FitGurlMel, Melissa Alcantara, Kim K's Personal Trainer

Melissa Alcantara, AKA FitGurlMel, personal trainer, published author, and fitness coach, really can quit her day job, if that's what she wants. That's because she gets paid more than most folks make in a month just for posting an Instagram post ($6,300). She has more than 1.1 million followers on Insta. So, since she’s posted 105 times in just the past year, she’s made just south of three-quarters of a million bucks for her Instagram posts alone. This makes FitGurlMel the second-highest-paid personal trainer on the social media site.

What is it about FitGurlMel, though, that has even reality TV royal Kim Kardashian reaching out for her help?

Some background on fitness’ hit girl, FitGurlMel might shed some light on why her story is one that appeals to so many. Picture it. Brooklyn, New York, 2013. A “super broke” Melissa Alcantara is waiting tables just to make a living. She’s a heavy smoker, and she’s 70 pounds overweight after having given birth. She’s watching Keeping Up With the Kardashians with much of the rest of the world, never dreaming she’d soon be helping Kim K get fit.

Downtrodden by the state of her fitness and her body, the soon-to-become FitGurlMel decides that she has to change. Her lifestyle and mindset get life-altering overhauls. She commits to 60 days of working on herself, and the transformation in both body and health are amazing. This inspired Melissa to work towards becoming a competitive bodybuilder, and with a lot of effort, she quickly grew her reputation and became a hit on Instagram.

Flash forward to 2017. Kim Kardashian is scrolling through Insta and finds Alcantara’s profile. Like rich and famous people do, the future ex of rapper Kanye West reaches out to FitGurlMel and asks her to uproot her whole existence and move from the East Coast to the West Coast to become Kardashian’s full-time fitness trainer. Little did Ms. K know that FitGurlMel was already planning a move to L.A. with her husband, so the pieces of the puzzle fell together beautifully.

Some things to know about It Girl FitGurlMe’s daily routine:

• She gets up with the chickens. Her day starts at 4 a.m.
• She doesn’t eat breakfast, since she practices intermittent fasting with a “super structured” way of eating. Her first meal is taken around 12 p.m. after she works out.
• She counts “macros” to keep up with what she’s actually putting in her body, staying within her macros to meet her personal fitness goals.
• She hits the gym each day, with an 8 a.m. two-hour session with KK most days.
• She lifts daily, with leg day being every three days or so.
• She doesn’t do cardio, but she does aim for 10,000 steps daily.
• She drinks plenty of water. Seriously, she gulps down a gallon of water each day, which she says is one of the best things that we can do for our bodies.
• She sleeps around five to six hours but longs for more.

A daily menu for FitGurlMel is nothing fancy. She may have toasts with eggs or she might go with chicken, rice and beans. Dinner is typically fish with rice and veggies.Inspired by FitGurlMel? Get her training programs and nutrition guides on FitGurlMel.com, and keep up with her by following her on Instagram or downloading her app.