‘I Went From 320 Pounds To A Super-Toned 160—Here’s How’
I wasn't always overweight. I grew up quite active, dancing and playing volleyball. In college, I even worked as a group fitness instructor-clearly, I loved a good sweat.
Then, something changed when I got married. I live in Louisiana and my husband is also from the South-which meant big meals of comfort foods (deep-fried, gravy-smothered everything).
Adding to that, when we started our family, I put my needs on the back burner to prioritize my children-that meant no more working out, and eating whatever was fast and my kids liked. At my heaviest, I weighed 320 pounds.
Then, in 2013, my reality check came: My daughter asked me to do cartwheels with her, and I couldn't.
I realized there were so many things I’d grown up doing that I couldn’t share with my children-not just cartwheels but also taking long walks or roller skating. I couldn’t even walk up stairs without getting winded, much less go for a hike in the hills.
I realized that taking care of me was actually one of the best things I could do for them. My kids needed me to be a healthy example.
I started off small: reducing my portions and taking short, daily walks. Through those simple changes, I was able to lose about 40 pounds.
But then my weight loss stalled. I tried cutting calories even further, and experimented with different diets (like low-carb). But nothing worked for long and the pounds simply wouldn’t budge. I started to get discouraged and frustrated that even though I was working so hard, I was barely seeing any results.
Finally, in 2015, I decided to take another big step: bariatric weight-loss surgery.
If you think weight-loss surgery is an “easy way out,” let me tell you, it's not. In fact, after the surgery I had to work harder than ever, not just counting my calories but also making sure I was using those minimal calories to get all the nutrients my body needed. My surgery was a starting point for getting really serious about nutrition, not a get-out-of-dieting free card.
I changed my menu (which is also my family's menu) to be full of fresh foods, especially vegetables and lean meats. I also learned new ways to cook; instead of frying foods and covering them in sauces, now I bake, broil, or grill our food and use fresh herbs for flavor. I also make sure I eat six mini-meals a day, which typically look like this:
Breakfast: eggs and spinach
Lunch: Greek yogurt with nuts and berries
Dinner: grilled salmon with tons of cooked, fresh vegetables.
Snacks: cut up veggies, low-sugar fruits, protein shakes, nuts, etc.
After losing more weight, I finally got back to the gym, too.
I tried out different classes and workouts before settling on my favorites: bootcamp classes and high-intensity interval training circuits. I loved it so much that I became a certified personal trainer and a certified nutrition specialist, opening my own business, Homemade Fitness. Now, because I'm a trainer, I exercise two or three times a day, seven days a week.
Today, I’m down to a super-toned 160 pounds-a weight I’ve maintained for two years, and I feel absolutely amazing. I can finally wear all the fun clothes I want to, and I can play with my kids-I feel like I’m 22 again.
But my favorite part of my transformation is inspiring other women like me-moms, ladies who grew up on Southern food-to get healthier. I always tell everyone that our bodies really are “use it or lose it” and that you shouldn’t procrastinate getting healthy. Make small changes starting today.
Oh, and when I tried to do a cartwheel again recently? I nailed it.
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