Half Their Size's Eve Guzman: 'I Still Have Excess Skin, and Things Still Jiggle'

Eve Guzman was featured in PEOPLE’s 2015 Half Their Size Issue after going from 277 lbs. to 138 lbs. by dramatically decreasing her portion sizes and sticking to a high protein, low-fat, moderate carb diet. Since her weight loss, the genetic toxicology research assistant and mom of two, 33, has coached people all over the country on how to lose weight, helping them drop a combined 2,950 lbs. In the next phase of her journey, Guzman is preparing to compete in a figure competition, and will be sharing her preparation in an exclusive PEOPLE blog. You can also follow her on Instagram.

I’m officially eight weeks out and the pressure is on. The mental battle of this prep has been unreal. I knew it was going to be hard, but it’s a lot harder than I prepared for it to be. I will spend the last weeks before my stage debut fine-tuning my diet and working even harder in the gym.

My current week’s workouts look like this:

Monday: Back, hamstrings and abs

Tuesday: HIIT and abs

Wednesday: Chest and shoulders

Thursday: Legs, glutes, hamstrings and abs

Friday: HIIT and abs

Saturday: Biceps and triceps

Sunday: Rest

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I am working on defining and hardening my upper body while blasting fat off my lower body to reveal the muscle underneath. I am inching closer to 10 percent body fat.

I work out six days a week, and have added high-intensity interval training (HIIT) sessions to my regimen. My favorite workout moves are Romanian dead lifts, sumo deadlifts, squats, weighted donkey kicks, shoulder presses and lat pull downs. For my HIIT routines I enjoy doing the StairMaster and sprinting on the treadmill.

My new levels of strength and endurance have surprised me. I can truly admit that I have become an athlete – a crown I am proud to wear.

Last summer was the first summer I had ever worn a bikini as an adult. The last bikini I wore before that was orange with white polka dots, and I was 5 years old. I worked hard, held my head up high and wore three bikinis last year. I will have to do the same soon, but I will be wearing a figure competition suit that is designed to show all the progress I have made.

Losing half your body weight does not mean you become perfect under your clothes. People don’t know that I have stretch marks, cellulite on my butt and thighs, and a scar from the abdominoplasty I had last year to remove 2 lbs. of excess skin from the extreme weight loss. I used to be able hold the excess skin on my stomach in my hands.

RELATED: Half Their Size’s Eve Guzman: Training for My Figure Competition Has Been Like Starting Fresh

I can see my abs peaking through, something I never thought was a possibility for me. There used to be a time where I just hoped to be able to see my feet.

I still have excess skin on my thighs, and things still jiggle. That’s what happens when you go from a size 24 to size 4. I have now lost 147 lbs. off of my 5’1″ frame. Flaws and all I will be strutting my stuff across the stage.

—Eve Guzman