Chinae regularly shares motivating pictures and messages on Instagram, where she has more than 100,000 followers, and is an Adidas ambassador

Despite her physical transformation, she learnt that happiness is not about a 'number on the scale' but about discovering self-worth and self-love

The fitness blogger and event planner from Brooklyn, New York, said she had no idea how it would affect her mind and outlook when she started

A fitness blogger who dramatically transformed her body after discovering a passion for weightlifting - with the help of Arnold Schwarzenegger - said being thin is not the key to happiness as she told how she learned to love herself.

Chinae Alexander, who works as an event planner, said she is not the thinnest she has ever been or the fattest but that she is 'most definitely the happiest', she wrote on Instagram.

The 30-year-old from Brooklyn used to weigh 225lbs but after embarking on a challenge with a friend to eat 'low carb and working out' in 2009 she started weightlifting.

From within: Fitness blogger Chinae Alexander, 30, pictured left in 2007 and right recently, has undergone a dramatic transformation in just a few years

Positive changes: Chinae, pictured left before her dramatic weight loss and right more recently, said she never expected to experience so many benefits - internal and external - when she first started exercising

She said she used to 'roll around' on the elliptical machine when she went to the gym, not knowing what she was doing.

But with the help of Schwarzenegger's Modern Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding she learnt some basics and started lifting weights at the gym.

Seven years on she now does all kinds of exercise, has her own fitness blog, Get Fit Brooklyn - 'a guide to harnessing your inner bad***' - more than 100,000 followers on Instagram and recently became an ambassador for Adidas.

She said more important than her physical transformation is the internal changes she has undergone - including learning to love herself, to feel self-worth and believe in herself.

In a recent Instagram post, she shared a photo of herself before her dramatic weight loss and a recent picture of herself wearing underwear.

Self appreciation: Despite her weight loss, Chinae, from Brooklyn, New York, pictured left and right, said being happy is not about 'the number on the scale' and that she found it through loving herself

Inspiring: Chinae regularly shares motivating pictures and messages on Instagram, where she has more than 100,000 followers

Joy: She wrote, 'I'm not the thinnest I've ever been. Certainly not the fattest... But I'm definitely the happiest'

She said happiness is not about 'the number on the scale' or sneaker brands or 'the space between your thighs'.

She wrote: 'I'm not the thinnest I've ever been. Certainly not the fattest...But I'm most definitely the happiest.

'The number on the scale, the brand of your shoes, the space between your thighs, the size of your breasts... None of that is a barometer for joy, so why do we treat them that way?'

She added: 'It's like you're in the desert desperately needing a glass of water and someone handing you a baseball bat instead. It makes no sense in the context of your actual needs.

'We need to understand wholly why we feel shame, or disappointment, or a lack of confidence...and use our energies toward correcting it.'

Nutrition: When she weighed nearly 220 lbs she said she 'never thought about what I was putting in my body'

Influencer: Chinae has developed a huge following online and is now an Adidas ambassador

Committed: She said it has been a 'long journey' but that the work 'pays off'

She said she has learned that it is possible to 'love yourself and work on yourself' at the same time.

In a previous post she said it has been a 'long journey' but that putting work in 'pays off'.

When she weighed nearly 220 lbs she said she 'never thought about what I was putting in my body'. She said she drank daily, consumed 'too much terrible calorie-dense nutrient-deprived food' and did not exercise regularly.

She added: 'All the work is worth it, never give up.'

She told Daily Mail Online that her initial decision to start working out was 'more of a challenge to myself' but what she experienced was 'a physical and emotional shift'.

Encouragement: Chinae, pictured center, urged others to 'never give up', explaining that she will often work with a group of people to keep motivated

Flexible: She said she has learned that it is possible to 'love yourself and work on yourself' at the same time

Life change: Chinae said her life has changed '180 degrees' in the past year

She added: For me it was a matter of discipline, challenge, I wanted to do something different. What came out of that was a lot more than I expected. I didn't expect my whole life to change.'

Now she tries to help other women to feel positive about themselves and follow a healthy lifestyle.

She said: 'If you ask every woman to recall the moment they had a negative comment about their body, every woman will remember that...I say woman because I think it's specific.'

'Social media for a lot of people feel it's poisoned their brain. But for me really it brought into focus we're all in this together. It's about community.