85 lbs. lighter! - Erin’s Story

Erin Larson
Sugarland, Texas
Age: 28
Height: 5’8”
Inches lost: bust 7; waist 7½ hips 12

Biggest obstacle
Eating out of boredom. Instead of munching on cake or eating a bag of chips because I had nothing else to do, I distracted myself by scrap-booking or doing something creative.
Weekly exercise program
Weight training: 45-75 minutes/3 times a week. Kickboxing, aerobics classes, running, walking or elliptical training: 30-60 minutes/5-6 times a week.
Eating philosophy
Each week, I download an eating plan from ediets.com, which contains three balanced meals and two snacks with healthy amounts of carbs, protein and fat.
What I learned

-Nix the excuses. There are 101 excuses not to work out or eat right. Get over them and the sooner you do, the closer you’ll be to reaching your weight-loss goals.
-Pay in advance. Buy a bunch of personaltraining sessions or prepay your gym membership fee. Knowing that you have already spent your money will make you more likely to go so you won’t waste your money.
-Don’t shop on an empty stomach. Instead, do your grocery shopping after your workout, that way you’ll be more likely to fill your cart with healthy foods rather than cookies, chips or other junk food.

I started gaining weight after my husband’s job transfer moved us to a new town and away from our friends and family. I became a stay-at-home mom and while my son was at school, I was alone and often turned to food for comfort. Then I became pregnant and started eating for two and gained almost 100 pounds. After having my baby, my weight eventually settled at 230 pounds. I didn’t worry about it too much because I thought the weight would come off on its own.

Six months later, the number on the scale hadn’t budged and I felt depressed that I was still heavy. The extra weight made it harder for me to get around. I dreaded the thought of going upstairs to get my baby’s diapers because it was too much effort. That was when I decided enough was enough and I had to do something.

I knew I couldn’t lose weight on my own, so I joined a womenonly boot camp class at my gym, where I and other moms like me did cardio and weight training circuits twice a week. I also hired a trainer to work out with me three times a week. I dropped off my kids in the gym’s child care center while I worked out. To improve my eating habits, I went on-line and joined ediets.com. I looked through the various weight-loss eating plans and found several that suited my needs. I downloaded a plan and posted it to my refrigerator to help me stay on track. Each plan was filled with fruits, vegetables and complex carbs, as well as lean protein and healthy fats, such as nuts and avocados.

Thanks to all these healthy changes, I lost 5 pounds in a month. By then, I had made new friends through my boot camp class and going to the gym regularly. My loneliness began to ease. I downloaded a new eating plan each week so I was never bored eating the same foods. Whenever I felt discouraged, I logged onto ediets.com’s message boards and exchanged messages with others who reminded me to stay on track. The Web site also had great exercise ideas that I used whenever I needed a change from my usual workouts.

A year later, I had lost 85 pounds. I gave away my old size 20 clothes because I knew I had made healthy lifestyle changes and that I will maintain my current weight of 145 pounds for the rest of my life.