Sierra lost 80+ pounds

Transformation of the Day: Sierra lost 80+ pounds. This mother of four shared a challenging experience she had at a waterpark that was the catalyst for her transformation journey. She has found success with weight loss surgery, healthier eating habits, intermittent fasting, and exercise. She is also partnering and sharing her journey online with her sister Jessica, who we featured a few days ago.

The first thing I think about when I think about what motivates me is my children. My twins, my six-year-old, and my thirteen-year-old mean the entire world to me. Over the last thirteen years, I have dedicated my life to my children and wholly neglected myself. 

After I had my middle daughter, I was significantly overweight, depressed, and always in pain. Then, in 2015, when my baby was almost one, I went to a waterpark with my family. Practically every ride had a 250 lb. weight limit, stairs, and long lines. I had been neglecting my health and was not exactly sure what I weighed. I could hardly walk around the park, and I found myself sitting down and taking lots of breaks.

There was one ride that I was so excited to ride. My oldest daughter volunteered to ride with me, and we walked up a ton of stairs and got to the top, and I saw a scale. I stepped on the scale, and it said 310 pounds! I could not believe it! My daughter ended up riding alone, and I did not ride the ride because of the weight limit. I had to walk down a crowded stairway all the way back down. I cried my eyes out that day, and I just could not believe how far I had let myself go. This was a life-changing moment for me, and it sparked something in me that I wanted to change. In 2016, I decided to get weight loss surgery, and I went from 310 pounds to my lowest weight, 185 pounds.

After surgery, it is nearly impossible to eat and drink simultaneously, and I cannot eat anything quickly. I committed to a 12-day liquid diet and lost almost 20 lbs. Gastric bypass immensely changed what I was eating and how much I ate. I went from eating an entire 12-ounce steak by myself to not even being able to eat a whole boiled egg. 

I completed the post-op diet, started taking vitamins daily, and committed to caring for my body. I could finally cross my legs!! Finally, I was happy, and I was a lot healthier. I looked good in my clothes, my confidence skyrocketed, and my body aches and pains were gone. I completely stopped drinking alcohol and focused on my protein intake. I also cut out all sweets and unhealthy snacks I was used to eating. 

Weight loss surgery is not a magic pill, and if you don’t commit to a lifestyle change, you will end up back where you started. The weight loss surgery will not do all the work, and I learned that although I eat less, I can and will gain weight if I don’t change what I eat.

After having my twins, I got my weight back down to around 190 lbs. However, at the beginning of 2021, I weighed over 260 pounds. I regained 80 of the pounds that I fought so hard to lose. 

I was in a very toxic, unhealthy marriage that severely stressed me out daily. Then, the pandemic started, and I was not active at all. I was living, but I was not living. I started having back pains, and I found myself buying 2X and 3X clothes again. I decided that this was not going to be my story again. I remembered how I felt walking down the stairway at the waterpark and decided to make a change. 

As of today, I have lost 30 of my regained pounds by going back to the basics. I can still eat only small amounts of food, but I stopped snacking throughout the day. I also started doing everything I had done initially after I had surgery. 

I do intermittent fasting daily, and I start eating around 11 am. I don’t consume anything but water after 7 pm. I eat lots of protein daily, and I have started working out five days a week. I also do Just Dance with my children and walk throughout the week. It is not always easy, and sometimes I do contemplate giving up. But the fighter in me will not let me quit. I keep a poster on my wall that says, “You do not live to eat; you eat to live.” 

There is nothing on earth that tastes better than weight loss feels. The biggest lesson I have learned is to keep going and that you must have a changed mindset if you genuinely want to see a change. Strength is not measured by how much weight you can lift in a gym. True strength is measured by how many times you can get up when you fall. 

The journey that I am on right now does not have an exact goal weight. But, I will keep going, continue to eat healthily, live a healthier lifestyle, and just see how far I can go. My children deserve a healthier mom. I liked being able to run around with my children and keep up with them. 

Being fat is hard, and losing weight is hard. I decided to pick the hard that will give me a better quality of life. My sister Jessica has been my biggest accountability partner, and by helping ourselves, we hope to help others. We started @Mysistersjourney to keep ourselves accountable and show the world that it can be done!