Mum muscles in on bodybuilding fame

A MOTHER-of-three who once weighed only five stone is in the running to have the most muscular female frame in the UK.

Jo Brown, 39, recently scooped the "Miss Scotland trained figure" award at a contest in Glenrothes, signifying a massive turnaround from ten years ago when she almost died from E.coli.

Now the Livingston bodybuilder has set her sights on the UK prize. She is now on a strict diet involving turkey, spinach and broccoli as she prepares for the event in Southport on May 28.

It comes after she contracted the potentially fatal disease and was admitted to an isolation ward, her bodyweight dropping to that of a child's.

She began bodybuilding as a way of putting on weight after the E.Coli scare, prompted by a suspect piece of meat. The Morrisons supermarket worker said: "It is more of a challenge to get into this shape when you're my age and have had three children.

"Maybe it makes you work harder, I don't know. I never expect to win any of the contests I enter, that was the case with the Scottish championships in Glenrothes, and it'll be the case when I go for the UK ones.

"But my age won't stop me getting up there to compete, and if I do win, it will mean I can go for the universe prize. I think I've done considerably well given my age."

Mrs Brown is so strict on herself she only allows herself one hour a week of slight excess, in a bid to "reboot the metabolism".

Once a contest is complete, she goes out for a meal with friends and family and indulges in a rare alcoholic drink.

"In the four weeks before a competition the hour-a-week luxury goes out the window and the diet gets even stricter," she said.

"It is difficult, you're surrounded by temptation all the time, and there's nothing I like more than going out for a meal and few drinks. I also love chocolate, so it can be very tough.

"But I know how important diet is. When I started doing this I was working really hard but not seeing a change. But when I changed my diet I would look in the mirror and every time I'd see a new muscle, wondering where it had come from."

Despite her excellent record, she knows the competition at the National Amateur Bodybuilding Association (NABBA) British Finals will be considerably stiffer than the Scottish equivalent. Mrs Brown said: "It's a far bigger pool of women to compete with."