Obese Florida mother who struggles with depression and PCOS sheds 106LBS in less than two years – while still eating treats like pizza, ice cream, and chocolate
Most New Year’s resolutions go out the window before the end of January, but one Florida woman held tight to her promise to get healthy, dropping 106lbs in less than two year and becoming a gym rat in the process.
Molly Lowe, 28, topped out at 267lbs before she decided to make a change. By sticking to ‘flexible dieting’ – and hitting the gym consistently enough to realize that she actually quite likes working out – the 5’9″ Florida woman got down to 161lbs and even pulled herself out of depression.
The self-described former yo-yo dieter spoke to Yahoo Health about how she finally managed to make the those healthy habits stick once and for all.
Molly battled her weight since she was a kid. She said that she was always the heaviest and tallest’ girl in her class, but it was after the birth of her daughter in 2012 that she totally lost control of her weight.
In fact, she showed up for her first doctor’s appointment since giving birth and found out she hadn’t dropped a pound since the end of her pregnancy.
‘So here I was — huge, miserable, and crying,’ she said. ‘However, my misery didn’t stop me from leaving that appointment and heading off into a several-month-long binge. In fact, it steered me right into the Burger King drive-thru and probably to the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts for dessert.’
She continued to get heavier, in a vicious cycle of eating because she was unhappy and being unhappy because she ate. She also suffered from postpartum depression and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), the latter of which can contribute to even more weight gain.
Finally, she said she hit ‘rock-bottom’ when her marriage started to fall apart and she could no longer find happiness in any interactions with people she cared about. Molly realized that a lot of her problems were caused directly by her weight, and the way to fix them was to tackle the number on the scale.
Looking at food a new way: She started counting macronutrients, which include carbs, fats, and proteins, in order to lose weight
So, at 267lbs, Molly made a New Year’s resolution in 2014 to get healthy. And she was committed, too, realizing no diet plan would work that required her to cut out carbs or sugar completely.
Considering her options, she landed on ‘flexible dieting’ and began counting macronutrients – carbs, fats, and protein – instead of just calories. The plan meant she could still eat a burger or ice cream if she wanted to – as well as go to restaurants with her family – but it also helped her establish a greater relationship with food.
For one thing, Molly learned not to use food as a reward and workouts as punishment for eating too much. And she doesn’t deprive herself, either, allowing splurges now and then – especially for special occasions, like Thanksgiving.
‘I try to have a “treat” every day,’ she explained. ‘Whether it’s a serving of ice cream or half of a Hershey’s chocolate bar, I make it fit into my macros for the day.’
She also doesn’t give into the self-destructive thinking that one cheat can a whole day, or one bad day can ruin a diet completely. If she falls off the horse, she gets right back on, reminding herself of how she used to feel when she was overweight.
‘A few off days won’t ruin all the hard work I have put in. A few bad meals and missed workouts won’t make or break me. I’m a realist. This is a lifetime commitment and if I honestly start to believe that I won’t have any setbacks, then I would be lying to myself. The important thing is that I remain consistent,’ she said.
About a month after introducing her new diet plan in 2014, Molly started doing cardio and weight training five days a week as well.
She found that she actually liked weight training a lot, because it made her feel strong and empowered – and she continues to hit the gym regularly,
proudly flaunting her muscles on Instagram
Molly said that losing all the weight not only gave her more confidence, but it also helped her with her depression, and ameliorated her PCOS symptoms.
And she finds that the longer she sticks to it, the easier it becomes. Eating right is not longer something she has think about – she just does it. That doesn’t mean that she doesn’t watch what she eats, but changing her entire lifestyle has made the tracking come naturally.
‘Tracking everything I eat puts it all out there, black and white, so that if and when I gain weight, I’ll know why. And when I lose weight, I’ll know why,’ she explained.