Congrats to the 1st-ever Miss FitGems FitMom, Niki Delgrosso!!!

Thank you to everyone who entered the 1st ever FitGems FitMom contest! There were over 600 votes, and Niki Delgrosso overwhelmingly was the winner of the contest with 273 votes. As a result, Niki will receive $100 USD through me via PayPal. Catherne Kronemer was the only mother closest to Niki with 161. Liza Hughes came in thrid with 43 votes. To view the entire poll results, click here.

Here's Niki's entry:

Hi,

My name is Niki DelGrosso, and I am the mother of 7-month old triplets. For years I said I would never have children. My life has been completely devoted to nutrition and fitness, and I completed my masters degree in Nutrition followed by certification as a personal trainer. Then it happened, I met the man of my dreams, and wanted to have children at the age of 30. My husband wanted 2 boys and a girl, and that is what we got! LUCKY!!

I was told that I was a high risk pregnancy due to multiples, and that I would not be able to work or work out for the entire pregnancy, that I would need to gain 80 pounds, and that I would be on bedrest at 20 weeks. I was also told I would be covered in stretch marks, would possibly need cosmetic surgery to repair the damage to my body, and that I certainly would never compete. I was determined to prove everyone wrong.

I decided I was going to make sure that EVERY calorie that went into my body was something those babies needed, and I continued to work and work out until the day I delivered. I gained only 55 pounds, worked every day, and even did my back workout the day I delivered three healthy babies!

Six months after the babies were born, I was on stage for my first competition, followed by another three weeks later where I took first overall, and ANOTHER two weeks after that! I feel that being a fit mom means being strong and healthy so that my children can look up to me as a role model as well as a mother. I believe that feeding them the best from the very beginning while pregnant, and breastfeeding them as long as possible (I continue to now at seven months), contributes to their future health and well-being. I want them to grow up confident and knowing how to eat healthy without deprivation, and be able to look back at the photos of that first show they attended, at six months old, when their mother competed in her first show and brought them with to watch something everyone told her she was not going to be able to do. I want them to know that they can achieve anything they set their minds and bodies to.

Niki will receive $100 dollars via PayPal from me to use at her discretion sometime this week.

Thank you to everyone that was a part of this special contest! If you have any suggestions for next year's contest, let me know through email or below on the comments.