Update on Kara

A struggler with yo-yo dieting, Kara Richardson Whitely is still keeping her dream alive by climbing more mountains.

By chronicling her iconic journey to the top of Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, Kara is hoping to inspire people with her attitude of perseverance and her hope that she will one day achieve her goals of losing weight.

“For me, it’s about never giving up,” says Kara. “It isn’t about how much weight you lose. It’s about moving forward and staying on a healthy path. That’s exactly the type of message I want to convey in my documentary. I really just want to inspire others and make them believe that they can do it too.”

It was only a few months ago that Kara conquered one of the greatest mountains on Earth: Mount Kilimanjaro. For her third attempt, bistroMD helped Kara get ready for her journey by providing her a month’s worth of meals for her altitude training in Colorado. Kara managed to lose 120 pounds, but was by no means a size 3. Kara isn’t worried about size, and that’s the point she’s trying to make.

“I did lose weight, and I did try hard to keep the weight off, but I stumbled a bit after I had my daughter,” says Kara. “The point is, I’m never giving up. Even though I still struggle with yo-yo dieting, I still made it to the top of the mountain—just the way I am. That’s what I want people to be inspired by: the fact that you don’t have to be super skinny to achieve your goals and to do something remarkable.”

To chronicle her journey up Mount Kilimanjaro, Kara chronicled her adventure in a documentary called “Big Fat Mountain.” In the documentary, Kara explains her struggles with weight, and how her appearance has often caused her fear and uncertainty. The documentary also shows Kara’s determination to make it up Mount Kilimanjaro, for a third time.

You can watch a clip from Kara’s documentary below:

Big FAT Mountain from Kara Richardson Whitely on Vimeo.

In the beginning of the documentary, Kara explains what caused her to become overweight in the first place.

“I ate too much and moved too little,” she says.

At one point in the documentary, Kara is starting to travel up the mountain when she notices a small group of village children around the base of the mountain. She starts to talk them, and hands them a couple of lollipops. That’s right; even on a mountain, her food issues still followed her.

“I remember when I bought those lollipops at the grocery store, and how hard it was for me to pass them up,” she says. “I didn’t want to buy them, but I did. Every time I see sugar, I have to have it.”

Later on, as she treks up the mountain with a couple of her guides, Kara notices that some of them are making fun of her.

“That’s what people my size deal with every day,” she says. “That’s why it’s so hard to go to the gym and to be active. You stick out like a sore thumb and people make comments.”

Choking back tears, she continues: “I get why people my size don’t work out. I get it.”

Although she struggles with issues of insecurity about herself and her weight, Kara still pushes on and manages to climb Mount Kilimanjaro again—for the third time.

“The first couple of times, I took the mountain for granted,” Kara says. “I took my body for granted.”

For her third victorious journey up the mountain, Kara hopes to inspire others with her same struggles to stay positive and to stay on a healthy path. Her ultimate goal is to get the documentary aired on television, as well as featured at a few film festivals. This dream, however, doesn’t come without a steep financial price.

Professional editing costs thousands, so Kara needs help making her dream come true. She is hosting a Kickstarter campaign from now until March 15th to raise enough funds to complete “Big Fat Mountain” and to share it with the world. You can support the project by visiting: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigfatmountain/big-fat-mountain.

“Not only is this a great opportunity to inspire people, but those who are interested can even be a part of the movie-making process,” says Kara. “Once my documentary is finished, you could be standing by my side at the premiere.”

If you are interested in helping Kara make her documentary dreams a reality, visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/bigfatmountain, and help make Kara's dream come true. You can also see exclusive clips, read more about Kara’s story, and the making of “Big Fat Mountain”

BistroMD helped Kara make it up the mountain once, now you can help her get her documentary to the big screen. Help inspire the world today, by making a donation, or by getting involved.

To read more about Kara, and to read other success stories of inspiration, please click on one of the related links below.

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