GEORGI Black's home is spotless.

The brass door handles are meticulously polished, each individual slat of the blinds scrubbed and gleaming, and the floors so clean you could serve your dinner on them.

The age-old adage goes that dull women have immaculate houses, but the nine-time Scottish weightlifting champion blows that notion out of the water. Vivacious and possessing an infectious enthusiasm, Black has good reason for her house-proud streak. "It keeps me out of the fridge and from thinking about food," she says with a laugh. "If I'm cleaning, I'm not eating - and that works for me."

The 24-year-old from Kilmarnock, one of the Sunday Herald's Six To Follow to Glasgow 2014, had to drop her food intake to less than 800 calories a day in a bid to shed weight and maximise her medal chances. Black has moved down from the 75kg weight class - in which she won gold at the 2011 Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships in South Africa - to 63kg.

The way things stood she would have been in the top eight based on the final standings at Delhi four years ago, but by increasing her lifting totals while decreasing her body weight, the belief is it should place her in contention when she competes at the SECC today.

Working closely with nutritionist Nikos Jakubiak at sportscotland institute for sport, Black reached her target weight in February, a gruelling experience she admits left her feeling at times like "a zombie".

In the months since, she has had to labour just as hard to keep her weight there. She has been on a 1400-calories-a-day plan leading up to the Games and saw Jakubiak weekly to get skin fold measurements to ascertain her percentage of fat versus muscle.

"I eat the same thing every day now and I'm used to that," she says. "I don't wake up and crave certain foods. All my meals are mapped out. Each day for my dinner it's usually a bit of fish or chicken and some salad. You mix up the salad to make it more exotic or exciting, then the meat you stir fry it, boil it or put it in the oven and roast it. There isn't much else to it."

Black is one of four weightlifters selected to represent Team Scotland alongside Peter Kirkbride (94kg), Louise Mather (69kg) and her younger cousin Sophie Smyth (58kg). The excitement has been building for some time, not least for Black's mother, boyfriend Matthew and her grandparents.

"My gran was over the moon with that baton relay," she says. "She's been watching it every day on TV. My papa came along to see me run with the baton but unfortunately my sister took everyone to the wrong place and they missed me but we managed to meet up afterwards.

"You have the opportunity to buy a replica baton so I got one for my gran and papa. My gran will be so proud and she'll show it to everyone who visits. She can't wait for the Games. I know she will be watching that TV every day like a hawk to see if she can spot me. She'll be scared to get up to even go to the toilet in case she misses something."

Until last month, Black was juggling training with her work as a qualified personal trainer teaching weightlifting, cycling to adults with disabilities and general fitness classes, but in recent weeks she has been able to turn her full attention to her Commonwealth Games ambitions.

"From the opening ceremony until I lift I won't be focusing on anything other than my goals, but once that's all over I hope to be able to enjoy a bit of life in the Athletes' Village," she says. "Until then it will be eat, sleep, train. If there is any down time we'll probably play cards as that's what we like to do as a team when we're away at camps.

"Until all of us have finished, we'll stick to our routine. After that it will probably all go out the window and we'll be allowed to let loose. I'm so used to having my set routine every day, though, I think it felt a bit strange at first. Hopefully we will all be happy with our performances. It's a once in a lifetime experience but at the moment, I can't see beyond getting up there and competing. That has my total focus."

Black, who has now dyed her hair a patriotic blue for the competition, feels she is in good form as her moment of truth looms today.

"We had our last squad camp at the end of June and it was the first session that I thought: 'I'm ready,'" she says. "I did a PB in the snatch of 85kg and in the clean and jerk 105kg which is something I've never managed before. I've attempted it in competition but it hasn't come off. It was a fantastic feeling. That was a 190kg total and then I did another PB of 108kg in the clean and jerk. Things are coming together well - I just can't wait to get out there and compete now.

"I'm hoping for six out of six and the best total I've ever done in my life. If I can get a medal too? Aye, that would be perfect. I feel a mixture of excitement and nerves. I'm over the moon with it all but trying to keep a foot on the ground."