How I Lost 20 Pounds and Rid My Belly of Bloat for Good

Before: 137

After: 120

The Lifestyle
I was never overweight to the point that I was considered unhealthy, but I didn't feel comfortable in my skin—especially after I ate. I constantly felt bloated and uncomfortable.

After every meal, I felt tired and had sharp stomach pains. Even something as little as a piece of toast would make me feel like there was a balloon in my stomach. Toward the end of my junior year of high school, I started to put on weight—it was especially noticeable by my prom.

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I just assumed that this was how life was going to be. I thought my only option for losing weight and feeling better about my body was exercising, so I sporadically went to the gym with my friends to run on the treadmill and do an abs workout. I hated exercising, though, and didn't see much of a difference.

By freshman year of college, I weighed 137 pounds, and I continued to work out but still didn't notice a change. I started to suspect that I had food allergies because I felt especially gross whenever I ate sandwiches, pizza, cantaloupe, kiwis, tortilla chips, or corn. During my sophomore year of college, I went to the doctor and found out that I had Celiac disease and am allergic to tree nuts and fruits that carry high levels of pollen.

After that appointment, I began avoiding most of those foods—but I had a really hard time totally putting the kibosh on gluten. I would be really good about not eating it when I made my own meals, but if I went to a party where there was pizza or cake, I would have a slice, and it would make me feel terrible. I learned that my body couldn't handle any amount of things I was allergic to—even just a small bit.

The Change
At the end of my junior year of college, I was so sick of feeling horrible all the time. I realized I needed to be more cautious about everything I was eating. That's when I came across this app called Rise, which is basically platform for nutritionists to give you feedback on everything that you eat. Each day, I would use the app to record my meals and include a photo of them. Afterward, my nutritionist would check out my choices and give me feedback based on my goals to lose weight and eat according to my food allergies.

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At first, my nutritionist Colleen said that I had a really high carbohydrate intake from all the gluten-free products I was buying. And since those products usually contain more sugar to make up for the lack of gluten, I was craving and eating more chocolate than ever. She also told me that instead of eating an entire frozen gluten-free pizza, I should start with a salad to feel more full and keep myself from finishing off the whole pizza—which I used to do all the time. Since eating used to make me feel so horrible, I skipped lunch all the time. On top of that, I rarely ate any vegetables. Colleen told me that I needed incorporate more of the green stuff into my diet and eat meals consistently throughout the day. All of her tips were straightforward, but I probably wouldn't have figured them out on my own.

After using the app for a month, I started feeling so much better. The bloating decreased a lot, and the sharp stomach pains, which I used to get almost every time I ate, completely went away. After three months, I had lost five pounds. Now, a year later, I've lost 17 pounds and weigh 120 pounds. That's less than I weighed at my high school graduation!  

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The Reward
In addition to losing weight, I feel good enough to start working out again. Before I changed my diet, I felt so bloated and tired that exercising was a chore. Now, I really love going to Pilates and yoga classes at least twice a week. Working with a nutritionist also totally changed my relationship with food. Instead of being scared of what food does to my body, I see it as something that gets me energized for my day. And if I want to treat myself, I don't feel guilty indulging in something like ice cream because I know that my healthy diet allows some wiggle room for those occasions. 

Molly's Tips
Keep a healthy treat at home. I always have dark chocolate in my freezer because I can grab a little bit of it when I crave sweets. That handful of chocolate comes in handy when someone around me is snacking on something that I'm allergic to, like cookies. It keeps me in control.
Make sure your diet caters to you. Working with a nutritionist who knows my goals and my food restrictions taught me that it's important to follow a diet that is works for you, not something that everyone else is doing to lose weight.
Give yourself time to see results. When I first started watching what I ate, I didn't lose much weight, but I didn't let that discourage me from keeping up my good habits. I tried to focus on how I felt, not how I looked—and it paid off.

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