The Easy Steps That Helped Me Lose More Than 175 Pounds

Before: 373
After: 198

The Lifestyle
My family and I have always been overweight. I don't want to blame my parents, but they pretty much let my brother and me eat whatever we wanted when we were kids. There were times where I would eat an entire box of Pop-Tarts, and no one said anything. By the time I reached high school, I weighed about 260 pounds. But I never really saw the need to lose weight because I was funny, and that made me feel confident.

When I got to college, I weighed about 300 pounds and then put on the freshman 15—times two. I think the reason I gained so much is that I just kept up my unhealthy habits, didn't exercise, and ate like a college kid. I don't think I had one vegetable while I was there.

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After college, I started dating a guy who was also on the heavy side, and I put on even more weight because we both loved grabbing fast food. I loved chicken sandwiches, ice cream, and stuffed-crust pizza. I also devoured a two-liter of soda every day—thanks to my sweet tooth.

After our relationship ended, I fell in love with the most amazing guy, who happens to be pretty slender. We got hitched and decided to adopt a newborn. By the time we got the adoption process rolling, I weighed 373 pounds.

The Change
As I began to realize that I was going to be a mom soon, I started to notice parents who sat on the sidelines while their kids played at the park. I knew that if I didn't lose weight, I would be like those moms and dads, not because I was distracted by my phone but because I wouldn't be able to physically keep up with my kid. I didn't want to miss a second of being a parent.

So I decided to make a change. The first thing I did was start counting my calories using the app SparkPeople. I didn't change my eating habits much, though. I wanted to see what I was typically consuming. That total came out to be about 3,000 calories per day. I was actually a little shocked to see how much I was eating.

I also stopped drinking soda on the day I set out to get healthy, and it was pretty hard. I never liked drinking water because I thought it tasted gross, so I used flavored water packets to make it easier to drink. That helped a lot. Eventually, I stopped using the flavoring, too.

Shortly after I started making healthy changes to my life, I began using DietBet.com to motivate me to stick with my plans to get active and lose weight. The first time I played, I bet $25 that I would lose four percent of my body weight. I figured I was already planning on dropping pounds, so I might as well earn money doing it. During my first game, I won back my $25, plus an extra $10 for meeting my goal! I was hooked.

I also started cooking. I had to get away from the processed foods and fast food that I had been eating all the time. I started noshing on fruits and veggies—more vegetables than I've ever had in my life, actually. And I learned that Brussels sprouts are actually pretty tasty if you cook them the right way! I started looking for new recipes online and started getting creative in the kitchen. My husband still snacks on some processed snack foods, but eventually I stopped craving it. I'd rather just have a bowl of grapes than eat junk.

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I still treated myself to ice cream and other indulgent foods if I had enough calories left in my budget for the day, though. I learned that if I don't give myself those treats, I go crazy. I also started subbing in healthy treats that calm those sweet-tooth cravings I get after dinner. Instead of eating cookies or brownies for dessert, for example, I'll have a Greek yogurt from the freezer. It's not quite the same as ice cream, but it keeps me sane.

After about a month of slowly changing my eating habits, I started doing Zumba on my Wii. The first time, I could only dance for like 10 minutes twice a week before I got too winded and had to give up. But each week, I would work out for just a few more minutes. I loved working out at home because I didn't feel like anyone would judge my horrible dance moves, and I could do it anytime I wanted. Eventually, I started walking and then jogging on the treadmill to get more exercise in.

This might sound weird, but I plan on counting calories for the rest of my life—and I'm totally okay with that. There's something about keeping track of those numbers that keeps me accountable for all the things I put into my body. Though I have a pretty good idea of how many calories are in the foods that I like, if I stopped counting, I wouldn't have that number in my face telling me that I'm going overboard (or not).

After a year and a half of keeping up my healthy habits, I can do over an hour of Zumba, I love to run, and I've won close to $1,500. Today, I weight 198 pounds and am still working toward my goal weight of 160 pounds.

The Reward
Besides finally being able to shop at a department store, one of the biggest rewards for me has been the confidence I feel when I go out with my husband. Before I lost weight, I was always worried that people were judging us because I was so heavy and he was the complete opposite. If you ask my husband, he'll say he never noticed other people staring, but I saw the judgmental looks when we held hands. I always worried that people were thinking, "What is he doing with her?"

If I hadn't lost the weight, I don't think I could physically handle taking care of my son the way I do. I have so much more energy for the feedings every night and also to work out several times a week.

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Jennifer's Tips
Lose the diet mentality. One of the biggest reasons I've been so successful at losing weight and keeping it off is because I've transformed my lifestyle. The word "diet" makes me think that these healthy changes will eventually come to an end. But by seeing weight loss and weight maintenance as a way of living, I'm totally comfortable sticking with my eating plan and workout routine. A lot of weight loss is in your head.
Count calories. I had no idea what was in my food until I started to reading the labels and doing the math. I found that if I didn't keep an eye what I was eating, the amount of calories I consumed really snuck up on me.
Drink lots of water. I went from drinking very, very little water to chugging it all the time. When I wake up in the morning, one of the first things I do is have a glass. Since it helps me feel fuller faster, I have a glass before each meal. That enables me to feel satisfied while eating smaller portions.

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