Terry Smith this month realised a long-held dream to take part in a bodybuilding competition, thanks to earlier participation in a gruelling weight loss challenge that saw him lose more than 60lbs.Mr Smith, owner of Clara Bows Boutique on Court Street, and organiser of the Miss Teen Bermuda Pageant, took part in last week’s Bermuda Bodybuilding Federation Night of Champions.He came third out of three contestants but was still extremely proud of his participation.“I enjoyed preparing for the bodybuilding competition,” said Mr Smith. “Lamone Woods was my trainer. He was one of the owners of Bermuda Sports Network and is quite a health enthusiast. I knew him through the Miss Teen Bermuda Pageant. He did some filming for us.”Mr Smith lost 64lbs in the 100-Day Challenge, and has since lost another eight pounds through his continued training.“When I did the 100-Day Challenge I had to cease all weight training because it was slowing down my weight loss,” said Mr Smith. “Therefore, I pretty much started the bodybuilding training raw, but we did really well.”To train for Night of Champions Mr Smith spent three months weightlifting, doing dead lifts, squats, bench presses, chest exercises, back exercises, and leg presses. He doubled his strength.“I am now able to do chin-ups, which is quite a feat for me,” he said. “My weight is now 191lbs and that is starting to reconstruct into muscle mass. But that is less than I weighed when I left the 100-Day Challenge when I weighed 198lbs. It was always my goal to do the weightlifting. That is why I got into the 100-Day Challenge, because I figured that would get all the excess weight off. Then it would be easier to start building my body into muscle.”He tried bodybuilding 12 years ago, but not with any serious intent. Now that he is about to turn 50 in November, he wanted to do it again with more serious determination.“I didn’t start off wanting to be an inspiration to a lot of people, but it has ended up that way,” said Mr Smith. “On my Facebook page I get so many words of encouragement. People have been really supportive and very touched by my last two tasks.”Still, Mr Smith was surprised by the photo of the competitors taken after the competition.“It really stopped me,” he said. “I actually looked like I belonged there with the other bodybuilders. When I started, I thought I would look out of place.”He was helped by a number of people including fitness trainer Dawn Berry at the Sandys 360 gym who helped him work on his abs. He was also assisted by body builder Lisa Weeks. She taught him the poses he needed and helped him develop a routine for the competition.“Some days I was doing three trainings in one day,” said Mr Smith. “It was really hectic and crazy. To top it off I had the Miss Teen Bermuda Pageant that same weekend as the competition. I got to the point in the last week where I was just counting the days, just to get through it. I had to literally start taking one day at a time, to avoid getting confused or overwhelmed with all the things I was supposed to be doing at one time.”The hardest thing for him was the highly restrictive diet he started in February.“I was really getting tired of eating the same thing over and over again,” he said. “I was eating boiled eggs, protein drinks, chicken breast and grilled fish. For the last week I ate nothing but leafy green vegetables, and then the last couple of days I ate no vegetables, just protein and hot Quaker Oats. I am looking forward to eating some tasty food.”Mr Smith was planning a night out that involved chocolate cake and anything else yummy he saw on a restaurant menu.“For the last couple of days I have had apple juice,” he said. “That is a luxury to me. It is so sweet and has so much sugar in it. I have been drinking nothing but water since the 100-day challenge; you become accustomed to that.”Mr Smith hopes to continue training to take part in the competition again next year. He thought possibly the year after that he might have reached a truly competitive level of bodybuilding.