I’m just throwing it out there, I adore Brigette Underwood. Today’s true weight loss story comes to us from deep in the heart of Mississippi. This southern girl knows her food triggers (fried chicken), but now instead of yo-yo dieting, she’s finding balance and a healthier relationship with food than she’s ever had before. Look at that smile. I want to sit and sip on some sweet tea with you, girl.
More from Brigette in her own words.
Tell me when your weight struggles began. I distinctly remember in 3rd grade a boy asking if I had a baby in my tummy. I was always bigger than my friends. I never felt pretty or accepted because of my weight. I would go through phases of crash dieting and starving myself but obviously none of that worked. I had a very unhealthy relationship with food.
What caused you to realize you needed to change? I realized I needed to change when I had a physical done before I started nursing school. My blood pressure was 150/91, the highest it had ever been, and I weighed a whopping 254lbs. How did I let myself get to that point? I don’t really know. But I knew I needed to change or I was going to have major health problems and I was only 19 years old.
How did you lose the weight? I started by simply down sizing my portions. I wasn’t necessarily eating better but I was eating less. Then one day I decided to join a gym and I fell in love with working out! What a great stress relief from nursing school. The more I worked out the better I wanted to eat. The better I ate, the better I felt.
What has worked best for me is counting calories.
It’s easy to become obsessed with counting calories and that’s not healthy. I knew about how many calories I needed to stay under to lose weight and I did so eating HEALTHY foods, not this “low calorie low fat” junk, and drinking at least half my body weight in ounces of water a day. Weight training in combination with cardio was the game-changer for me.
Did you have any “ah ha” moments along the way? The day I ran a mile without taking a break for the first time ever. The girl who wasn’t able to walk on the elliptical for 4 minutes just ran a mile at the park. I knew this wasn’t another yo-yo diet, it was my lifestyle, and there was no going back.
My biggest struggle to this day is eating. I’m from the south. If it can be fried we fry it. Chicken, fish, corn, Oreos, you name it. It is a conscious effort every single day not to eat fried food. And sometimes, the fried food wins. But I don’t let it defeat me. I say okay that fried chicken sure was good, but it’s not happening again today.
My biggest triumph would have to be my new-found confidence. I used to hate looking in the mirror, taking pictures or trying on clothes. Now, I love to buy clothes that accentuate my shape! I have curves and I work them to my advantage.
We only have one body. We need to love, cherish and nourish it.
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