It was in college that I stopped being as active, and started eating (and drinking) a lot more than I should have. That’s when the weight started coming on strong.<\/p>\n
What habits specifically led you to gain weight?<\/strong> I ate whatever tasted good, and I ate a lot of it. I drank on the weekends because it was the cool thing to do. I wasn’t active at all. Exercise was not in my daily routine. I took the “freshman 15” seriously.<\/p>\n What caused you to realize you needed to change?<\/strong> The day I stepped on the scale, realized I hit 240lbs, looked in the mirror and cried. I just had knee surgery and it was hard to hold my weight. I could hardly walk up the stairs without breathing heavily. I knew that if I wanted my life to go somewhat back to normal after surgery, I had to start losing weight, immediately.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How did you lose the weight?<\/strong> My dad introduced me to a woman who was a health coach on a program called Take Shape For Life<\/a><\/strong>. With her help, I have been able to learn how to eat right, learn healthy habits, control cravings, avoid temptations, and take my life back.<\/p>\n What diet and exercise methods did you employ?<\/strong> The Take Shape For Life program sends me food every month, and I only have to make one meal a day for myself, called a “lean and green” (it’s a combination of veggies and proteins). For exercise, I do a mixture of cardio and light weight lifting weekly, to avoid flabbiness!<\/p>\n Did you have any “ah ha” moments along the way?<\/strong>\u00a0The moment I sat on an airplane and my hips didn’t touch the side of the seat was a great moment. I was recently able to fit in a pair of jeans I haven’t been able to wear since I was in the 10th grade. That was a tear-jerk moment for me, as well.<\/p>\n Biggest struggle in your journey?<\/strong> Avoiding temptation is something I still struggle with. It’s hard to say no to some of my favorite foods.<\/p>\n Biggest triumphs?<\/strong> \u00a0My biggest triumph would be running my first 5k. That was an exciting moment for me, and something I never thought I’d do.<\/p>\n Future goals?<\/strong> I want to complete a marathon and a Tough Mudder one day. I want that shirt!<\/p>\n Advice you’d give to other people struggling to lose weight?<\/strong> You’ll never lose weight until you decide that you NEED to change. You have to decide to do it for YOU. I promise you – the feeling you get when you accomplish milestones is worth EVERY hard moment of the weight loss process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Also Read:<\/strong><\/p>\n When a Bionic Leg is the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You: One Runner’s Race to Four Marathon Finish Lines<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Eli Sapharti Loses 105 Pounds: From Fat Boy to Fit Man<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Marielle Doughty Lost 113 Pounds and Continues to Embrace the Journey<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today’s true weight loss story comes to us from Las Vegas, Nevada where Amanda Shepherd is enjoying the freedom of being 60 pounds thinner and has her eye on a future Tough Mudder competition. The look on her face in … Continue reading ![\"amanda](\"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/amanda-shepherd-collage.jpg\")
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