Transformation of the Day: Maegan lost 48 pounds, going from a size 20/22 to a size 14. She was inspired by the success stories she read on our blog and by a diagnosis of a serious digestive disorder that landed her in the hospital. Regular exercise and meal prepping are two of the tools she used to transform her health.
My name is Maegan H. and I love your website. It was part of the inspiration behind my weight loss journey. I would always be on Facebook and see the success stories from your site and that ignited a fire in me to start the process. I would continue to tell myself that I would start tomorrow or start the next day, and I never did.
Finally, in April of this year, I was rushed to the hospital and told that I have diverticulitis. Diverticulitis is a digestive disease which involves the formation of pouches (diverticula) within the bowel wall. This process is known as diverticulosis, and typically occurs within the large intestine, or colon. It can occasionally occur in the small intestine as well. Usually people over the age of 60 are diagnosed with this condition and not people my age.
I was told by doctors and specialists that one of the possible causes for someone young as me to be diagnosed with this so early was due to obesity and eating habits. I was told that reducing my weight would help my condition. After being in the hospital three times in a row over the course of a week, I knew I had to make a lifestyle change. Those hospital visits motivated me to get up and make a change.
When I want to give up, I look at old pictures of myself or I think of the pain that I was in when I was in the hospital. Also looking at old pictures versus my new pictures inspires me to keep going and lets me know that I can do it and gives me good reason to not give up.
I decided that I needed to make a lifestyle change, so I began eliminating fried foods. From there, I begin to reduce my soda intake and eliminate sweets, which helped a lot. Now, I drink water and tea only. I also stopped eating red meat and pork. I only eat chicken and fish today. I started eating more green and leafy vegetables and more food that is high in fiber. I did not cut carbs out completely, instead I eat brown rice, quinoa and wheat pasta. I also was limited in terms of the fruit I ate. I mostly stuck with apples, watermelon, pineapples, grapes, etc. Prepping my meals was a big help. Being able to count calories and knowing what I was eating for the week made a difference.
I also started to do cardio two days a week and take a bootcamp class two days a week. On one of the other 7 days, I would walk or do an at-home workout video.
Since beginning my journey in April 2016, I am down 48 pounds! I’m still on my journey and my goal is to lose at least another 40, so I don’t want to reveal my starting weight yet. However, at the beginning of this journey, I was wearing a size 20/22 (3X) and now I am currently wearing a size 14 (1X or XL). I can’t wait to the day when I can wear a single digit size. My height is 5’3″.
My advice to others is start today and know that you CAN do it. I was always the girl that looked at success stories or saw people around me losing weight. I would say, “I want to do that.”, but would never start. I thought that keeping my same eating habits and living a very low activity life wasn’t going to affect me, but it did. I finally got the strength to get up and do something about. It took a medical issue for me to start. If you want to lose weight, don’t let your situation get to the point where you face a medical scare. Also, please realize that it is not going to happen overnight and that it takes time. Don’t quit because you don’t see instant results. Keep going! Each step you take counts and you will see great results in the end!
I plan to keep on going strong. I am so grateful to have found this blog and love reading the transformation stories everyday!
Instagram: @mz_mae99
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