Keila Walked 30 Minutes on Her Lunch Break Every Day and Lost 76 Pounds in Just One Year

Keila Hampton always wanted to get healthy, and she used getting passed over for a promotion at work as motivation to embark on her 15-month weight-loss journey. She started out small, making healthy changes to her daily routine and eventually creating a weight-loss community to hold herself accountable and inspire others. This is her story as told to POPSUGAR.

POPSUGAR: What made you start your journey?

Keila Hampton: I got passed up for a promotion at work and realized I needed to focus on me, and the one thing that I always wanted to do was to get healthy. I decided to start a YouTube channel where I would show my weight-loss journey to hold myself accountable and to help others that needed some motivation in sticking with their new, healthy lifestyle.

PS: What was your starting weight?

KH: My starting weight was 254 pounds. The highest I weighed was 275 pounds in high school.

PS: How much weight have you lost to date? How long did it take you to lose it?

KH: My current weight is 178 pounds and I've loss 76 pounds since January of 2017. It took me 15 months to lose that weight.

PS: Did you follow a specific diet? Why?

KH: I started the keto diet (low carb, high fat, moderate protein) because I work a sedentary job and wanted to find something that I could stick with long enough in order to lose enough weight before tackling the gym.

PS: Do you count calories?

KH: I do not count calories: Instead, I count macros. I listen to my body when I'm hungry and don't let calories dictate how much I should eat.

PS: What does a typical day of eating look like for you?

KH: I practice intermittent fasting, so I usually fast until noon. If I need a coffee fix to carry me over, I have coffee with one serving of half and half (it's 40 calories so it's still within the fasting window).

PS: Did you follow a specific training schedule?

KH: I didn't go to the gym for the first 9-10 months of my journey. I would just walk for 30 minutes on my lunch breaks. I got my gym membership in January of 2018 when I moved to a new apartment that did not have a gym in the building. The gym membership pushed me to try new workouts.

PS: How often do you exercise now? How do you keep your routine fresh and exciting?

KH: I work out at least four times a week. I created a routine that makes going to the gym easier. I have a coworker that goes with me on one of the days I'm training, and I have a class I go to on another day. I find it is harder to say no to the gym when someone else is depending on you. Find a buddy to push you to be more active.

PS: What are some non-scale victories you've had?

KH: I've been over 200 pounds since the age of 12 and, now, I can finally shop in the regular stores. I love dressing up, and heels were always so uncomfortable. I think the extra weight made heels a nightmare for me and now I can finally walk in heels comfortably.

PS: What advice or tips do you have for others on their journey?

KH: I always stress that this journey is a lifetime journey, so if you have fallen off the bandwagon of your healthy lifestyle, you have to remember to take it one day at a time. I believe that each day we have the opportunity to start fresh, and throughout my journey I have had many setbacks and I have felt like giving up. But those "failures" are just lessons that you need to make you stronger.