BUTLER TWP — Theresa Ivancik believes she nearly lost her life trying to look like society thought she should.

The 32-year-old Butler resident is now thriving in life while building her body to reach new heights.

Ivancik recently won the female heavyweight division at the International Federation Body Building (IFBB) North American Championship at Station Square in Pittsburgh.

“I competed in the physique division, too, and took fourth place there,” Ivancik said. “I was proud of that because the physique division uses less muscle. It’s different poses and it’s more feminine.”

A 2001 Butler graduate, Ivancik began formally training to be a bodybuilder in 2008. She’s placed in various shows in recent years, but must finish first or second at nationals to get her pro card.

“That wasn’t considered a national show, so I didn’t get my pro card,” she said. “I’m heading for a national show in Miami in 10 weeks and a first-place finish there would get me that pro card.”

Ivancik is partners with Jeff Harlan at Harlan’s Elite Fitness Center, a business they opened together in Butler earlier this year. Her body has drastically changed since her years as a sequinette in high school.

While trying to stay thin, she admitted to developing a serious eating disorder.

“All of the magazines and ads showed that women should look a certain way ... really thin ... I weighed about 110 pounds and I was struggling,” Ivancik said.

She took a job at Butler Health and Fitness in 2001, looked through a muscle magazine and decided to change her life.

“I believe to this day that body building saved my life,” Ivancik said. “My contest weight is 155 pounds now and I’m eating healthier than I ever have.”

Ivancik is determined to succeed in this sport. Once she gets her pro card, she plans to use it.

“I’ll be able to compete for money, get more sponsorships,” she said. “It will open up a lot more doors for me.”

Harlan described Ivancik as being goal-driven. He trains with her on a regular basis.

“Theresa has dedicated to bodybuilding like no one I’ve ever seen,” Harlan said. “She’s completely changed her physique. It would take the average person five to seven years to physically change like she has in just three years.

“Eat, sleep and train. That’s what this sport is and she’s bought in totally.”

Instead of going out at night to a party or simply to enjoy herself, “Theresa stays home and preps 40 or 50 eggs for her diet,” Harlan added.

A former competitive bodybuilder himself, Harlan has not competed since 1996. Now he is training to get back to doing a show.

Ivancik uses a 12-week cycle to prep for a show. That’s six days a week, cardio twice a day, weight lifting for an hour each day.

“The big thing is you can’t miss a meal. I stay on track that way,” she said.

Her grandparents, Pete and Muriel Ivancik, live in Gibsonia, but come to the gym three times a week to train. They are 88 and 86 years old, respectively.

Ivancik admits to drawing support from her family, friends and her followers on Facebook.

“I feel like my life is completely turned around,” she said. “Jeff, my family members, 36,000 supporters on Facebook ... I gain inspiration from all of them.”