Liz Lost 105 Pounds by Filling Her Grocery Cart With These 2 Things

Liz said she had been overweight her entire life. She's always been active and was a competitive swimmer as a kid and played soccer. But, she said, "I was always the big kid." Being so active, Liz had a lot of friends and she got good grades, and she never really felt like her weight held her back. "I was about a size 16 and a shade under 200 pounds when I graduated high school," Liz said.

As an adult, her habit of not eating the healthiest foods or practicing portion control started to catch up with her. Once she began working full-time in a high-stress environment, it only got worse. "I was so controlled in my professional life that food became something I just felt like I could let loose and enjoy. But moderation didn't seem to have much of a role in that pattern, and before I knew it, I had put on almost 75 pounds, heading into a size 20 jeans and a size 22/24 jacket."

The number on the scale wasn't the only thing she noticed. Liz started to feel physical effects of her weight gain. She had low energy and started to experience hip pain, heel pain, and sciatica nerve pain.

In fall of 2015, Liz received an invite to her 20th high school reunion. "As I scrolled through the list of names on Facebook — people I hadn't seen or thought much about for a couple of decades — I remember feeling a hot wave of anxiety rising through my chest," Liz said. She started to question whether she'd even go, because even after all these years, she was surprised to find she still had feelings of inadequacy.

Liz had tons of achievements she should have felt proud of, like graduating college with honors, becoming a lawyer, and getting married. "As I saw all those familiar names from the past, it all felt as if none of my achievements would be noticed or acknowledged, despite everything I'd done to become the woman I am. I was afraid all anyone would see was how big I was, because I felt like that's all anyone had ever seen," Liz admitted.

For a few weeks, Liz toyed with whether to RSVP. "I ultimately decided that my insecurity over the whole reunion was less about them and more about me, and it wasn't in my nature to back down or slink away in shame and hide."

That's the day Liz began her weight-loss journey. It's the day she realized she was all out of excuses and that a better course than not showing up to the reunion would be to change what she felt was still holding her back after all those years.

Liz was a little over 260 pounds at her heaviest. She was able to drop 105 pounds in about two years, and here's how she did it.

In Liz's experience, she realized that losing weight for the long haul requires education, planning, and consistency — not a fad diet. In the past, Liz and her husband had tried premade food programs, such as NutriSystem. They'd lose a little weight, but were never really invested in it, and would still let loose on the weekends, while traveling, or when working late and under stress. They never committed to making a lifestyle change, which, Liz realized, is what it took.

When asked about her diet, Liz said, "I pretty much stick to the outside aisles of the supermarket, and my cart is usually three quarters full of veggies and lean proteins like ground turkey, chicken breasts, and fresh fish. I try to keep processed foods to a minimum, although I'm definitely not above getting a cauliflower-crust frozen pizza on occasion."

When it comes to mindful eating, Liz follows this rule: "Don't exclude; choose." Liz eats the foods she wants and uses the Lose It! app to track it. She can easily look at a nutrition label on a particular food to see how many calories it has, but she says, "Lose It! helps by putting each item in the context of my daily budget, because it keeps me honest without having to add or multiply the nutritional value on my own."

Liz never tells herself that she can't have something but instead uses Lose It! to stay accountable and empower herself to make better decisions, as opposed to relying on her willpower to resist making bad ones. "The distinction is subtle, but it's one of those mental fake-outs that really helps," Liz explained.

Liz loves to cook, so she had to train herself how to do it in a healthier way. "For me, modifying my diet has never been about portion control. Instead, it's been about making better choices about ingredients and proportions so that I can still eat real food and feel full at a fraction of the calorie load."

In the past, she'd make three slices of battered and fried zucchini parmesan, topped with tomato sauce and cheese, served over two cups of penne pasta with a side of buttered sweet corn. Now, "I know through the Lose It! app that the meal probably packed north of 1,800 calories!" Liz said.

If she was to redo zucchini parmesan today, she'd coat the slices with breadcrumbs and bake them in a high-heat oven to get them crispy. She'd serve them over a big bowl of roasted spaghetti squash with low-sodium marinara and reduced-fat mozzarella, omitting the side of corn. "My 2019 version would come in somewhere around 450 calories instead of the 1,800-calorie bomb from 2014 — not to mention that it would still be delicious and filling!"

Liz explained that modifying her diet has been at least 85 percent of her success story. Since she doesn't have time to spend hours and hours at the gym, she knows her calorie burn will come from eating better, not burning it off with exercise.

That said, Liz believes that exercise is still a critical element for her overall health. "I like having the ability to do a lot of different physical activities that I never imagined I'd be able to do," Liz said.

Variety was the key to keeping Liz interested in exercise. "If I try to stick to a routine, I'll just get bored and stop," Liz said. Her favorite exercise is swimming, and she also includes walking, running, elliptical, yoga, step aerobics, HIIT workouts, and kettlebells. "I find it hard to schedule work and life around fitness classes, so I find videos on YouTube that I can try in my home gym," Liz said.

"I recently signed up to run my first 5K in June and my first sprint triathlon in August. Even though they both intimidate me," Liz admitted, "I'm really enjoying having fitness-related goals to look forward to."

The key to Liz's motivation and long-term success was to internalize the "why" and keep on track for her own sake and not for anybody else's. For that reason, Liz started a blog called Lawyer at Lunch where she writes about her weight-loss journey. She hopes that by sharing some of the things she's learned, the challenges she's faced, and the surprises she's experienced, other people can learn from them, too.

She also started an Instagram account called lightened_up_recipes where she shares the healthy meals she's learned to cook and love. "I figure if I'm as honest and authentic as I can possibly be about my journey, it will help keep me accountable over the long-term," Liz said.

Because Liz had always been at a higher weight, she experienced a lot of "firsts" as she was losing weight. The biggest nonscale victories she's experienced boil down to this, Liz said: "I used to walk into a room full of people I'd never met before and I'd feel like I was being judged. I would have a running dialogue of negativity in my head of the things I'd imagine people were thinking, and it played on a constant loop for the better part of 40 years."

"Now, when I walk into a room, I don't feel that anymore," she continued. "I hold my head a little higher. I'm more genuine and authentic because I don't feel like I have to have a guardrail up. The burden of that negativity is something I never realized I was carrying until it was gone — and it's wonderfully freeing."

As for this photo, Liz captioned it on her Instagram page with this: "The novelty of shedding 100lbs is wearing off . . . And I worry about boredom setting in and causing a reversion to old habits (they die hard, you know)."

She continued, "I think that's why I saved this one pair of old pants — a size 20 that was starting to feel snug two years ago. They are a reminder that what I did for myself is a big deal. And that I can't let anything — boredom, restlessness, or the busy hum of everyday life — derail what I've accomplished."

Liz wants everyone to remember that your journey is a marathon, not a sprint. It's all about finding a process and developing habits that you can sustain.

Remember that "sometimes it's OK to say yes — balance has always been important to me," Liz said. Food is part of life, and it's an enjoyment that she's never been willing to give up completely. You should feel good going out with your friends to drink and eat, to socialize and have fun, and Liz does; she just doesn't do it every week.

"Sometimes I make healthier choices like ordering a salad, but sometimes I approach a good meal at a fun new restaurant as though calories aren't a thing, and it's heaven. I enjoy my friends and go with the flow for an evening, and I appreciate and value every second of it," Liz said. "Then I get back on track the next day."

Liz said that for someone who has spent her entire life in a larger body, the decision to lose weight was a big deal, and weight can be more than just a number on a scale. "There are physical, emotional, psychological, behavioral, and identity-related byproducts of being overweight that you still have to sort out even once the number on the scale tells you that's not who you are anymore," Liz explained.

For that reason, Liz said that losing the weight — physically and metaphorically — is not a battle you can just declare victory and walk away from. It's an existential change that requires a lot of time, introspection, and patience to work through. "I'm working hard to be patient with myself as I learn and grow, and it's not always easy," Liz said. "At the end of the day, I have to keep reminding myself that I've invested a lot of work in this body, and I'm not giving it up without a fight!"