I began to struggle with obesity as a teenager. Fast, fried, and frozen were the three main staples of my diet. My parents were young and nutritional wholeness never factored into what we were eating, I formed a lot of unhealthy habits when I was young.
As an adult I knew that if I were to ever beat the obesity and lose the weight I was going to have to find something that allowed me to prepare meals quickly. I was used to the convenience of processed food. My life was so fast paced, I had little to no time to spend slaving over the stove in the kitchen.
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I was 211 lbs on my wedding day. I cried after I tried on dresses because nothing fit. I had to squeeze myself into a skin tight, fat sucking, body suit just to fit into the largest size they carried in the dress shop.
An experience that should have been joyous and exciting was mortifying and embarrassing. The month after we said “I do” I decided to get serious and lose the weight.
I was desperate to be skinny.
I tried diet pills, pre-made, pre-packaged weight loss food, slim fast, nutrisystem, starving, working out, nothing lasted, nothing worked.
I began to lose hope. I started to feel resigned, like maybe my body was supposed to be big.
After I had my first baby I hit my record high, 260lbs.
For a girl as short as I am, 5’2 3/4, that’s A LOT of weight. I was on medication for an autoimmune disease that the doctors told me I’d be on for the rest of my life. I felt heavy, I was exhausted, I was depressed… I started to feel like I was losing myself.
Then everything changed.
My husband is a gadget guy. He loves things that are electronic and come with the “supposed to make your life easier” label. One day he came home with an Instant Pot and a smile, sure that he was about to win husband of the year. I stared at that thing like it was my nemesis.
I don’t really know why I felt so intimidated by it but just gussying up the courage to take it out of the box took me weeks. I had small children and generally felt overwhelmed most of the time. The thought of trying to learn a whole new method of cooking gave me anxiety.
Before leaving for work one morning my husband asked me if he should just return it. If he hadn’t looked so sad about it I would have told him yes!! By that point it had sat in our living room for so long it had become apart of the furniture! I didn’t want to disappoint him though, so instead I promised to try to use it that day for lunch.
I read the manual cover to cover. Still feeling generally confused about how I was supposed to use it I deiced to jump right in and make brown rice.
It was a smashing success! Not only was it crazy delicious but my kids ate the entire pot full and I had to make more!
I quickly discovered that all of my crockpot meals could be converted to pressure cooker recipes and instead of hours, cooking them in the Instant Pot took minutes.
Easy? CHECK!
Convenient? CHECK!
In January 2017 I issued myself a personal challenge. I decided I wanted to make dinner every night for an entire year. I was confident that with the help of my Instant Pot I could achieve this!
I knew that in order to succeed I needed something that made cooking easy and convenient. I had to quit eating out completely because I knew I didn’t have the self control or the will power to say no. I was addicted to sugar and processed food.
There are nights I don’t start cooking dinner till 6pm because I lose track of time or we don’t get home till late, nights that I used to pull out of a frozen pizza or have my husband grab dinner on his way home from work. My Instant Pot has eliminated those nights. I can throw a few things in the pot and have dinner on the table in under a half hour.
For the last 9 months I have made dinner at home almost every single night and a crazy side effect has been extraordinary weight loss!
On January 3, 2017 I was 212 lbs.
On July 1, 2017 I weighed in at 139 lbs!
I have lost 73 lbs, a total loss of 121 lbs from my highest weight!
I am also 100% off meds and my autoimmune disease is in remission!
The Instant Pot has played an integral roll in my weight loss success, it has saved us bundles of money on eating out, saves me time in the kitchen, and it has eliminated the mad “what am I going to make for dinner??” scramble!
I am so grateful to have this handy kitchen gadget! This is the Instant Pot I own and recommend, click here!
To read more about what my diet is like or what I’ve been eating, start here.
For recipe ideas and inspiration go here.
To follow my journey while I work to lose 4 more lbs go here.
This post is not endorsed by Instant Pot I have not and will not receive any money from Instant Pot for writing this review.
Keep up the excellent work! So proud of you! So many ingredients are hidden under scientific sounding names, not really sure what is in foods these days.
GOOD FOR YOU!!!! I just received my instapot for Christmas and made split pea soup for lunch( FOR LUNCH!!), with my leftover Christmas ham. Took all of 20 minutes from start to finish. Am so proud of you!!!
Way to go sweetie! You’ve changed your life, your family’s life, and now are working on changing ours. You are a blessing.
Awesome and inspirational journey! It gives me hope.
very grateful for the advice you give me on the page I will add to what I am doing
http://gestyy.com/wVtOYC
happy New Year
Are the dates right? 130 pounds in 6-7 months! Gives. E hope.
In January I weighed 212 lbs, in July I weighed in at 139 lbs. 73 lbs in 6 months. Down 121 lbs total from my highest weight ever (260lbs). 🙂
You look so happy! I’m glad you are feeling good about your change in lifestyle! This is encouraging to many others. Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks so much for sharing your Instant Pot recipes – I *love* my Instant Pot, and to have healthy and delicious recipes for it makes it even better! Congrats on your amazing weight loss, and thanks for sharing your journey.
First of all you looked beautiful in you wedding dress! You look wonderful now too. I’m hoping my Instant Pot will help me get healthier. Thank you for sharing your journey and recipes.
Thank you Kathy. <3 Wishing you lots of success!
I usually don’t comment on blogs, but your smile in that picture is simply RADIANT! Congratulations on the amazing health turn around! You are an inspiration.
Wow, thank you so much Michelle.
Wow! You have really inspired me. I have an Instant Pot, but don’t use it much. I think today I will try and follow in your footsteps. I am 5′ 6″, 188 lbs. I would LOVE to loose at least 40 lbs! My son’s wedding is in 12 months and I hate what I look like in a dress right now.
Thank you for sharing your story on GMA this morning. I never heard of the Instant Pot and now I’m about to order one! You look amazing, is can’t wait to get started! There are a few different models, which one should I get?
Hi Dori! 🙂 Aw, thank you so much! I have a post about the different models here: https://instantloss.com/2017/12/02/want-instant-pot-one-buy/
I hope that helps!
Dori, I used my mom-in-law’s Duo and it was intimidating to me at first. I had asked Santa to bring me the Ultra for the pressure release button alone. I got one and I love it! And there are so many blogs, YouTube videos, and Pinterest Boards full of Instant Pot recipes. I have Hypothyroidism with severe IBS-D and I never know what foods are going to “hit” me after eating. My doctor recommended following Low FODMAP, going Gluten and Soy free. Keto is pretty much this so I’m thinking about starting following it. There are tons of Keto recipes for the Instant Pot.
This is amazing! I HATE cooking! I often rush to the fridge at 2-3pm and realize nothing will thaw in time for dinner so we do pizza, Chinese or subway often. If not those it’s a pre-bagged pasta meals. I was really sick earlier this year and had a few surgeries, and was on TPN (full IV liquid diet for 2 months) then could only have a couple bites of real food at a time for about 2 months, so I lost 60lbs. I needed to, being 5’2″ at 198lbs I too was WAY too heavy. I have since gained 10lbs back and I’m miserable. I’m getting this pot and you give me hope i can lose it and more again soon!
Have you compiled a list of your recipes? Thanks so much! You look so happy😍
Yes. 🙂 Just click the recipe tab at the top of the page. <3 Thank you!
I have an electric pressure cooker. Is there much difference? Can I still use your recipes?
This really gives me hope. I am 30 years old. I have 3 kids under 8. I am 5’ 2” currently weigh 220. My highest weight being 230. I have tried all the diets. Adipex etc. my biggest problems are that I am a super picky eater and I live for Dr Pepper and chocolate.
About to start going through your recipes and see if there are some I could handle. 😂
Thank you so much for sharing your journey with us.
Wow…I am impressed and can relate to the struggle. I have guttate psoriasis..an autoimmune issue. I can’t wait to make healthy meals in my pot.
Awesome! I finally caved and got curious about the Instant Pot on Black Friday 2017 and decided to see what the hype was about (almost fully expecting it to be another gadget collecting dust). My husband was pretty sceptical too but so far I have lost 18 lbs and my husband has lost about 15 lbs as well (this is in the first 6 weeks alone), with the ONLY change being the Instant Pot as in we rarely eat out anymore, our go to’s at home were also frozen pizza and poutine (yes I’m Canadian lol), hamburger helpers, and other fast crap…the fact I can make a whole nutritious meal from frozen in less time than it takes me to bundle up the kids and get to a fast food joint and back has been amazing! I seriously use it 5+ times a week now
Absoultely beauutiful and healthy! Good for you. <3
Thank you 🙂
I have had mine for over a year and use it at least once a week, never even considered the impact it could have on my life. had bariatric surgery two years ago. lost 90lbs and have put sixty back on. My stomach is still small it is what I am putting in it that is the issue. You have inspired me. I let you know how I do. Thanks so much.
What a lot of hard work goes into such a weight loss! Good for you!
I had just received my Instant Pot from Amazon when I broke my right arm. It was immobilized for 7 weeks! The IP has been a Godsend It made making meals one handed (with the trusty help of hubby who is NOT a cook) possible. We have used it at least five nights a week. So glad for it!
So excited to have found this site and facebook page Thanks for all the great ideas
You have inspired me to jump on the weight loss wagon using my instant pot. I used it yesterday for the first time. Because I am new at this, the prep work and forever looking at the directions to be sure I am doing this right, it took me about an hour to prep and study. The meal took 17 minutes to cook. I checked and rechecked to be sure it only took 17 minutes. I was so amazed and now have the confidence to use the instant pot often. It’s no longer an intimidating monster sitting on my kitchen cupboard. Good for you on your weight loss journey, You look fantastic!
Awesome and inspirational journey! It gives me hope.Thanks for sharing your journey with us.
it’s been a couple years since you wrote this article. I hope everything is well! This story is quite the inspiration and I am glad you had such success. My parents got me one as a Christmas gift and I am looking forward to having real food for lunch at work.
It looks very yummy.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe with us.
I’m so proud of you. I have a daughter that needs to lose 80 or more pounds. I wish I could share your story with her, but her weight is pretty touchy. I quit smoking and gained 20 lbs. I have lost 8 lbs., but it’s been slow because everything I make in the Instant Pot and Air Fryer are so good. I finally convinced myself one helping is enough and It will be good tomorrow too. My husband is also losing. We weigh in on Friday. That keeps us on track. You look wonderful!
Awww thank you so much for reaching out Barb! I wish you and your family the absolute best!