How I Finally Stopped Yo-Yo Dieting and Lost Almost 90 Pounds

Before: 216
After: 130

The Lifestyle
Even though I played sports throughout high school and played softball in college, my weight always fluctuated between 130 and 200 pounds for most of my adult life. After my softball career ended, I continued to work out, but my active lifestyle just wasn't enough to combat my poor eating habits (I loved foods like chips, chicken fingers, and pizza). After gaining a ton of weight, I would just crash diet to get back to my low point. Typically, I stayed at 130 pounds for about eight months and then started gaining it all back again. I just couldn't get my eating habits under control. 

When I got married in 2011, my husband and I both got a little too comfortable and put on a significant amount of weight. That year, I hit 216 pounds. 

The Change
After getting a physical, my doctor told me that my cholesterol was extremely high and my BMI classified me as obese. I knew my weight was an issue because I wasn't feeling attractive, my clothes weren't fitting, and some family members had even said that they were concerned about me. On top of all that, my husband and I wanted to expand our family, and we were worried that our weight would make it harder to get pregnant. We decided we needed to make a lifestyle change and create a new normal.

We made a plan to hit the gym five to six days a week, cleaned out our fridge and pantry, and got rid of all the processed junk we had been eating. A lot of potato chips and frozen foods bit the dust that day. Then, we replaced our former go-tos with fresh foods after doing a little recipe hunting on Pinterest. Plus, we started logging all of our meals into the calorie tracker app, Lose It! It was a game changer when it came to my yo-yo dieting because I was amazed (ok, actually disgusted) at how many calories I was consuming on a daily basis. I never knew what I was putting into my body.

In addition to changing our eating habits at home, we cut back on going out to eat. Instead of heading out to restaurants, we spent quality time together looking for recipes and cooking healthy meals. Before I started trying to lose weight for good, I didn’t know much about cooking—so most of my healthy meals were super bland. After we started searching for more creative recipes, I learned how to make new healthy dishes that weren't just salads. Now we like to make like pizza with cauliflower crust and "chicken fingers" that were coated in almond flower and baked instead of fried.

Throughout my journey, it was so nice to have my husband as my support system. When one of us was feeling discouraged, we would remind each other that we were losing weight in order to enjoy a longer, healthier life together. We didn't have an end goal or a certain amount of weight we wanted to lose; we just wanted to be healthier overall. By 2011, I weighted 130 pounds—and I've stayed around that weight ever since. 

The Reward
After transforming our lives, my husband and I decided to open up our own fitness studio. We wanted to help others in our community accomplish the same kinds of things my husband and I did. If I hadn't lost the weight, I definitely would not have pursued this goal. Part of why our business is so successful is because we can set an example for our clients who are trying to change their lives.

Sarah's Tips
Have someone hold you accountable. Find a person who can help keep you motivated on your off days by giving you some extra encouragement or even meeting you at the gym. My husband really helped me stay on track.
Don't diet for the short term. You have to have the mindset that you're going to change your life forever. As someone who's yo-yoed her whole life, I know how important it is to develop a new normal. There's no expiration date on this "diet."
Enjoy the journey. Don't focus on getting to your goal weight. Instead, try to feel the difference in your body as you progress. Concentrate on things like how much energy you're gaining, going down a pants size, being able to work out longer, or lifting heavier weights.

Sarah, 31, stands at 5' 9" and lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina.

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