If you’re looking to lose weight, then you should always do it for yourself and not other people, with the knowledge that each individual fitness journey is made up of unique goals and motivations.
And you should absolutely not, under any circumstances, put off improving your health and well-being in the long term for fear of knocking someone else’s self-esteem in the short term.
Kylie Hansen, 27, from Taft, California, had struggled to maintain a healthy weight throughout her life, despite being a competitive cheerleader and swimmer for 12 years.
Check out Kylie working towards achieving her fitness goals below:
Like many people, Kylie had become addicted to eating large quantities of fast food, and this took a toll on her body. After reaching her heaviest weight – 18st 5lb and a UK size 22 – Kylie knew she needed to make some changes if she wanted to avoid serious health issues.
After deciding to lose weight in 2013, Kylie opted to have a vertical sleeve gastrectomy on July 1, 2013.
According to Kylie:
I wasn’t educated on nutrition. I turned to food for everything. When I was sad, I ate. When I was happy, I ate. When we celebrated, we ate. Everything I did revolved around food.
People don’t realise that food addiction is real and that’s exactly what I battled. I had a great life with lots of friends. I didn’t let my obesity take over the quality of my life, but I knew if I didn’t change something soon, I would eventually have health issues that could take over.
In the surgery they remove a portion of your stomach and is shaped to resemble a banana. The surgery is a tool to help kickstart the weight loss.
For more than two years, Kylie followed a stringent dietary and exercise regime, and her hard work has paid off big time.
Cutting out ramen, cereal and frozen meals, Kylie lowered her daily calorie intake from 2,500 to 1,500 and now kicks off her day with a nutritious breakfast of two eggs, one slice of toast and broccoli.
Kylie keeps motivated during the day by snacking on superfood shakes and apples with peanut butter, and makes sure to exercise for at least 30 minutes every single day.
Eschewing processed food, Kylie will instead enjoy ground turkey with vegetables for lunch, and grilled chicken with sweet potato and beans for her evening meal.
Now a trim 12st 2lbs – fitting into a UK 14-16 dress size – Kylie is far happier, and enjoys incorporating running and exercise into her routine.
Making the changes needed to get the life she wanted wasn’t easy, and Kylie initially struggled to get her brain to adapt to her new diet.
According to Kylie:
Waking up from surgery and being told, ‘You can’t eat that’, was the hardest part for me. Our brains are still wired the same. If I had a food addiction prior to surgery, I still had that addiction after surgery.
I vividly remember my first restaurant trip after the operation. I ordered clam chowder, and had to scoop out everything inside the soup except the broth. I remember crying because of how hard it was for me to not eat the foods I so badly wanted.
My entire family was obese, and we all eventually had weight loss surgery. I’m proud to say that we’ve all made our health a priority and are living our best lives. It’s been great having each of them for support.
However, not everybody was supportive of Kylie’s lifestyle changes. Once she started to drop the pounds, her boyfriend at the time began to feel insecure and even urged her to ‘stop losing weight’.
Kylie said:
My boyfriend at the time of my surgery was my first and we had been together for roughly four years. He was not supportive. He felt more insecure the more I lost weight and eventually asked me to stop losing weight.
At one point, people started saying I was too small. But I didn’t let it bother me. I gradually gained the courage and confidence to leave the relationship and learned to only accept people in my life who bring the energy I needed and wanted.
Fortunately Kylie has since found love and support in Jacob, 28. The pair had been pals since they were nine years old – even competing on the same swim team together – and now have a two-year-old son, Jameson.
Kylie said:
I struggled with becoming obsessive to the idea of being skinny – something I had never experienced before. I struggled with my addiction to food and had to ‘train’ my brain to want and crave foods that fuelled my body and not order the amount of food I was previously eating.
I struggled when I reached my three-year post-op mark. I became addicted to losing weight and it was my only priority at the time. I was very self-conscious and still saw my 260lbs body in the mirror.
But over six years on, the quality of my life is much better. I can do things I wasn’t able to do before. I love running and now turn to exercise as my stress reliever.
I have learned that I need to be a good example for my son and future children. I have learned how mentally tough I am, and how much work it takes (mentally and physically) to be on a health journey.
I have learned to love the struggle and the journey. I love my body and will continue to love it while I work on my goals.
Offering tips for those in the same position, she added:
There are foods to eat that help you reach your goals, and there are foods that won’t. If I ‘splurge’ and eat a ‘bad food’ I will definitely notice a difference in how I feel and the scales go up. I have to be extra careful to decide if I ‘really’ want the food or if it is just a temporary feeling.
Start with nutrition. Learn how to eat to fuel your body. If you feel you have a food addiction, work on that. Slowly start incorporating exercise.
The journey has definitely helped mould me into the person I am today, and I am so glad I now prioritise my health and hope to inspire others to do the same. I had no idea how much my life would change after I grabbed my health by the horns.
All the best to Kylie as she continues looking after her mind and body in a way that works best for her.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via story@unilad.com
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.