Weight Loss Stories – Holly Lost 157 Pounds

Name: Holly
Age: 46
Family Status: Married
Occupation: Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia
Pounds or Inches Lost: Overall, I have lost 157 pounds!
Starting Weight: 305 pounds (in high school – age 18)
Current Weight: 148 pounds (age 40)

Holly’s Weight Loss Story!

When did you become unhappy with your weight?
I was unhappy with my weight for as long as I can remember, I was heavy from grade 6 onward, after my father died I consoled myself in food

What made you decide to lose weight?
I was nearing my 40th BD and walking with a cane on major medication for pain, fibromyalgia, osteo arthritis and raynoids. I was NOT going to be fat and forty. The wheelchair the doctors told me was coming was getting closer every day

What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?
My mental and emotional attitude. Food was there, but it was my choice to stuff myself or make a healthier choice. Two to three chocolate bars a day were no longer an option. I learner to exercise properly for my physical conditions,I have had 18 surgeries and slowly how to eat right. I was and always had been my choice, but with God’s help and a lot of prayers, I now had the strength and determination to change

What was most challenging about losing weight?
For me,the mental change, that I did in fact have control over my future and how I treated my body. I could change the outcome of the rest of my life. Having to change my eating habits was probably the most difficult. Yet now I can not imagine eating the way I did 8 yrs ago. One of the most important things I learned and one of the most challenging was to eat 5-6 times a day. I was used to eating 2X and what I wanted.

How long did it take you to start to see results?
I started walking in the spring and then joined a gym in the fall. I didn’t see a lot of results until several months later when I found a trainer and really started to work out with weights and do cardio (lot’s of it). That is when the weight really started to come off, within 3 month of working with Dave things were moving. The walking really helped me get disciplines in being consistent, but I was still eating anything I wanted. So if you want by the calendar it would be 9 month but from when I really got serious about training and my eating, about 3 months.

How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?
Though I started to walk in the spring, I didn’t get serious about it until the end of January. From then until the summer. My all time high for many years was 305 pounds, my starting weight in the spring was 255, and I went down to 143, stabilizing at 148. So a total of 157 pounds from my heaviest until now.

How long have you maintained your weight loss and how do you do it?
I have kept my weight off for 6 years now. It is not easy, I work out 5-6 times per week and I watch everything that goes in my mouth. It is very easy for me to gain weight so I have to be diligent about my eating and exercise. My Mom passed way last year and I started menopause, so with that I gained some weight, I have lost all but about 5-7 lbs which is being worked on as we speak.

How has your life changed now that you’ve lost weight?
My life, never in a million years would I have expected to do what I do now. Since my weight loss, I have become a Personal Trainer and Pilates Instructor. My goal and passion in life it to help as many people have the same success I have had. I work mainly with people who have either weight issues and or joint problems. My greatest joy is to watch them find the freedom that comes with being fit and healthy. I can honestly say I LOVE my job.

How did ShapeFit help you reach your weight loss goals?
I read ShapeFit to learn more about new exercises, hear of the success stories and keep up to date with what is going on in the fitness industry I love to read stories about other people who overcome obstacles to reach a life of health and wellness. I never would have thought I would be one of those success stories but I am.

Holly’s Weight Loss Tips!

Weight loss tip #1:
Eat 5-6 small meals times per day.

Weight loss tip #2:
Cardio and weight training combined.

Weight loss tip #3:
One mistake does not give you license to have a bad day or worse yet a bad week.

Weight loss tip #4:
You are doing this for YOU.

Weight loss tip #5:
Work in short-term goals since the long ones could be to hard especially if you have a lot to lose.

Holly’s Weight Loss Eating Plan!

Breakfast:
3/4 cup Go Lean cereal, 8 ounces of dairy milk and yogurt.

Lunch:
Whole wheat tortilla, can of tuna, low-fat mayo mixed with tuna, a little low-fat cheese and I heat it on a grill for a tuna melt. I also have a large salad with low-fat dressing.

Dinner:
Chicken breast, fresh veggies, salad with low-fat dressing.

Snacks or Mini Meals:
Apple with 4 ounces of yogurt, protein bar, Carnation light hot chocolate for my chocolate fix .

Holly’s Weight Loss Workouts!

Weight Training:
I always warm up for about 10 minutes on the recumbent bike. I do upper and lower splits with back, chest, biceps and triceps, along with abs for 45 minutes twice per week. I also do quads, hamstrings, calves and shoulders with abs twice a week for 45 minutes.

Cardiovascular:
35 minutes to 65 minutes on the elliptical, 3-6 times per week depending on my weight training routine and overall time.

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