Monthly Member Spotlight {Roxanne}

Roxanne is a member of our Instant Loss Community and a moderator in our Accountability Group. Many of you know her and have been on the receiving end of her gracious encouragement. She has decided to share her powerful story here on instantloss.com for our February Monthly Member Spotlight, please welcome her warmly.

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I began struggling with weight as a child. Unhappy, I tried it all, took all the pills, tried all the diets, and eventually developed an eating disorder. I battled bulimia until my freshman year of college. I was hurting myself. Although I was able to beat bulimia by age 20, I still struggled with the temptation of the disorder. 

By the time I was 28, I was 215 pounds. Newly married, I had a desire to start a family but really wanted to focus on getting healthy first. I began to work out constantly. Spending countless hours in the gym, I obsessed over the numbers. Figuring out what consisted of a ‘healthy diet’ was confusing so instead, I ate what I wanted as long as it was within my calorie limits. In the course of about a year, I lost 40 pounds.

I was 175 pounds when I got pregnant with baby #1 and gained 55 pounds over the course of my pregnancy.  I repeated the process after delivery but lost weight at a slower rate. Then I became pregnant with baby #2. My body had a difficult time recovering from this pregnancy (which required a cesarean delivery) and my weight began to climb again.

As a working mother of two I had much less time to workout, little to no “me” time, less time to cook healthy meals, and was dealing with an extremely stressful work situation. I developed anxiety and began battling depression. 

I stopped trying.

Overwhelmed, in survival mode, I began to indulge in whatever foods were most convenient and desirable. I hit my highest weight ever, 233 pounds.

Then, a health scare in July 2017 with my Father encouraged me and other family members to begin eating better.

Even still, I could not find motivation. I was counting the days, knowing that it wouldn’t be long before I gave up. That weekend my Pastor’ wife shared Brittany’s blog with me and one of her posts titled: “What are you eating anyway?” 

It completely opened my eyes. 

I was motivated by the SIMPLICITY of it all. It never occurred to me that it could be that easy, her progress was such a great motivator. I read that blog and thought, “THIS I can do!” Eating right finally ‘clicked’! In the past, I tried to understand the rules of popular eating concepts like Paleo, Keto, WW and honestly, they never made much sense to me.

Soon after, I bought an Instant Pot but began to feel overwhelmed again. Adding another t0-d0 list of things in my busy life, I felt like it was too much. So, I started taking baby steps. I applied her rules and started using the Instant Pot.

I lost a lot of weight my first few months but my weight loss began to slow after I started a new job working nights and weekends. My digestion slowed and I hit a plateau but my motivation didn’t wane! I continued to push through, falling in love with the “just eat real food” principal.

I learned to meal prep with healthy foods by applying the easy concepts shared on the Instant Loss Blog. With the right mentality and the right tools in hand, it worked!

I broke through my plateau! 

I have lost 47 pounds since July! Just by changing the food I eat! The Instant Pot has saved me time and made this journey more fun, but following Instant Loss has completely changed the way I view food. This experience has proven to me that I CAN DO IT! It has shown me that the type of food we put into our bodies is so, so crucial to being healthy!

My body is so much more alive, refreshed, happy, and healthy. I didn’t need a magic pill, a workout tape, or a complicated system. I still have a goal to meet in April 2018 and I know that I will make it happen with my new healthy lifestyle! 

It is said “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” The principles found at Instant Loss have taught me how to fish!

Start Weight: 233 pounds
Current Weight: 186 pounds
Goal Weight: 175 pounds