A personal trainer has opened up about how she prepared to take part in a hit US reality television series.
Sydney-based Alexa Towersey, 42, was a contestant on the 2024 season of the Discovery Channel’s US series Naked and Afraid, where she had to survive for 21 days naked in the Colombian jungle.
In a lengthy Instagram post shared on Thursday, the fitness influencer shared a video having her first shower after completing the gruelling challenge and revealed she’d lost 10kg in the time she was in the jungle.Â
She went on to explain the steps she took in order to survive the full 21 days.Â
‘I’ve been asked a lot since then about how I prepared for this challenge, and honestly for the most part, I really just prepared to be unprepared,’ she wrote.
‘The one promise I made to myself was that I would not quit unless it was absolutely necessary. Worst case scenario, I would just curl up in the dirt and suffer for the duration. S**t TV but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do.’
Alexa added the ‘one thing’ she did that was a ‘game changer’ for her was gaining weight in the lead up to the challenge so that she could have enough stamina in the wilderness.
‘My biggest concern going out there (aside from being eaten by a rogue croc or wandering puma) was that I wouldn’t have the reserves of body fat to allow me to deal with starvation or cold for that amount of time,’ she added.
‘So I committed to gaining weight, and in the 4 week lead up, put on close to 8 kgs.’
Alexa admitted the weight-gaining process was uncomfortable due to the fact that she’d built her fitness empire by looking a certain way.
‘I’m not going to lie and say that this was a comfortable process for me. It wasn’t,’ she said.
‘As superficial as it sounds, I’m very aware that I’ve built a brand, a business and a following off having a certain physique. And of course you want to feel like you look f*cking awesome for a naked TV debut.
‘My brain and my body went to war, but in the end, I worked through all my body image issues and came to the conclusion that I was absolutely not prepared to have to tap out because I was too scared to put on weight.’
‘And that’s what I think THE BEST PART of this entire process was. It allowed me to shift the emphasis away from what my body looked like to instead focus on what it could do. And that was F*CKING LIBERATING.
‘So let’s take a moment to appreciate these resilient little meat suits we live in. These strong bodies that give us the opportunity to do the craziest sh*t, chase the grandest of adventures and live out the life of our wildest dreams.Â
‘At the end of the day, what your body looks like is the least interesting thing about you.’
Alexa was paired with fellow survivalist Milo Miller to survive three weeks in the wild, and jaw-dropping footage showed the tough physical transformation she underwent during the show.
In 2021, Alexa told Daily Mail Australia that she struggled with a crippling alcohol addiction between the ages of 15 and 27 – and revealed why quitting booze after Easter will leave people feeling much happier and healthier.
Alexa has been sober for the past 15 years since turning her life around after losing her father to alcohol addiction.Â
Now, she works as a personal trainer and lifestyle coach, practising what she preaches when it comes to the benefits of a booze-free life.
Alexa suggests the week following big events like Christmas and Easter is a great time to consider ditching alcohol.
‘Finding the “right” time to quit your drug of choice may seem like an impossible decision,’ the stunner told Daily Mail Australia.
‘But Easter is one of the best times to begin your journey, given that the onset of spring stands for renewal, rebirth and growth.’
Alexa said the best way to start if you feel you can’t go completely cold turkey is to develop a more ‘mindful relationship’ with alcohol.
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