Weight Loss Story: Bobby lost 24.6 pounds, gained 8 lbs of muscle and won an online transformation contest. Her body fat when from 35% to 22.7%. She is a mom of 3 who truly values family time and a nurse practitioner. Check out how this busy mom changed her life.
My name is Bobby M. I am a wife, mother of 3, and a full time nurse practitioner. During nursing school, I gained 30+ pounds and began to think that at my age (35) and with my family history of obesity this was just normal. I assumed that I’d reached the point of no return in regards to my weight.
I didn’t want to succumb to my families history of heart disease and diabetes. Being in the healthcare field, we tend to take care of others but not ourselves. I wanted to show not only myself, but my children and my patients that you need to put yourself first in order to be able to fully take care of others.
I started following workout blogs again, in particular Ashley Horner‘s Becoming Extraordinary Facebook page. I decided to enter her Transform You challenge on January 1st for extra motivation. After that, I went full throttle. I worked out 1-2 hours per day, 5-6 days per week and tried my hand at meal prepping. I also eliminated fried food and fast food! I focused on mainly lean ground beef, chuck steaks, chicken and pan seared tilapia with a veggie and sweet potatoes. I also drank two protein shakes per day. I usually consumed 5-6 meals per day. No snacks.
I started out simple and after 4 weeks I started getting more creative with my meal choices. I used My Fitness Pal to track my macros and I told everyone who would listen about my goals. I figured the more people I told the more they would keep me accountable.
Exercise wise, I started out opposite of what most people do. Because of a knee injury, I shied away from most cardio and focused on strength training. Then I slowly started attempting to trust my knee again and implemented more cardio, which included mostly running. Every now and then I’ll use the rower since I’m doing more of a crossfit type workout now, or the elliptical when my knee is bothering me.
I wasn’t willing to cut out going to my kids gymnastics, boxing and track meets, or helping with everyday after school stuff. So, I started going to bed at 9pm and waking up at 4am to hit the gym before work. It’s a routine that I still keep today. I also try not to get too stuck in my routine, because if I don’t get up I have to workout after work. This means that I miss out on quality time with my kids, which is motivation for me to make sure that doesn’t happen too often.
I ended up WINNING my transform you challenge in March 2016. Thanks to Ashley Horner, my family and I have $3,000 more in our pockets. This is all from me doing something I needed to do it the first place!
At this point, I weigh 129.4 pounds at 5’3. I started at 154 pounds in January of this year. For someone who thought they were at the point of no return, it took four months and taking some me time to shed 24.6 pounds and gain 8 pounds of lean muscle. I went from 35% to 22.7% body fat and I went from wearing large/extra large to small/extra small clothes. I am not where I want to be, but that’s only because a life of fitness and health has no stopping point. I am happy, healthier and I’ve learned to take time for myself which allows me more time for everything else.
>My advice to others is to never give up. I’ve had many “Day Ones”, but that only means I never quit. Once I decided I was truly going to make a change, I made a plan and that helped me stick with it. Also, meal prepping was a true game changer for me. With 3 very busy children, a husband and a full time job it makes my life so easy when I have food readily available. It also helps me not snack on what I’m making for the family when I have my own food close by and ready to go.
I would also suggest starting slow and working your way up. The way I did things can be intimidating, but what I did may not work for others. Use my story as inspiration to develop the plan that works for YOU.
Instagram: @beefit2016
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