Weight Loss Stories – Kayla Lost 145 Pounds and 15 Sizes

Name: Kayla
Age: 25
Family Status: Mother
Occupation: Full-time student
Hometown: Shawano, Wisconsin
Height: 5’6″
Starting Weight: 300 pounds
Current Weight: 155 pounds
Current Waist Size: 30″

Kayla’s Weight Loss Interview!

How much did you lose?
I lost 145 pounds and 15 sizes! About 4 years ago, I was 300 pounds (if not over), wearing size 22 in pants and 3-4x shirts. I am now 155 pounds, wear a size 7 in pants and most of my shirts are smalls or mediums.

When did you become unhappy with your weight?
I was overweight as a child, but not by a lot. After I had my son in August of 2010 I gained a lot of weight but I never really noticed it until I got huge. In January of 2012 I was at the biggest I had ever been which was a little over 300 pounds. I decided enough was enough and started my weight loss journey.

What made you decide to lose weight?
I was not happy, nor was I healthy. I was a young mom who just got divorced and I didn’t want to continue my life being overweight and unhappy. In January of 2012 I decided I was going to change my eating habits and add exercise to my daily routine. Most importantly, I wanted to lose weight because I didn’t want being overweight to stop me from doing activities with my son.

What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?
The most important changes were basically changing my entire lifestyle. I cut out fast food, soda, processed foods and basically anything that was bad for me. I started making lots of healthy meals, drank a lot of water and most importantly, I started working out and going to the gym 3-5 times a week.

What was the most challenging thing you had to deal with during your weight loss journey?
Of course I’ve had many ups and downs throughout my journey. At the beginning, I was a single mom of a two-year-old trying to be healthy and lose weight while also going to school full-time. It was definitely a challenge. I also had a baby in between that time so besides being a mother of 2 young children, the other challenge was trying to continue eating healthy at family functions or when we went out to eat.

How long did it take you to start to see results?
I started seeing results immediately because I was so big. The first 20-30 pounds were easy to lose.

How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?
I originally started in January of 2012 weighing around 300 pounds. I got down to 174 pounds when I found out I was pregnant with my daughter in January of 2013. After I had her, I slipped and got back up to 224 pounds. That’s when I said enough was enough and I was not going to let myself get seriously overweight again and in March of 2015 I started my journey again. I am now 155 pounds as of December 2015.

How long have you maintained your weight loss and what are the most important factors for keeping it off?
I am doing pretty well at maintaining my weight loss. I’m working on building muscle and toning everything up now. The most important reason for keeping it off is because I have had so many people congratulate me on my weight loss, ask me for advice and tell me that I am motivation for them to lose weight. I decided that I am going to use my business degree (I have a year left of school) to open up my own business as a personal trainer.

What keeps you motivated to continue your weight loss success?
What keeps me motivated is that I am happy with how my body looks and I love being able to buy smaller and cuter clothes. I have so much more confidence In myself now and I don’t want that to go away.

How has your life changed now that you have lost weight?
My life has changed so much! I am happier and most importantly, I’m healthier. I will be able to participate in outdoor activities with my kids more and not be ashamed of my body. It has also made me realize that if I can achieve my weight loss goal of losing almost 150 pounds, I can achieve anything!

Do you have any advice for others who are trying to lose weight?
Set goals and don’t give up. It may be hard at first, but it will definitely be worth it. Also, the first few months are always the hardest until your body adjusts to eating healthier foods in smaller portions. It does get easier and along with losing weight, you will feel a lot better and have more energy because you’re fueling your body with better foods versus junk.

Kayla’s Weight Loss Tips!

Weight Loss Tip #1:
Set small goals. It makes it a lot easier to achieve them and pushes you harder. if you want to lose 100 pounds, start at working towards losing 30 pounds and work your way up.

Weight Loss Tip #2:
Meal prep! Especially if you have a busy lifestyle. We used to eat out a lot due to being so busy and it was easier to just pickup some fast food. Now, I do a lot of meal prepping. It makes it easier when you’re busy and saves you from eating unhealthy food.

Weight Loss Tip #3:
Eat more throughout the day but make it healthier. Eating smaller and healthier portions throughout the day makes it easier so you don’t binge eat later on because you’re starving. It also helps you have more energy throughout the day.

Weight Loss Tip #4:
It’s okay to have cheat days, just remember to get right back on track. Don’t let one cheat day turn into months of eating unhealthy foods and stopping exercise.

Weight Loss Tip #5:
Try your hardest to exercise 4-5 times a week, even if it’s just for 20 minutes a day. The only bad workout is a workout that wasn’t done.

Kayla’s Weight Loss Eating Plan!

What do you normally eat for breakfast?
Usually for breakfast I will either have a smoothie with fruit and a scoop of greens, a bowl of whole grain healthy cereal, oatmeal, or some scrambled egg whites with veggies. I also try to add fruit to my cereal or oatmeal if I have it.

What do you normally eat for lunch?
For lunch, I will either have a meal replacement shake, Subway, or a Lean Cuisine.

What do you normally eat for dinner?
For dinner, most of the time it’s chicken. I meal prep a lot with chicken. I also make a veggie along with whole grain rice with dinner.

What do you normally eat for snacks?
For snacks, I usually have a protein bar, yogurt or fruit.

What type of nutritional supplements do you take?
I usually only drink a protein shake after working out or in-between meals if I’m hungry.

Kayla’s Weight Loss Workouts!

What do you do for weight training?
Now that I am at my goal weight, I do a lot of weight lifting. I use all the machines that are at the gym and use the free weights a lot for various exercises that I learned from watching videos.

What do you do for cardio training?
I try to do cardio at least 3 times a week. I’m working more on running on the treadmill at a steady pace for a longer period of time.

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