of your mind you can control your body. She has a strict ‘clean’ diet, eating little and often, which includes protein, good carbohydrates and plenty of vegetables. Victoria’s competition diet is sugar free, wheat free, diary, gluten and alcohol free. She added when asked about overcoming cravings "I don’t get them anymore, once you cut something out of your diet for a period of time you don’t miss it, your body adapts and gets used to not having it. I do have a number of treats and recipes that are clean and sugar free to kick a sweet craven if needed though." Once you start to see the changes in your body you will not want to eat bad food. Eating clean I have found I not only love my body but I feel healthy and strong, my hair and nails are growing and my skin is good"

"If you stick to a clean and healthy eating plan you should start to see changes in your body in the first couple of weeks."

Victoria trains up to six days a week using a mix of strength training, cardio, yoga and Pilates. To support her performance and recovery "I’m a bit addicted now", she laughs. I have definitely got the bug for competing. I love seeing where I can take my body and mind. I set myself a number of goals last year including stepping on stage and being signed as a fitness model. I have ticked both boxes now having taken part in Miss Galaxy and as I have recently been signed to NGM models. My next goals include becoming a sponsored athlete and placing higher in my competition. Twenty weeks and counting"

Victoria will be writing a monthly blog for us on the Buck Free Press website, including how her competition preparation is coming on, training, diet, nutrition and supplementation tips.

Victoria also works as a personal trainer, coach and fitness instructor. Contact victoriacraig757@gmail.com.

See www.missgalaxyuniverse.com

Victoria Craig has given us her top tips to get the ultimate bikini body:

Set yourself achievable short and long term goals and keep track of your progress. If you have spent years leading an unhealthy lifestyle and gaining weight it will not come off over night, be realistic with your goals. Remember that each work out you do you will get closer to your goal so it is essential that you stick to your plan.

Follow a structured training programme including a mix of cardio and weight training. Use cardio for fat loss and resistance/ weight training to tone and shape the body. Yoga is great for flexibility and Pilates to strengthen your core.

Train smarter not harder - take up the intensity of your exercise, include intervals, circuits, reduce rest periods. Achieve more in a shorter time.

Schedule in rest days and ensure you are getting plenty of sleep. This will give your muscles time to recover.

Eat 5-6 small meals a day including: Good sources of protein, carbohydrates and fats… to list a few - lean meats and fish, brown rice, vegetables, avocado, nuts, olive oil. Avoid processed foods, sugar, alcohol, fizzy drinks and anything fried (substitute regular cooking oil for coconut oil). Good hydration is essential so try to drink three-plus litres of water a day.

Allow yourself a weekly cheat meal.

Look after your skin and banish cellulite by moisturising and body brushing daily, keeping your diet clean and drinking plenty of water.