Berta Souza, the contestant who represents the Brazilian state of Pará in this year's Miss Bumbum competition, revealed how she lost 24 pounds to prepare for the pageant.

According to Globo, the model, who works as a secretary and has a degree in Journalism and in Human Resources, was told that she was pretty enough to be in the competition by peers and coworkers but that she just needed to get into shape. The last straw came when she saw photos of herself from New Year's Eve.

"When I saw that [the pictures] I thought I needed to find a way to change my life," she said. "I was unemployed, fat and single."

It was then that Souza decided to start working out heavily for a few hours everyday. "I lost eleven kilos and 13 percent of my fat in the first three months," she continued.

Staying in shape and keeping her body ready for the competition wasn't an easy task, explained Souza. Her workout routine is pretty intense. 

"I do one hour of cardio, rest twenty minutes to eat and do an hour and a half of weight training," said Souza. "With stretching and warming it [the workout] takes three hours. Otherwise I ride my bike, skate, surf, do functional activities in the park on Sundays. I take pleasure in physical activity, I'm addicted!" 

The dramatic change, while beneficial, left Souza with little clothes, shoes that no longer fit her and reduced her derriere from 103 centimeters to 95 centimeters. With all the physical changes, Souza decided to give her hair a makeover as well and she cut it short.

Besides having short hair, Souza also stands out in the competition because she has several tattoos, something only a few other contestants have.

Her collection of tattoos includes the names of her parents and grandfather under her chest, tulips on her shoulder, a paper plane on her neck and a drawing of her dog on her thigh, to name a few.

Souza is currently competing for votes to move on to the next stage of the competition which, according to Yahoo News, only includes 15 spots.