Today’s featured weight loss before and after: Latese lost 60 pounds with Zumba, protein shakes for meal replacement and portion control. Here is what she shared with us:
Hi, My name is Latese. When I graduated from high school, I weighed 145 pounds and even at that weight I thought I was fat. After high school, I never worked out. I also ate what I wanted, mainly fast food, and enjoyed mango margaritas at least four times a week. My clothes got bigger, but I remained in denial about how much weight I had actually gained. January 28, 2012, I weighed in at 225 pounds. It was shocking and depressing. At that moment, I made a vow to lose 50-60 pounds.
I joined a gym and started taking Zumba classes at least five times a week. When I wasn’t doing Zumba, I was in boot camp classes. I also stopped drinking those mango margaritas and replaced many of my meals with protein shakes. I pretty much ate what I wanted, just in portions. I cut back on fast foods as well. I still drink protein shakes as a meal replacement now. I am proud to say I have reached my goal of losing 60 pounds. I weigh 165 pounds. I’m only 20 pounds away from what I was at 18 years old. I have more energy, and can fit into the clothes I never would have been able to a year ago 🙂
I went from 297 pounds to 185 pounds. I did it all on my own and would love to share my story. Started my journey on 9/20/2011. What motivated my journey was trying on clothes and being almost out of a size 24 pants, about to be a size 26 pants. I cried in the dressing room and all the way home. I then threw out all my bad food and began my new life that day. I only baked or grill my meats. I only eat chicken or turkey meat. Water or tea are my only drinks. I eat lot’s of fruits and vegetables. I learned how to turn my favorite meals into healthy meals. For instance, I love pizza and now I can make it healthy by using 100 calorie whole wheat pita and low fat cheese, chicken and all the vegetables I can fit on it. That would be considered a treat for me.
I gained my weight due to depression and I used food as a support system especially when no one was there. Ten years later, I was over 100 pounds heavier and had numerous of health problems. I was tired of being sick physically and mentally. I knew the weight was keeping me me down both ways as well. So, I researched getting the gastric bypass weight loss surgery done. I found out my insurance paid for it in full. It took me a year to do what I had to do to get approved, but it happened. It was the hardest thing I have ever done. No quick fixes here! It was the best decision for me in the end. It very hard because I never would have known what my journey was really going to be until I went through it myself. I finally accepted my new lifestyle and said goodbye to my bad habits. I got up, ate healthy and worked out 3 – 5 days a week. I did both strength training and cardio. I was careful about not putting too much pressure on myself because I never wanted to hate what I was doing to get healthy. I worked hard everyday to both eat right and workout. I also had to also change my thinking patterns because that is what controlled my eating habits. I used working out as a stress reliever and it has helped me to be more positive. It still is an everyday struggle but I work day to day (sometimes minute to minute) to continue working hard.
