Katie Suffers From PCOS and Was Able to Lose 87 Pounds Eating This Many Carbs Per Meal

Katie shared with POPSUGAR that she's struggled with her weight from a young age. "I would steadily gain weight year after year and would try to lose weight constantly. I honestly started trying to lose weight as early as 9 years old," Katie said.

February 2018 was the start of Katie taking her journey seriously. "I was at a birthday party, saw myself in photos and was completely mortified and unhappy with what I saw," Katie shared.

That April, she began going through a harder time personally than she could ever imagine, when her marriage ended and she was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. "The emotional turmoil was more than I thought I was capable of handling but I feel like focusing on my healthy journey is what saved me. I zeroed in my focus on becoming the best version of myself by paying attention to what I was putting into my body for the first time and doing everything I could to get my health under control," Katie said.

"I knew having the extra weight on me was bad for my health and joints," Katie explained. She not only suffers from rheumatoid arthritis but she also has severe anemia, hypothyroidism, and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). "The latter two have always made losing weight quite difficult for me, and I would constantly use them as an excuse," but she was more determined than ever not to quit.

Katie's highest weight ever was 307 pounds, and when she began her journey, she weighed in at 290 pounds.

Katie focuses on eating high-protein and low-carb. "I saw a nutritionist at the start of my journey and was advised to limit myself to 30 grams of carbs per meal. 30 grams is equal to two servings." She loves drinking protein shakes and smoothies for breakfast, as well as for dinners when she can't decide what to eat.

"I eat as much protein as I can because it keeps me feeling full the longest." Katie added, "I became very disciplined and finally learned to say 'no' to foods that did not fall into my plan."

Here's an example of what Katie eats in a day:

Breakfast: Protein smoothie
Lunch: Salad with protein or lunch meat packs (she calls them adult Lunchables)
Dinner: Protein (chicken, fish, or sometimes steak) and vegetables.

"I also love anything that I can use lettuce as the vessel," Katie said. "Taco lettuce wraps or lettuce cup anything."

When Katie's rheumatoid arthritis was cooperating, she was working out about three days a week. "I would mainly focus on low-impact exercise like swimming, water aerobics, cycling, and upper-body strength training," Katie said.

Katie is down 87 pounds total from her heaviest weight and down 70 pounds since starting her journey in February 2018 — it took her about a year to lose the weight.

"It is going to sound silly but the first time I was able to wrap a bath towel around my body was cause for celebration," Katie beamed. "I don't know if I have been able to do that since I was a child."

What kept Katie motivated to eat healthy and move her body? "The progress on the scale and in my clothes kept me motivated," she shared. Katie also has many doctor appointments and seeing lower blood pressure and heart rate was amazing proof of her progress.

If you're on your own weight-loss journey, Katie said, "Keep at it and don't think of it as a diet but more so as a lifestyle. Discipline is a sign of strength."