Lauren lost 33 pounds

Weight Loss Transformation of the Day: Lauren lost 33 pounds.  She was motivated by the loss of a loved one to embrace exercise and change her eating habits.  She is still on her weight loss journey, but wanted to share about her experience with us…

My name is Lauren. I’ve lost 33 pounds as of today (height: 5’7″). I have tried everything over the years to lose weight. My dad passed away in May 2014 from so many health complications due to his weight, size, and other health issues. While losing him put me in a state of depression and caused me to lose some weight, I began to use that experience as motivation. I began exercising and eating smaller portions as well as making healthier eating decisions. I know I have not lost as much weight as some of the women you post on your page but I am determined to keep going and continue to lose this weight so that I can be more healthy and live a long life. My transformation took 6 months and I still steadily working to reach my weight loss goals.

I changed my eating habits by eating smaller portions and making more healthy choices. I did meal prep for each week. I also tried to the “Sacred Heart Diet” (google it, it really works! Within the first week you could lose 5-7 pounds) which consists of eating a soup that you fix with only vegetables in it and it tells you what to eat throughout the week. It gave me something different to look forward to. The diet says “the more you eat the more you lose” and it is so true. Broccoli and cauliflower was my favorite vegetable mix and I could eat that for dinner alone. I stopped eating sweets (no candy, honey buns, cookies, cake, etc.). This was hard to do around the holidays but it is possible to just eat fruit instead of indulging in the wrong things. 

I started working out 6 times a week and quickly realized that I could not maintain it. I didn’t punish myself because I realized that every time I worked out it was a victory so I didn’t beat myself up about missing workouts. I would just get back up and start again. On a normal basis, I worked out about 3-4 times a week. One thing that worked for me was doing cardio. I used the elliptical machine quite often. Because I am so busy during the weeks, I would have to do my workouts at home. I would use the elliptical for 30-40 minutes and did a squat challenge which strengthened my legs and toned them. While doing the squats, I would do different arm exercises with weights to ensure I could work multiple parts of my body at once for a more intense workout but also for better results. 

For others who are trying to lose weight I would like to tell them to never give up. If I can do it, then anyone can. I also would like them to know that it is a process. It will not happen overnight and just because you may slip up and eat the wrong thing sometimes, don’t let that stop your journey just pick back up where you left off instead of giving up. Also, rejoice in the small victories! You may not have lost any pounds or inches that week but it’s still a positive that you didn’t gain any either, so that’s something to be grateful for and be happy about. I’m not sure how many ladies have faith but I prayed and talked to God a lot about my weight loss goals and I asked him to help me because I couldn’t do it alone. Never give up!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!! If you need any more motivation just know, I’m still working on getting to my goals so I’m not where I want to be at all but I am right where I need to be to continue my journey. 

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