Sarah Lost 110 Pounds Eating 6 Times a Day and Includes This Simple Food With Every Meal

At a doctor's appointment nine months after giving birth to her daughter, Sarah found out not only that she had gained more weight since the delivery and that the hypertension she struggled with all throughout pregnancy had gotten worse, but also that her blood sugar was in the impaired range, putting her at serious risk for type 2 diabetes.

By that time she weighed 257 pounds. "I wish I had more pictures of that time to look back on, but by then I was completely avoiding cameras and mirrors," Sarah said. She knew her habits were putting her health at risk and that something needed to change. So in 2012, she set a New Year's resolution to lose 40 pounds.

"My doctor had recommended the MyFitnessPal app for tracking my food, so I began just by counting calories," Sarah said. In the past, Sarah remembers knowing she needed to do something to lose weight, so she would severely restrict her food for a few days, then break down and binge-eat an entire large pizza.

"I tried everything from fasting to low-carb to Whole30, but I couldn't stick to anything that made me feel restricted. It wasn't until I decided to stop trying to change what I was eating and instead changed how much that I was able to find success."

Sarah eats six times a day and said she never feels deprived or restricted. She's never cut out any foods or restricted any macronutrients. She just watches her portions, makes sure to get enough protein, and gets some veggies in with each meal.

First thing in the morning: two whole eggs, three egg whites, and an orange
Breakfast: two to three cups of vegetables, a protein shake, oatmeal, and a banana
Lunch (20 minutes after working out): lean protein like chicken or fish, healthy carbs like sweet potatoes or apples, and two to three cups of vegetables
Afternoon snack: either egg whites with vegetables or a protein bar with a salad
Dinner: lean protein and two to three cups of vegetables
Before bed: protein shake (just protein and water) and a spoonful of peanut butter or some string cheese.

"I don't eat this way 100 percent of the time," Sarah admitted. "I still have pizza and all my favorite foods, but that's what the bulk of my diet looks like."

After a couple of months of calorie counting, she had lost 10 pounds. But things began to slow down, so she added in walking. Eventually walking turned into jogging, and jogging turned into going to the gym and lifting weights, and by the end of that year, Sarah had dropped 80 pounds. She went on to lose another 30 pounds over the year that followed, with the exception of when she was pregnant with her son. She's maintained that 110-pound weight loss for the last five years. Amazing!

Having a solid goal always motivated Sarah. At first it was the number on the scale, and eventually it became other accomplishments, like finishing a four-mile race, then a half-marathon, then a Tough Mudder.

Eventually, her goal became how much weight she could lift: "225 pounds used to be my squat goal, and now 330 pounds is my one-rep max; I'm constantly working on improving. Sometimes it's professional certifications or learning something new, but there's always something fitness-related that I'm working towards."

"As far as nonscale victories, my entire life now is a nonscale victory. I was miserable, I was ashamed of how I looked, I didn't believe in myself, so I didn't really set goals or try to improve anything. I was in a deep rut," Sarah said.

After losing weight, she found her passion in fitness and now works as a personal trainer and weight-loss coach. "It's hard to look back at the person I was because, step by step, I've made so many small changes since then that I feel like a completely different person," Sarah said.

Sarah's advice to anyone trying to start their own weight-loss journey is to understand that motivation is fleeting and that's why so many people give up. When it comes down to it, it's about being disciplined and prepared. "Know that you're going to wake up one day and hate the idea of sticking to your meal plan or that getting to the gym sounds like the last thing you want to do, and plan for it," Sarah said.

Save some motivational quotes or pictures on your phone, write down your "why," and read it when you need to. Or Sarah suggested you can even just type "weight-loss motivation" into YouTube and watch a few videos, then get it done, regardless of how you feel.

"People tend to think negatively about New Year's resolutions, but mine was the catalyst to learning to believe in myself and understanding that I can achieve any goal I set if I work hard enough," Sarah said.