Weight-Loss Success Story: How One Woman Made Health a Priority and Lost Over 120 Pound

Before: 262
After: 138

How She Gained the Weight
Suzanne Elliot, now 47, says she grew up eating comfort foods like lasagna and meatloaf at family meals, and always had access to soda and junk food. Before she was married or had kids, her schedule was packed with long hours at work and a busy social life; planning healthy meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner just never happened. Instead, Suzanne frequently picked up slices of pizza for lunch or skipped lunch altogether and ate one big unhealthy comfort food dish at the end of the day when she was famished. By her early 20s, she hit 180 pounds. Her weight fluctuated over the years as a result of crash dieting and "crazy exercising," like when she temporarily dropped 40 pounds before her wedding. But her eating and exercise habits were unstable and certainly not sustainable, and the weight slowly crept back up, first when she had her son and then again when she had twin girls. By 2012, Suzanne weighed 262 pounds.

MORE: Avoid the Comfort Food Trap

A Scary Diagnosis
In 2012, a trip to her doctor revealed scary news: Suzanne had extremely high cholesterol, high blood sugar, and high blood pressure. On top of that, she was borderline diabetic. Her doctor told her that she needed to come back in three months, with the goal of losing 10 pounds. But three months passed, and she hadn’t lost any weight. Her doctor gave her the same instructions to return again in a few months 10 pounds lighter. The cycle repeated: Another three months passed, and her weight remained the same. "I didn't have enough self-value to think that I should concentrate on my weight," says Suzanne. "And I didn't think I could even could lose weight if I wanted to." Simply being aware of the problem wasn’t enough to inspire changes in her.

The Tipping Point
Shortly after the second doctor's appointment, Suzanne was driving with her son, then five, in the car. He brought up how one of the other moms at school looked nice...and how Suzanne, in comparison, didn't. "He basically said, 'well, my mom is fat,'" she said. "I always thought that my weight was my issue and I was fine with it. I just thought, 'Well, this is who I am.' But after hearing that it was affecting my son, I realized my weight loss wasn't just about me," she says.

Because of this ah-ha moment, Suzanne felt an incredible sense of urgency to make changes in her life. But since she didn't have any understanding about how to lose weight without crash dieting, she called a prepackaged food diet program and started it the next day. Though the first two months of the program helped her lose 20 pounds, the diet wasn't sustainable for her because portions of the food were small and they didn't taste that great. Suzanne realized that if she wanted to make weight loss a lasting priority, she’d need to figure out how to do it on her own.

Beginning to Make Lasting Changes
Suzanne started improving her diet without the program by swapping her favorite foods like pizza for healthier options like homemade flat bread with sauce, cheese, and lots of veggies. And even though she was giving up foods that she would normally eat several times a week, over time her taste buds began to change and she no longer craved those unhealthy foods. (This is a real phenomenon—recent research reveals that you can train your brain and body to crave healthy foods simply by eating healthier more consistently.) And instead of skipping lunch, as she normally did, Suzanne started picking up fresh produce from farms in her area and making healthy salads to take to work. 

MORE: 6 Salad Ingredients That Help You Drop Pounds Faster

While her diet was on the right track, Suzanne, a "non-exerciser," was scared to start working out at the gym. In fact, she lost 80 pounds before stepping foot into a workout facility. Once she did, she started out slow by hopping on the treadmill, since it was the only thing she knew how to use, and running a 17-minute mile. She also began strength training using dumbbells. When her weight started dropping off faster, Suzanne felt more motivated to keep clocking in hours at the gym. "The great thing about exercise is that the more you do it, the more you can do," she says. She squeezed in her workouts by waking up at 4:30 every morning to get a sweat in before work. Eventually, she began taking CrossFit classes, yoga classes, and hired a trainer to work with her twice a week. Today, Suzanne runs a 9-minute mile and weighs 138 pounds.

The Reward
Besides setting a good example of a healthy lifestyle and high self-esteem for her kids, Suzanne says one of the biggest rewards is being able to shop in "normal" stores. "Even though I'm not a shopper, I find the experience far more tolerable than it used to be," she says. Now that she's a size small, she says she loves being able to find a variety of colors and styles that flatter her figure and trying them on first. "I used to just run into a store and if it looked like it fit I would just buy it and get out," she says. Plus, Suzanne loves checking out the clearance rack for deals, which she finds are a lot more plentiful. "You can get really great deals when you're small. I love that!" she says.

Suzanne's Tips
Start dieting and exercising together. "As soon as you decide that you're going to make a change in your diet for weight loss, start exercising. It will help you keep your metabolism up and help you start developing healthy habits all at once. Also, I've learned that as you gain muscle your body changes. There was a period of time where I went down two sizes and did not lose one pound. My trainer said my muscle was replacing the fat I was losing so the number on the scale stayed the same. That's why if you keep up with exercise is motivating even if you have a weight loss plateau, which helps keep you on track. The first 8 months I was losing weight would have been easier if I started out by exercising."

Set smaller goals. "Don't focus on the overall number you want to lose because the big number is overwhelming in the beginning. By breaking your weight loss goals into smaller chunks, it feels much less intimidating. If I lost a pound in a week and I focused on having 100 to go, it would be hard to stay motivated. But if I lost a pound and my goal was 10 for the month, then I'm 1/10th of the way there. It's not as intimidating."

Make Workout Time Me Time: "When you work out, you're working on your body, your health, and becoming a stronger, more confident person. To some degree it can feel self-indulgent. When you feel like you can't add one more thing to your schedule, try squeezing workout time into your morning or where ever you can make space. If you want to make weight loss work, you have to fit it in somewhere. And by thinking about going to the gym as personal time, you're more motivated to go do it."

MORE: 8 Foods That Decrease Inflammation and Help You Lose Weight

1. Prev:7 Delicious Fall Foods That Are Great for Weight Loss
2. Next:6 Tricks to Help You Bust Out of a Weight-Loss Plateau