The Changes That Helped Me Drop 80 Pounds

Before: 224

After: 144

The Lifestyle
I've been overweight most of my life. I basically ate whatever I wanted and didn't exercise at all. For breakfast, I'd have a bagel, and lunch was either a deli sandwich or pizza. Besides choosing foods that weren't exactly low in calories, my biggest problem was overeating. I didn't know anything about portion control—I just ate until I felt really full.

Even though I was heavy, I wasn't concerned about what I looked like. I assumed that this was my body and there was nothing I could do about it. Plus, I was in a great relationship with my husband, so I saw no reason to change anything. I was happy.

When I got pregnant with my first child, I weighed about 164 pounds, which isn't great for someone who is 5' 3". From there, things got a little out of control. I started eating chili cheese fries for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and used my pregnancy as an excuse to eat as much of whatever else I wante. During that pregnancy, I put on about 60 pounds.

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The Change
When I realized how big I'd gotten, I decided to join Weight Watchers to track my calorie intake. I was shocked when I saw how much I was overeating. I didn't realize that some of the foods that I'd thought were low in calories—like granola—weren't. At all. I learned so much about nutrition and how to choose healthier options at the grocery store. I swapped white bread for whole-wheat bread, regular yogurt for high-protein Greek yogurt, and bought fruit to snack on instead of chips. I still didn't work out, though.

After losing about 20 pounds in three months, I weighed 200 pounds and was starting to feel better about myself. I thought that was good enough, so I quit Weight Watchers and tried to keep up the habits on my own. Eventually, I went back to my old ways. I also got pregnant soon after. Between ditching my healthy eating plan and preparing to have another baby, I put on 45 pounds.

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Though I gained less weight than during my first pregnancy, I still put on more than I should have. If I wanted a bag of chips or a giant bowl of ice cream, I would have it.

After I had my second baby, my insurance company made my husband and I get physicals. When I got my blood-work results back, the doctors told me that I had high triglyceride levels, and I was disgusted. I knew I needed to change my lifestyle, so I signed up for Weight Watchers again.

But this time was so much different. I was motivated to live a healthier life—not just get skinny—and that meant incorporating exercise into my routine. I started by walking a mile a day and gradually increasing it to three miles. After that, I began running. I felt like I was taking ownership of my body again. I was so much more energized and less stressed out.

Despite that, it was tricky trying to squeeze in time to exercise with two kids. I started working out in the morning so I didn't have an excuse not to do it when I was tired after work. Besides that, I continued to make healthier swaps by choosing lower-calorie options, like ground turkey instead of beef. Over six months, I lost 60 pounds—and then I got pregnant again.

I don't know if it was because I was finally taking care of myself or the fact that I already had two kids, but this was the easiest pregnancy—by far. I didn’t lose as much sleep and wasn't as uncomfortable as I had been with my first two kids. I gained a little over 30 pounds and weighed about 200 pounds.

The first thing I did when I got home from the hospital was sign up for Weight Watchers—I knew what it was like to be healthy, and I wanted to get back to that.

Then, my cousin told me that she was using this website called Diet Bet to lose weight. The site lets you bet that you will lose four percent of your body weight; if you lose it, you get your money back, plus the cash from others who didn't meet their goal. I thought it was genius way to pay for my Weight Watchers program and stay motivated. After a year of keeping up my good habits, I'd lost 56 pounds, bringing the number on the scale to 144 pounds.

The Reward
My favorite part of having lost 80 pounds is inspiring other people around me to get healthier. I've had friends and family members ask me what I did to get in shape and tell me that I've them motivated to change their lifestyles. Nobody told me that losing weight could be easy if you make the right changes; I wish I had known that sooner. When I help others figure out how to change their lives for the better, it makes me feel good.

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Stephanie's Tips
Don't drink your calories. I used to drink soda and juice all day every day. When I started tracking my calories, I realized how much of a difference those drinks make in the amount of calories I was consuming. I switched from soda to seltzer and juice to water.

Keep fruit handy. When I have healthier options available, I eat those instead of going out and grabbing something unhealthy, like a cookie.

Get moving ASAP. I learned that losing weight goes so much faster when I was exercising to burn calories instead of just eating less. Also, I found that it's important to ease into exercise if you haven't done much of it before. Starting with walking long distances helped make the transition to running much easier—and way less frustrating.

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