Losing weight can feel like an uphill battle, but the stories of women who have successfully shed 60 pounds or more offer inspiration and practical advice. Their journeys highlight the importance of personalized strategies, consistent effort, and a focus on overall well-being. This article explores several such transformations, detailing the approaches these women took and the lessons they learned along the way.
Michelle Kloese: Regaining Energy and Health in Her 40s
At 40, Michelle Kloese experienced a significant shift in her body, gaining 38 pounds over five years. She also developed high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and plantar fasciitis. In her 20s, running was her main form of exercise, and she loved 5K races. However, her body started to change in her mid-20s, when she experienced symptoms of early menopause, such as infertility. By her 30s, bloodwork confirmed she had perimenopause about 15 years earlier than most women.
A demanding job as a middle school assistant principal further compounded the issue. With a busy schedule and irregular meals, she started to snack more, often indulging in sugary treats left on her desk. The turning point came after a trip to Ireland for her 40th birthday.
Kloese discovered a health app, Personify Health, through her new edtech job's insurance. She signed up, diligently logging her steps and water intake. In the first year, she lost 38 pounds, followed by another 23 pounds the next year. Now in a "weight maintenance" phase, she focuses on staying within a few pounds of her current weight.
"I have so much more energy - I'm not as sluggish and tired as I was feeling all the time," she said. Her health issues, including high cholesterol and high blood pressure, also resolved. Kloese increased her water intake, aiming for at least 72 ounces (nine cups) a day, tracking her progress in the app. Drinking water helps with weight loss by curbing your appetite.
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Since running became difficult on her knees and hips in her 40s, she sought alternative exercises. A personal trainer advised her to focus on strength training to combat age-related muscle loss. Muscle building can also help with weight loss - gaining muscle boosts your metabolism and burns fat. Kloese began doing at-home and online circuit workouts three to four times a week with light weights. She also participated in a fitness challenge of walking 30 minutes a day, achieving similar weight loss results as from running.
Now she aims to walk at least 7,000 steps a day, whether on her walking pad or on trails near her home in Florida. She also swapped out some of the strength training for yoga, which relaxes her while still improving her strength and flexibility.
Kloese also made nutritious swaps in her diet. Through the Kickoff app, she logged her meals by taking photos of them. If she got a burger and fries, the app suggested lower-carb sides for next time, like a salad or sweet potato wedges. Eventually, she naturally made those swaps on her own, like cooking quinoa instead of white rice. She also gets premade meals through Factor, which she said helps her with portion control and eating a balanced diet when she's busy. "Those were all small changes that evolved over time," she said.
Mirghani's Rapid Transformation Through Diet and Exercise
Mirghani, a 26-year-old from London, embarked on a weight loss journey driven by a desire to take control of her health naturally. She had been consuming junk food daily, with snacks like chips, chocolate, and cookies, estimating her daily calorie intake at over 3,000. "There was no real balance to what I was eating, just a lot of high-calorie, sugary, and carb-heavy foods," she said.
In June, Mirghani kick-started her diet by consuming one meal a day followed by a strict low-carb, keto diet for three months. While she's less strict with her diet now, she continues to limit her carbohydrate intake. "I follow a more flexible low-carb approach with the occasional keto treat like keto bread and brownies. I'll reach five months into this journey by November 13, and I'm proud to say it's been a life-changing experience," she said.
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Mirghani said: "At the start, I was roughly eating around 1,200 calories, and now I don't count calories at all. I mostly focus on how many carbs I consume and try to aim for less than 30g of carbs per day." "I cut out sugar and most carbs. I only drank water, black coffee, peppermint tea, and green tea."
She also incorporated walking into her daily routine. "This journey has transformed me both physically and mentally," she added. "Walking has become a grounding daily habit, and my relationship with food has changed profoundly-I no longer crave sugar like I used to, which feels incredibly empowering. You are an inspiration for all of us out there that we are struggling to make it!"
Mirghani told Newsweek: "There's been skepticism about how quickly I lost the weight, but for me, this journey was about taking control of my health naturally, without surgery or other interventions. At 26 and with no health issues, I was determined to achieve this through diet and exercise alone." "This path demanded discipline, self-belief, and patience, and I'm proud to say I've come out stronger. Now, I have a balanced relationship with food and no longer experience intense cravings. I've successfully overcome my former sugar addiction, which had been a long-standing struggle."
Ree Drummond: The Pioneer Woman's Balanced Approach
Ree Drummond, "The Pioneer Woman," openly shared her journey of losing nearly 60 pounds in 2021. Ree has denied using medications like Ozempic or Wegovy. She emphasized that her approach was about feeling great, not just hitting a number on the scale.
Ree, now 55, shared last year that her biggest takeaway was to try not to waste calories, which she admits she doesn’t “always adhere to” these days. She’d typically ask herself what would serve her body best before deciding what to eat. She joked that sometimes, she’ll still opt for the donut, “but it’s just a good thing to have in mind,” she explained. Since losing the weight, Ree has given her followers insight on all the diet and lifestyle changes she made at the time that she still follows today. Here are the 10 tips and tricks that helped Ree lose weight, build muscle, and see real results.
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Ree maintained a calorie deficit, using an online calculator to estimate her daily calorie needs and aiming to undershoot it. She weighed her food initially to understand portion sizes, and then gradually relied less on the scale. She also made exercise part of her day-to-day. "I learned that making time each day to exercise simply had to be done," she wrote. Her favorite ways to get moving? Walking, using a rowing machine, and Pilates. "I exercised 6 days a week," she said.
Ree focused her workouts on strength training, incorporating exercises that targeted her legs and butt. "I can't emphasize this enough: Building muscle-not just the smaller muscles in your arms, but the larger muscles in your legs and butt-will turbo charge your weight loss like nothing else and set you up for more success," she shares.
Once she was comfortable with her calorie deficit, Ree also started tracking how much protein she was eating. "Turns out that on a typical day, I had been landing at around 15% to 20% of my calories from protein…so I pivoted and steered my eating so that I was around 30% to 40% protein," she wrote. She also ate less sugar, making choices that didn't involve a lot of sugar.
Ree completely cut out alcohol for over four months, then steered clear of high-calorie cocktails. She used Happy Scale, a weight-loss-tracking app that shows you your progress toward your goal weight. As part of her plan to make exercise part of her daily routine, Ree set up a standing desk. She says the desk helped remind her to take more breaks and move around throughout the day.
In March 2024, Ree updated her original blog post to address allegations that she used weight loss medications on her journey. “I did not take Ozempic, Wegovy, or similar medications,” she wrote. But, Ree made it clear that she's supportive of people using semaglutides. “I support anyone who has success using the above medications," she said.
Finding herself constantly surrounded by food can be tricky, but Ree said has made it a point to not restrict herself too much, or put too much pressure on gym time.“I think what I’ve done over the past two years is knowing that I don’t want to push things away or say no to foods. I upped my movement a bit. I take a couple walks with the dogs each week. I make sure to get on the rowing machine at least once a day,” she explained in the interview. (BTW, she said the rowing machine was her "favorite machine" to use for toning and building muscle.)
Healthy Eating Plans from Women Who Lost 50+ Pounds
Several women shared their specific daily meal plans that helped them achieve significant weight loss:
- Jodi Friedman (70 pounds lost): Focuses on low-carb, high-protein meals due to PCOS and insulin resistance. A typical day includes a protein bar and banana for breakfast, tuna salad with a side salad for lunch, cucumber slices with hummus as a snack, and salmon or crockpot chicken with spinach or avocado for dinner.
- Jennifer Finney (80 pounds lost): Adopted a whole-food, plant-based diet with her husband. Her meals include rolled oats with almond milk, peanut butter, and maple syrup for breakfast, green smoothies and kale salads for lunch, and spaghetti squash-based dishes for dinner.
- Petrina Hamm (100 pounds lost): Started with the Atkins diet and modified it for balance. Her day consists of a "cheese Danish" made with egg and cream cheese along with bacon or sausage for breakfast, salad with blue cheese dressing and chicken for lunch, steak with steamed broccoli for dinner, and a sugar-free peanut butter cup as a snack.
- Whitney Herrington (65 pounds lost): Follows a low-carb, high-protein diet with extra carbs on workout days. She has fruit smoothies for breakfast, granola bars for snacks, jerk chicken with cauliflower rice for lunch, and baked chicken with broccoli and brown rice for dinner.
- Erica House (60 pounds lost): Cut out fast food, sugar, and liquid calories and incorporated regular exercise. Her meals include zucchini oatmeal for breakfast, fresh fruit for snacks, homemade burrito bowls for lunch, and protein smoothies for dinner.
- Anne Jongleux (80 pounds lost): Follows a "mostly Paleo" plan of lean proteins, healthy fats, and fresh produce. Her day includes coffee and fruit before workouts, a bowl of fruit and poached eggs after workouts, an apple with almond butter and celery for lunch, and a Cobb salad with modifications for dinner.
- Christian Ohonba (70 pounds lost): Tracks calories and journals her eating habits, focusing on food as fuel. Her meals include salmon and potato hash for breakfast, pineapple dairy-free yogurt for snacks, a burrito with ground turkey and black beans for lunch, and steak with broccoli for dinner.
Finding Your "Why" and Embracing New Forms of Exercise
One woman who lost 60 pounds in her 50s emphasized the importance of understanding your "why." For her, it was about being healthy enough to enjoy life with loved ones for as long as possible. She started eating clean and embraced new forms of exercise, including Krav Maga, yoga, boxing, and strength training.
She tracked her calories with the MyFitnessPal app and focused on whole foods, lean proteins, and avoiding processed and sugary foods. Over five years later, she has kept the weight off, runs Savage Races, and feels amazing.