Leah Lost 62 Pounds With Sparkpeople

Name: Leah Reed

Age: 30

Height: 5 feet, 4 inches

Before weight: 186+

How I gained it: I gained weight the good old fashioned way: Eating too much and not moving enough. Simple but true. I would go out to restaurants with my father -- that was how we connected after I moved out on my own. Food was used as a means of social interaction. We ate because we were celebrating. We ate because we were happy or sad. We ate "just because." These high-calorie meals were supplemented with appetizers, desserts and all types of extras. Before I knew it, I had hit an all-time high of 186 pounds. I remember weighing myself and thinking, "At least I am not 200 pounds!" It is funny how denial can taint your thoughts about yourself.

I never did weigh myself at my heaviest. I hate to say it, but that 186-pound weigh-in was not the tipping point for me. I did not own a scale at home so I wasn't faced with my ever-increasing gain. I did stop shopping because the sizes kept getting bigger and bigger. The need to shop at the plus-size store wasn't enough to get me to address my lifestyle. I wasn't happy with how I looked, but I didn't hate it either. My boyfriend loved all the extra curves, so there wasn't a large incentive to lose weight. The heavier I got, the harder and longer the journey seemed; I just didn't want to face the truth. I wasn't only overweight. I was very unhealthy and unfit at the tender age of 25.

Breaking point: I was driving down the freeway and accidentally cut another driver off. She was angry with me and pulled up beside my car. She made a pig face at me and mouthed the words "Oink, oink." She called me a pig! Say what?!? I couldn't believe how mean that action was. The sad thing is, I knew on some level that she was right. I couldn't stand that I had let myself get to that size. Not only was it unacceptable from a social standpoint, it was plain unhealthy.

A typical day of eating might include a breakfast burrito in the morning, lunch in the cafeteria at work that usually included lasagna, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, and the like. Dinner was usually eaten at a restaurant, and my meals included appetizers, soup or salad, main entree like chicken fried steak, steaks, burger, fries, gravy and a dessert. I was consuming about 3,000 calories or more on a daily basis.

The desire to change and address my weight was growing. I hated the fact that I had given up my on myself, and I wanted to get that power back. I never wanted anyone to [say those things] to me again and be right! I knew I had to fight to get my weight under control and that is what I did.

How I lost it: One night while visiting my mother, her friend asked how many ounces were in a piece of fish. I thought that was an odd question! What difference did it make? I asked why she wanted to know, and she told me about Sparkpeople.com, a Web site that allowed her to track her food, like a food diary. I was intrigued. She explained the concept behind the site: Logging food, exercising and making friends with social networking. She said that she wasn't limited by the kinds of foods she could eat, only by the total calorie intake. I thought to myself, "So if I wanted to eat a cookie, I could, but it would mean I would just have to make adjustments in my lunch plans or include more workout time." I loved this new outlook!

Previously, when "dieting," I was only successful in the short-term because I didn't learn healthy eating habits. I couldn't get my mind around the fact that to make lasting changes, there had to be a change in my lifestyle. I had an all-or-nothing attitude: Either I was eating perfectly and exercising every day, or I wasn't addressing it at all.

Sparkpeople.com helped change my perspective and my life. The idea of having to "diet" forever was enough to get me to quit every time, but once I started tracking my food, I realized that I didn't have to diet. I could still eat the things I wanted, just in smaller portions, or slightly modified or with compromises.

I started to enter in my food into the nutrition tracker. I began packing my breakfast and lunch for work, instead of stopping by the local fast food joint. In the beginning, I frequently went over my calorie ranges, but I knew that I was eating less than I would if I wasn't tracking. This in and of itself was a success! I was learning a lot about the nutritional facts of the foods I ate on a regular basis.

I started walking for about 20 minutes during my lunch break. I would come back to work huffing and puffing, but not many things got in the way during that time, and five days a week were guaranteed workout days. I didn't go far or walk fast, but it set up the routine for success.

These two changes, while small at first, were pivotal. I started seeing success on the scale! This was working. I couldn't believe that I was actually losing weight. That was all the motivation that I needed to keep going.

My 20-minute walks turned into 40 that turned into 60-minute walks with hills. As the weight came off, I started to include running stairs and some jogging.

My eating became more focused, and I was consistently staying within my calorie ranges. People were complimenting me like crazy and asking me how I was losing the weight. I started to pay more attention to other aspects of nutrition such as sodium, carbohydrates, protein and fat. I read articles about nutrition and exercise, and my knowledge grew exponentially.

After about nine months, I reached my goal weight and met my deployed Navy boyfriend in Hawaii. It was a landmark moment for me on my weight loss/healthy living journey!

But the story doesn't stop at goal weight. Contrary to popular belief, this is when the real journey begins.

I took on a leadership role with one of the Sparkteams and facilitated monthly outings for the group. We've gone rock climbing, hiking, bowling, miniature golfing, worked on vision collages together, participated in 5K races together and more. My family has also been impacted by involvement with Sparkpeople. My 13-year-old daughter is more focused on eating healthy foods to fuel her body than she was before.

I am taking my success to the next level by pursuing my personal trainer certificate. I want to go after what I am most passionate about, and that is living a healthy and fit lifestyle. This is only one step toward fulfilling my purpose, and I am excited to see what the future has in store for me.

After weight: 125

Leah has maintained her weight loss for three and a half years.

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