Woman Loses 145 Pounds — Half Her Weight — And Dishes Her Secrets
Stephanie Denny currently weighs 175 pounds. Amazingly, she weighs almost half of what she weighed in 2011, when she weighed 320 pounds. She’s 33 years old, six feet tall, and sharing her weight-loss journey, according to Yahoo Health.
She didn’t want to die young like her mother did and felt like a bad mother because she got winded from just looking at her children. Although she was approved for gastric band surgery, she decided to give good, ol’ diet and exercise one more try.
One of her secrets is using a food scale. And in the beginning, she followed Weights Watchers’ plan for nursing woman, as she was a nursing mother at the time. She walked five miles per day in the beginning and logged her food on Sparkpeople.com, later transitioning over to MyFitnessPal.com.
She used an entire cycle of P90X Lean for workouts and began using a BodyMedia armband to monitor the calories she burned. Then, she used INSANITY workouts and went to spin classes, changing her armband to a Fitbit. When she lost 100 pounds, she hit a plateau. But she also had excess sagging skin that remained no matter how much she exercised. So she had a tummy tuck and breast lift/augmentation.
After she healed from surgery, she continued eating healthy foods and going to the gym, adding in outside boot camp exercise for variety. Of course, there were trying times, and Denny said the following, according to Make Life Healthy.
“Of course there were times when I felt like I didn’t want to have to work so hard and wanted to give up, but in those moments I’d remind myself that this was a lifestyle change and if I wanted the weight to stay off, I had to keep at it.”
Now, she concentrates on the shape of her body and tries not to obsess about gaining the weight back. She eats according to her activity level, taking in about 1,500 and 2,200 calories per day. Her weight only varies about five pounds per day.
She’s thrilled with her confidence and energy levels. Going anywhere, she can fit into seats and doesn’t have to worry, can take long walks, and go shopping with friends and wear the clothing in any store.
Maintenance is a challenge, which she meets by watching what she eats. And if her clothes fit a little more snugly, she’ll become more diligent in her diet and exercise. She cut out favorite foods only in the beginning as a jump-start to her program. Her advice is as follows, according to Yahoo Health.
“Don’t get discouraged. I used to start losing weight and when it wasn’t happening fast enough, I would give up. I also encourage people to avoid all of the crazy diets — period. Change your lifestyle for good. Making a true lifestyle change is going to take time. Find ways to stay interested in fitness, whether it’s a boot camp, a cycling class, Zumba, or hiking. Never give up the foods you love, because most of the time that restriction leads to bingeing eventually. And finally, you have to have positive support around you!”
Another young woman, Madeline Stuart, 18, was determined to lose weight and get healthy. She is from Brisbane, in Queensland, and has Down Syndrome. According to the National Down Syndrome Society, weight struggles are common for people with the syndrome. Madeline, known as Maddie, was over 40 pounds overweight a year ago. Her inability to do a cartwheel made her start on a healthier diet and exercise program and focus on health and fitness, according to her mother Rosanne Stuart. After losing the weight, she is determined to change the face of beauty and become a model, according to an article in the Inquisitr.
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