Going from size 24 to 2 was 'easy'
Posted: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 7:00 AM by Jen Brown
Filed Under:
Joy Fit Club
Mandy Muniz is chronicalling her weight loss journey as part of TODAY's Fit Club.
Yesterday she wrote about hitting rock bottom when she realized she was 5'5'', 298.6 pounds. She decided it was time to change her life...
I felt awful and ashamed, and knew I had to do something. I looked at the card for the gastric bypass clinic, but I just couldn’t think of trying the surgery without fully committing to a diet and exercise plan first. I had seen ads for L.A. Weight loss on TV and knew that the program involved real food so I decided to try it. I was almost crying as I steadied my defense mechanism in order to call L.A. Weight loss. At 293.8 pounds, talking about my weight was difficult and I remember uncomfortably laughing when the woman at the Bandera Center asked me how much weight I wanted to lose. I was pretty sure she was going to say, “You’re too heavy, you need to see a doctor about surgery.” Getting ready for her response, I chuckled and said 100 pounds. I was taken aback by her response : “Ok, come on in and let’s get started.”
The first week I couldn’t believe the energy I felt, and the ease at which I took to the program. I was eating more food than before and watching the weight come off quickly. People noticed right away that my attitude was more positive, and I found myself eager to try new things that contributed to an active lifestyle. I started walking, riding a stationary bike and even jogging around campus to run errands between my classes. It quickly became apparent to me that my lifestyle was adjusting. I started to love the smell and look of fresh fruits and vegetables, and I started to really be turned off by the look and smell of the fatty fast foods I used to eat with frequency. I learned to make healthy meals quickly and with my new energy, I was getting chores done quickly and without the usual sluggish dread that used to accompany the idea of cleaning house or doing laundry.
I used to come home from work before the weight loss and just crash. I would pick up something to eat for my husband and myself on the way home and plop in front of the TV completely exhausted. A typical day would start with me skipping breakfast entirely or on the weekends eating a bean and cheese and potato, egg, and cheese breakfast taco with two large glasses of orange juice and six slices of bacon. By mid morning, I would have consumed two Cokes and a Snickers bar or bag of M&Ms. For lunch, I would grab fast food like a super sized quarter-pounder with fries and a large shake or hit a Chinese buffet for three or four platefuls of food like fried rice, sweet and sour chicken, fried shrimp and dumplings. For dessert, I would have five almond cookies, a large soft-serve ice cream and, of course, my fortune cookie. I would go to bed at 10:00 but would fight the alarm clock in the morning because I had no desire to get out of bed.
As soon as I started the program, I had energy at night to fix dinner, complete tasks, spend some quality time away from the TV with my husband, and, most amazing of all, I was getting up before my alarm went off with energy. I hit 100 pounds lost with ease and chose to adjust my goal to lose the rest of the weight I had carried all my life. I reached my goal of 140, and currently through maintenance I weigh 126.6.
Frankly, I am amazed at how easy this transformation has been. I started the program 4/22/05 and reached my overall goal on 8/4/06. I have also lost a total of 71.25 inches over my entire body. My thighs no longer rub together; for the first time in my life, they don’t even touch! In a little over a year, I have taken my body from the worst condition it has ever been in at almost 300 pounds and I have transformed it into the best shape I have ever been in. I am smaller than I was in high school going, from a 24 to a size 2-4.
Check back tomorrow to find out how Mandy's life has changed since losing the weight.
