Cherie lost 45 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Cherie lost 45 pounds. After she was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis, her doctor advised that weight loss would help along with surgery. She was also motivated to change her eating habits due to food allergies. Check out her transformation journey.

What was your motivation?
In 2017, I was diagnosed with Osteoarthritis. I was in a lot of pain, and the doctor was recommending surgery. He also said I needed to lose weight for the operation to work. In addition to this, I started to develop severe food allergies. While I would love to say I finally had a great epiphany about weight loss, I didn’t. I had to lose weight and stop eating certain foods to save my life.

How did you change your eating habits?
I made a few changes in 2018. Then, in January 2019, I tried to go Vegan to help with my food allergies. After that, I added fish back to my diet but completely cut out dairy. Letting go of dairy was more difficult than letting go of meat because I was a cheese lover. I guess I am a pescatarian now since fish is the only meat I eat. 

Tell us about your workout routine.
I added walking back into my life as I started losing weight. It was easier on my knees since I still deal with Osteoarthritis. My father-in-law also gifted me with a stationary bike after hearing me say that the doctor recommended it for me. Now that I am more mobile, I have a goal to run the entire length of a 5K.

What was your starting weight? What is your current weight?
In the beginning, I weighed 284 pounds. My current weight is 239 pounds.

What is your height?
My height is 5’2″.

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned? 
The biggest lesson I learned was to stop beating myself up during the times I “slipped.” I also learned to celebrate the small wins. If I lost 6oz, I celebrated. If I didn’t gain weight after a weekend of not so healthy eating, I celebrated. I realized that focusing on the good was much more motivating than concentrating on the bad. 

What advice would you like to share with women who want to lose weight?
My biggest advice to others: Go at your own pace. Stop expecting to lose weight quickly. My doctor reminds me that it took a long time to gain all that weight.  

Instagram: @iamlivingcherie