Name: Lynn
Age: 43
Family Status: Divorced
Occupation: Registered Nurse
Hometown: Texarkana, Texas
Height: 5’5″
Starting Weight: 266 pounds
Current Weight: 143 pounds
Current Waist Size: 33″
Lynn’s Weight Loss Interview!
How much did you lose?
From January 3, 2014 through July 28, 2015, I lost 123 pounds and went from a size 24 to a size 4! I did it without any surgeries or medications.
When did you become unhappy with your weight?
I have struggled with my weight most of my adult life. After my divorce, I was 266 pounds and bigger than I had ever been.
What made you decide to lose weight?
I was 41 years old. I felt like my life was literally half over and I had nothing really to show for it. I was divorced, depressed and wanted more. I didn’t want the next 40 years to be wasted. I was sitting in the bathtub scrolling through Facebook before getting ready for work that day and read an article about what sugar was really doing to our bodies. Something clicked for me at that moment. I got out of the tub, went straight to the kitchen, pulled out a big trash bag and cleaned out my kitchen of all the sugary foods. I mean everything! That single determined action changed the entire course of my life! If you just change one thing, you can change everything!
What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?
The most important change was learning to believe in me. I had to learn to change how I thought about myself in order to change my body. I became empowered every time I made a healthy choice. The stronger I got, the more powerful I got! It was all about getting my head right. I used a motivation board to help my brain believe that I could do it! Once my brain began to believe it, my body followed! I learned to dream big, believe in myself and take action.
What was the most challenging thing you had to deal with during your weight loss journey?
The single most challenging thing I had to deal with was myself. There is no bigger obstacle than ourselves! But by pushing through the bad days, even when I didn’t feel like it, I empowered myself!
How long did it take you to start to see results?
I lost 42 pounds by the end of April, 2014. I was still very big and it was hard to tell physically, but I felt so much better! I had more energy than I had in years and my clothes weren’t fitting me any longer. That was a turning point for me and I was beginning to feel good about myself again!
How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?
It took a total of 19 months for me to lose 123 pounds.
How long have you maintained your weight loss and what are the most important factors for keeping it off?
The most important factor for maintaining my weight loss is consistency and a total lifestyle change. I have become a personal trainer and opened a business called Barbell Butterfly which is a women’s total body transformation program I put together based on my own successful transformation experience. I want other women to know that they really can do this too! My business is growing while helping other women become successful on their own weight loss journeys. I believe in eating clean and lifting weights to get healthy and fit. These women are doing it too and seeing amazing results!
What keeps you motivated to continue your weight loss success?
Barbell Butterfly is what keeps me in check. I am also very goal oriented. I am always setting new goals for my body and pushing it to a new limit! Each month, I set lifting and workout goals that keep me pushing forward.
How has your life changed now that you have lost weight?
My life is completely different! My body has totally transformed and my life has completely changed. I have started a women’s health and weight loss support group called “Fabulously Empowered Women”. We meet every other Monday night at a local fitness center to encourage each other on our weight loss journey! In July, I took a Personal Trainer’s Class and received my Personal Trainers Certificate so I can help other people learn how to exercise and take care of their bodies! I have started a growing business to educate women on eating clean along with visual motivation, goal setting and weight lifting in order to transform their bodies. Everything is so much different and I love my life now!
Do you have any advice for others who are trying to lose weight?
Dream it. Believe it. Do it!
How did ShapeFit help you reach your weight loss goals?
The weight loss stories on ShapeFit are very inspirational.
Lynn’s Weight Loss Tips!
Weight Loss Tip #1:
Don’t be afraid to dream big. Visualize the body that you want and own it!
Weight Loss Tip #2:
Believe in yourself! Make a motivation board to help your brain stop all of those negative, self-bullying thoughts. The motivation board helps put positive thoughts into your head and your brain will begin to believe it.
Weight Loss Tip #3:
Cut out sugar and eat clean. Sugar literally makes us sick. Eating clean is how our bodies are designed to eat. Focus on lean proteins, complex carbs and eat small meals frequently throughout the day.
Weight Loss Tip #4:
Stop the cardio madness! Yes, we need cardio to help us burn fat but building lean muscle tissue is what keeps our metabolism revved up and on fire. When you gain muscle, you will burn fat even while you sleep! Weight lifting and resistance training is also great for osteoporosis, depression, anxiety, weight loss and so many other things! Not to mention you can sculpt your body into a strong, lean and beautiful machine!
Weight Loss Tip #5:
Smash your scales! Scales are defeating and tell us nothing. We are never happy with whatever number they give us. Even when we lose weight, we always think “That’s great, but…” so get rid of that self-defeating thing!
Lynn’s Weight Loss Eating Plan!
What do you normally eat for breakfast?
Protein shake, Ezekiel muffin with almond butter.
What do you normally eat for lunch?
Grilled chicken, steamed veggies, black beans.
What do you normally eat for dinner?
Fish or other lean protein and steamed veggies.
What do you normally eat for snacks?
Almonds, cottage cheese, half an avocado, berries, Greek yogurt, rice cake with almond butter.
What type of nutritional supplements do you take?
CLA, multivitamins and whey protein shakes.
Lynn’s Weight Loss Workouts!
What do you do for weight training (exercises, workouts)?
I write my own 6 week weight training routines for body sculpting. Each day has its own focus on a specific muscle group and each routine has goals to work towards over the 6 week period:
Monday: Legs
Tuesday: Chest and triceps
Wednesday: Back and biceps
Thursday: Legs
Friday: Shoulders
What do you do for cardio training (exercises, workouts)?
I do HIIT workouts on the elliptical machine. I usually do 30 minutes of cardio after my weight training workout.
8 Comments
You look beautiful! You’re really an inspiration to many who are trying to lose weight but are finding it really difficult to do so. I have a friend who wants to lose weight but never puts a foot down and really goes for it. Your story will help to encourage her!
Thanks so much! The whole reason I share my story is to help inspire other women to take that first step! It’s the first step that is the hardest! I put it off for YEARS! Tell your friend that she can do this because she REALLY CAN! If this recovering couch potato, junk food junkie can do it, ANYBODY CAN 🙂
Hello Lynn, many congratulations! Those were some of the most inspiring before and after photos I have ever seen! The motivation board tip sounds great! Thank you 🙂
Thank you so much! My motivation board was one of the most important factors to my success! You should make one too because it really does change how we think about ourselves 🙂
YEAH! I’m so happy to see a woman in her 40’s do this and look BEAUTIFUL in the end! I’ve lost about 20 lbs now (about 37 to go), and I’m just so excited to see changes. The most shocking experience was when my youngest daughter excitedly said to me, “Mommy, I can reach my arms all the way around you when I hug you now!” She was so thrilled, but I was just horrified to think I’d let myself go that far. So can I ask a personal question – what worries me the most is that I’m going to have saggy, stretched-out skin when I’m through. Did you have to have surgery? If not, what did you do? Again, you look beautiful but more than that, you look STRONG! And I just LOVE that!
I, like everyone else, think you look amazing! I read a lot of the success stories on here but for some reason yours has struck a chord with me. I am in my mid-40’s and need to lose 40 lbs to get back to where I have always been comfortable and feeling my best. I packed this weight on after my divorce. I am remarried and my husband loves me unconditionally but I am not comfortable with my weight gain. I have blamed my hysterectomy, hormones, you name it. You have given me a new inspiration. I am going to try your motivation board and am going to rid my home of sugar. Congratulations on your success. You really do look absolutely amazing. A lot of women that lose a great amount of weight, end up looking older in their faces. But not you. You are beautiful. Thank you for sharing your story.
You look amazing! You’re so inspirational and I was really shocked to see that you are from my hometown. Keep up the great work!
You are so cool! I love how you have used your own success and everything that you learned along the way to help other people both with your business and support group. You look awesome! I really like your tip about the motivation board. I read the article about it on ShapeFit and I’m brainstorming how to make one since we get very few magazines where I live. I did a lot of art therapy as an MFT intern and those kinds of activities were always so powerful, both when I did them for myself and with clients (and I am not “artistic” at all). You motivated me to do a non-magazine version of that. I love how you keep setting ongoing goals too. You go girl!