Losing a significant amount of weight is a challenging journey, both physically and mentally. However, the rewards of improved health, increased energy, and enhanced self-confidence make it a worthwhile endeavor. This article delves into the inspiring stories of individuals who have successfully shed 90 pounds or more, highlighting their unique approaches, struggles, and triumphs.
Patty's Journey: Finding Health After Loss
Patty, a married mother of five who works as a teacher, child advocate, and school bus driver, experienced a profound loss when her daughter passed away. Turning to food for comfort, she gained a significant amount of weight and found herself on two blood pressure medications and on the path to diabetes. A turning point came when she realized she needed to prioritize her health for herself and her family.
Choosing a Surgical Path: Gastric Sleeve at MBC
Patty's research led her to Mexico Bariatric Center (MBC), where friends had achieved successful weight loss through surgery. After researching the types of surgeries, hospitals, and doctors MBC provided, she booked her appointment and flight. She was determined to lose weight as the easiest way to ensure she would be in her children’s life as long as possible!
The MBC Experience
Patty underwent a gastric sleeve surgery with Dr. Louisiana Vanezuela, whom she trusted because she also got weight loss surgery in the past. The experience in Mexico was positive, with excellent care provided by the medical team and comfortable accommodations. Patty was impressed by the cleanliness of the hospital and the attentiveness of the nurses. She got the gastric sleeve, and it healed fast with no complications AT ALL. She had no side effects after surgery and would do it again!
Life After Surgery: A New Beginning
Two years post-surgery, Patty is enjoying a vastly improved quality of life. She has more energy, fits into clothes she loves, and is no longer on any medications or at risk of diabetes. Everyday activities like flying on a plane and riding roller coasters have become enjoyable again. It’s been GREAT!
Read also: Before & After Weight Loss Stories
Chrisspy's Holistic Approach: Balancing Diet, Exercise, and Mental Health
Chrisspy, a Los Angeles-based makeup artist and YouTuber, embarked on a three-year journey to lose 90 pounds, emphasizing balance, healing, and sustainable habits. Her story highlights the importance of addressing both the physical and mental aspects of weight loss.
Flexible Eating and Mindful Choices
Rather than resorting to extreme diets, Chrisspy adopted a flexible eating approach, maintaining a slight calorie deficit and ensuring adequate protein intake. She uses MyFitnessPal to log her food but avoids excessive restrictions. She allows herself to flow with life, with herself, and it's proven effective. Chrisspy focuses on flexible eating, Taylor emphasizes the importance of being mindful about food choices: "Reduced-calorie, low-calorie or light versions of your favorite foods may be helpful, but don't assume this means that they are also low in salt and sugar.
Consistent Exercise and Strength Training
Chrisspy's workout routine includes lifting weights 3-5 times a week, focusing on upper and lower body split workouts. Deadlifts are her favorite exercise. She stresses the importance of starting small and progressively increasing intensity.
Addressing Underlying Issues: Sobriety and Healing
A crucial aspect of Chrisspy's journey was addressing underlying issues contributing to her weight gain. She got sober in 2022, so eliminating alcohol made a huge impact. Additionally, she worked on healing her binge eating disorder through mind-body connection exercises.
Patience, Self-Compassion, and Consistency
Chrisspy emphasizes the importance of patience and self-compassion, acknowledging that her journey has been slow and steady. Consistency, not perfection, is key to her success. Over these three years, there've been a lot of times when I wasn't working out," she admits. However, she developed a technique called "reduce the scope and stick to the schedule." This involves adjusting your goals when needed, rather than giving up entirely.
Read also: Stories of successful weight loss
Sarah's Natural Transformation: Intermittent Fasting and Positive Reinforcement
Sarah, an entrepreneur from New York City, lost 90 pounds over two years by focusing on weightlifting and nutrition. Her journey began after experiencing depression and anxiety in college, which led to emotional eating and weight gain.
Taking Control: Diet and Exercise
Sarah's turning point came when she decided to prioritize her health. I knew it was the one thing I had full control over and could change. It was also starting to impact my health. For example, I couldn't even walk for 20 minutes without experiencing excruciating back pain. That's when I realized it was time to take action and change the one thing that was completely within my power," Sarah told Newsweek.
Intermittent Fasting and Calorie Tracking
Sarah began her weight loss journey one year ago, starting at 234lbs, she now weighs 140lbs - a staggering 94lbs loss."I started by simply eating less and setting a cutoff time for eating, initially stopping at 7 PM. When I saw how well that worked, I began intermittent fasting, usually stopping at 6 PM and resuming eating around 11 AM, depending on my schedule. I also tracked my calories to ensure I was in a calorie deficit," she said.
Positive Reinforcement and Non-Food Rewards
Sarah explained that she kept herself motivated through positive reinforcement. Instead of using food as a reward, she took a different approach:"Each week I stuck to my diet, I rewarded myself with something non-food-related-since I love makeup, I'd buy myself a lip gloss. This helped me stay excited about my progress without relying on food as a source of comfort or celebration."
Natural Weight Loss: A Testament to Hard Work
Sarah also emphasized that she achieved her transformation naturally, despite the rising popularity of GLP-1 medications like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Mounjaro, which are commonly prescribed for weight loss. "Yes! I lost the weight naturally, at a time when GLP-1 medications like Ozempic are so popular. I want to be someone who proves that natural weight loss is still achievable."
Read also: Learn how people achieved significant weight loss
Feeling Amazing: Improved Health and Confidence
Reflecting on her progress, Sarah shared, "I feel amazing-like a completely different person! My health issues have disappeared, and I'm so much more comfortable in my own skin.
Yassine's Simple Approach: Cutting Soft Drinks and Embracing Cardio
Yassine Exantus, a 31-year-old assistant controller from Florida, lost over 90 pounds by making simple changes to his diet and exercise routine. His story demonstrates that even small steps can lead to significant results.
The Turning Point: Stairway to Change
The moment that really changed me came when I was living with my now fiancé in a fourth-floor apartment. Our elevator went out. Going up and down those stairs absolutely killed me. We usually went shopping on Saturday mornings, and I remember getting to the top one day felt like death for me. I looked over and she was barely breathing hard. That’s when I knew-this is too much. At that point I was around 380 pounds.
Cutting Soft Drinks and Embracing Cardio
Yassine started by cutting out soft drinks. The sugar and extra calories weren’t worth it. He started doing cardio. Really, nothing but cardio. He started off with a trainer, but the first day he worked me so hard that I threw up in my car. Boy, that made me feel like a loser-like I couldn’t even get through one session. I turned that embarrassment into motivation to get fit-my way-so I could show him that I didn’t need to do it his way.
Gradual Dietary Changes and Keto Experimentation
After a while, though, it got harder, and I really had to focus on my diet. I went from rice and beans twice a day to once a day, to a footlong Subway sandwich for lunch and dinner, then down to a six-inch. When I got stuck, I tried keto, which got me down to 230, but that’s no way to live. I love food way too much to keep that up; I gained some weight back after switching off of keto.
Consistency and Positive Reinforcement
All told, in about 13 months I lost a little over 90 pounds. People noticed quickly, and that kept me going. I lost a lot of weight in my face, so it was noticeable at first. It felt great that strangers at the gym would come up to me and let me know how well I was doing. Getting more attention from everyone was awesome.
Advice for Beginners: Start Small and Be Patient
For anyone feeling intimidated or unsure how to get more fit, I say just start. You don’t have to go crazy at first; getting too intense, too quickly doesn’t work in the long run. If you slowly cut back and slowly add in workouts, your mind and body will thank you later. Take it one step at a time: you didn’t gain all of this weight at once, so you can’t expect to lose it all at once, either. It takes time, but it’s worth it.
Nathan and Christina's Journey: A Couple's Commitment to Health
California couple Nathan Arreola, 28, and Christina Dains, 30, transformed their health by committing to a healthy diet, working out with a personal trainer, and supporting each other every step of the way.
Facing Health Problems in Their 20s
They each had lists of health problems they didn’t think they should be facing in their 20s. For Dains, whose weight reached 170 pounds, that included knee pain, migraines, fatigue, asthma, anxiety and depression.Arreola, whose weight climbed to 210 pounds, had migraines, dizziness, high blood pressure, prediabetes and acid reflux.
Joining a Gym for Guidance and Support
Arreola decided to join an Ultimate Performance location near their Los Angeles home. At first, the couple thought Dains could follow Arreola’s lead, eating better and working out along with him. She thought seeing him do it would motivate her. But she realized that wasn’t going to work.She says, “Even though I was trying hard to go to the gym and eat well, I kept injuring myself. I would get shin splints and my knee would hurt, which would derail my efforts. That led to a mindset that if I wasn’t going to the gym, what was the point of eating well? I told Nathan I needed a trainer.”
Tracking and Weighing Food
The couple learned how their eating habits were affecting their weight and health, and learned how to make better choices. They started tracking what they were eating.“Tracking food was hard for me at first, because I wasn’t used to it and didn’t know the amounts I should be eating. Some things had to be taken out of my diet, and that was hard,” Dains says. Arreola said it came more easily for him. “You never know how much you’re eating unless you’re tracking it. My past self would have found it hard to believe I would be into something like this, but I love it,” Arreola says.
Beyond Weight Loss: Major Non-Scale Victories
Dains is amazed at the improvements in her energy levels. “I used to be constantly tired. Now, I have energy and I don’t depend on caffeine to stay awake during the day. Before, even when I slept 8 to 10 hours at night, I was still tired. I thought that was normal, and that was just how people operated when they were working,” she says.She used to have monthly cramps that were so bad she would cry, throw up and miss work. They’re minimal now. “I can even get out of bed and work out, something I never thought possible through just food and fitness. I had those cramps my whole life,” she says.She no longer has the knee pain that bothered her on and off since a soccer injury at age 21. She can walk the stairs at work without gasping for air. And her migraines are gone.Arreola had migraines, dizziness, high blood pressure and acid reflux. “Now I don’t have any of those issues and I feel a thousand times better,” he said.
Better Mental Health and Clarity
Dains says, “A screaming, crying baby used to never bother me, but one day I had to walk out of the room because I was getting so much anxiety from it. This would frustrate me, leading to a cycle of anxiety and depression. I haven’t experienced any of that since. My anxieties have come down a lot. My mental health is ten times better than it was.”
Maintaining Their Health Gains
A year after they ended their plan at Ultimate Performance and moved to Bakersfield, they are still applying everything they learned. “We go to the gym three times a week, just like we did at UP. We tried incorporating running, and I picked up cycling and yoga because I don’t care for running much,” Dains says. They’ve picked up other activities they do together, like Spartan races.
Closer to Each Other and Planning to Grow Their Family
Arreola says, “We are on the same page about maintaining this new lifestyle, whether it’s in the gym or our day-to-day life. If either of us has questions about adjusting calories or losing weight, we sit down, discuss it and think about what to do. It has brought us closer.”