Like so many of us, Christine Sokaluk has spent most of her life wrestling to find a healthy relationship with her eating habits and the scale. "I'd be so eager to start a new weight loss program, feeling like nothing could stop me, only to find myself at the drive-thru ordering my usual supersized meal 30 minutes later," says the 38-year-old, who says she has tried just about every trendy diet that came along over the past 17 years. "I felt like a failure."
Photograph courtesy of Christine Sokaluk
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Then, last January, weighing her heaviest at 370 pounds, something clicked. "Honestly, I didn't have a single aha moment," Sokaluk recalls. Instead, it was all of the little things that were holding her life back in a big way. "I couldn't go on rides at amusement parks or fairs. I struggled with finding clothes that not only fit me, but that I actually wanted to wear. And when I traveled, I needed to buy two seats on airplanes. I finally understood that this was no way to live." Sokaluk just knew: She wanted more, and this time it was going to be different. (In only 10 minutes a day, you can transform your body and lose weight with Prevention's Fit in 10.)
Photograph courtesy of Christine Sokaluk
No more dieting
Sokaluk wasn't gearing up for another fad diet or about to embark on a crazy workout program that she couldn't sustain and left her feeling discouraged. "This time, I wanted to start slow," she says. "I decided that I'd take on one new healthy habit every 4 weeks."
Her new goal: Making her first meal of the day a healthy one. Instead of greasy fast-food breakfast sandwiches, Sokaluk committed to making a protein shake. (Find out which protein powder is best for your smoothie.) "It only took me 4 minutes to make and I actually enjoyed it." Sokaluk stuck with it, and a few weeks later she noticed her energy was up and she was less hungry by midmorning.
Every little bit counts
Encouraged, her next habit makeover was an extension of the first: add more lean protein to lunch, dinner, and every snack. "I'd learned that protein was one of the easiest, most effective ways to control my cravings and fight hunger," says Sokaluk. Adding more of the metabolism-boosting nutrient to her diet elbowed out some of her unhealthy go-tos, which was an added bonus.
"Within 3 months the weight started melting off. I lost 20 pounds and I never felt more proud of myself," she says. Ready to adopt her next goal, Sokaluk added exercise. "I started with walking just 10 minutes a day, three or four times a week, making sure not to overwhelm myself." Every month, she pushed a little harder or a little longer. "Now I'm boxing twice a week for 90 minutes and doing YouTube cardio workouts daily," she says.
