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In 2008, Laura Green underwent gastric surgery to help her lose weight. She was 294 pounds at the time.
The procedure brought about a slew of complications, and after a number of health scares, Laura decided to have the operation reversed – even though it meant gaining back all the weight she had lost after the initial surgery. Laura struggled for several years with her large size, admitting that she was “too scared” to visit most theme parks because she didn’t want to be forbidden from going on the rides because of her size.
Here’s how she overcame these challenges.
Her first step: realizing how much food she was eating. An avid baker, Laura confessed to often eating an entire “batch of cookies over the course of the week” and admitted that she simply ate whatever and whenever she felt like doing so.
With the help of the app MyFitnessPal, Laura began to understand how many calories she consumed a day. After tracking her eating habits for six months, she then made the conscious decision to gradually lower her food intake. From just regulating her eating pattern alone, Laura was able to lose about 40 pounds.
Once Laura felt like she had a handle on her eating habits, she began to introduce exercise into her routine. She makes the conscious decision to go hiking or find other social events that involve physical activity rather than eating or drinking.
The weight-loss process wasn’t a matter of giving things up, Laura clarifies, “as soon as I give something up I’ll want it more. I’ve just trained myself to work it into my day – if I can afford the calories, I’ll have it but if I can’t then I won’t.”
Laura, now 182 pounds, feels far more confident about her body and relishes that she can “live [her] day to day life without having to think about how [her] weight will affect anything.”
The two-year weight loss process hasn’t been easy. Laura admits that she cut some people out of her life, like friends who weren’t supportive of her healthy lifestyle changes (perhaps because of their own lifestyle choices).
“It’s unfortunate,” Laura says, “but I think it’s better to cut those people out of your life than try to appease them if they’re not going to support you.”
Although Laura has already come so far, she knows there is still more she would like to do. On top of having surgeries to remove the excess skin around her abdomen, Laura hopes to continue maintaining her healthy, fit lifestyle and engage with her supportive followers on social media. This woman is an inspiration.
