The Voice’s Miss Murphy: How I Lost 40kg

She won her battle against fellow Team Ricky teammate Sione Felila on April 29, but The Voice’s Karen Andrews says it was conquering a lifelong battle with her weight that is her biggest victory so far.

A size 24 when she tipped the scales at 135kg at her heaviest weight three years ago, 31-year-old Andrews is now reveling in her new slimline size 14 figure, which she showcased for an exclusive shoot in the new issue of WHO, saying, “I’m the most body confident I’ve ever been.”

Struggling with fluctuating weight her whole life, which saw the painfully shy musician retreat socially and lose herself in music, “I wanted to lose weight to feel a bit more normal, not to be skinny,” explains Andrews, a music director for her local church in Sydney who sings under the stage name Miss Murphy.

“In my twenties, I gained weight and tried to lose weight with liquid diets and sometimes not eating and I was left mentally and physically exhausted,” she concedes. “I didn’t approach it the right way.”

Having never exercised except ‘to walk to the fridge’ to indulge her love of chocolate, pasta and fast food, Andrews began with small steps: “The first thing I did was start moving, cut out takeaway food and swap soft drinks for water.”

She began with 20 minutes a day on an exercise bike, working her way up to 45 minutes of daily exercise, which now includes jogging, battle ropes and relying on a Nike training app for circuits.

Diet-wise, she applied a strict approach by applying portion control to three main meals, eating breakfast for the first time in years and swapping junk foods for healthy alternatives, such as dinners of poached chicken and vegetables. Discipline and mindfulness has been the key to her success, she says: “It’s been a very slow, painful and tedious process. But I’m so much happier.”

As she gears up for The Voice’s showdown rounds, the soul singer, who surpassed her goal of fitting into a size 16 now that she’s shed 40kg from her 175cm frame, concedes she wouldn’t have auditioned if she hadn’t lost weight: “It’s given me so much confidence and courage to just get out there.”

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'To read all about Miss Murphy’s weight loss journey and to see her gorgeous shoot, pick up the new issue of WHO - On Sale Now.''