Wanting to lose a lot of weight feels hard. It feels like standing near big mountains, not sure if you can climb them. Many struggle for years, even a lifetime, it seems. Trying different ways of eating, facing health problems, feeling physical limits holding them back. Often, past attempts fail, leaving them feeling frustrated and hopeless.
But a good story shows that change is possible. Not through big, sudden changes, but often through small, steady steps and thinking in a different way. Women like LaNette Whiteside, Leah Mancuso, and Megan Tjelle share how. Focusing on small changes helps. Knowing yourself helps too. Finding the right way can lead to weight loss and also a fuller, healthier, and more joyful life.
These women had big problems, from being very overweight to facing health crises. They had been fighting cravings all their lives or handling busy jobs. But each of them did find a way by using simple ideas that worked for them. Their lessons are not quick fixes. They build a new foundation, one little choice at a time. Let’s find out about their big ideas and how they changed their minds.
1. **Starting with ‘Baby Steps’**: A big goal feels too overwhelming. You can freeze up. LaNette Whiteside weighed 488 pounds. She showed that starting small is needed. It is very powerful. Just getting to her first WeightWatchers meeting took big effort. Her daughter helped her go. A special walker was needed. She stopped often to breathe. This shows that first steps don’t need to be big jumps.
LaNette remembered this hard start. She says, “I took baby steps from the beginning.” This wasn’t just about walking. It was how she did everything. She faced the hard work: “one small change, one meal, even one bite at a time.” This way made it feel okay. She built up speed. She didn’t feel crushed by the big goal.
Megan Tjelle also started with simple walks. She decided enough was enough at 246 pounds. A popular walking trend was too hard. It was named “12 – 3 – 30” for the treadmill. She began with an easier incline first. It was just 2%. Slowly, she got stronger and could handle more. This shows that where you begin is fine. No matter how small it feels. It is an important first step for really big change.
2. **Making Healthier Versions of Favorite Foods**: LaNette Whiteside always felt diets were too strict. This made her want to eat more. When certain foods were not allowed. In WeightWatchers, “all foods are allowed.” But they have point values. She learned a great way: eating food she liked, but making it healthier.
She didn’t feel bad about missing certain foods. LaNette asked herself this: “If I could eat anything in the world right now, what would it be?” What she wanted, she tried to make healthy. This meant changing, not cutting out foods. Like when she wanted biscuits and gravy. She found a way to use less – point dough, using Greek yogurt for this. And she found a low – point gravy mix packet.
She enjoyed her favorite foods by doing this. BLTs, spaghetti, and even ice cream. It didn’t ruin her progress. By using healthy swaps and eating smaller bites. The point system helped her with this. She found a way to get what she wanted. This question and doing this worked great. It helped her a lot early on. She lost 27.6 pounds in the first month.
3. **Mastering One Small Change at a Time**: Even when she lost weight first, LaNette didn’t have much strength. Changing everything felt not possible. She decided not to push hard then. Instead, she added one new habit. She did it each week. In this slow, careful way, she built a strong base. She didn’t feel there was too much to do.
One week, she worked on drinking water. The next week, she ate more greens. Her first “exercise” was just making the bed. Every day, she did it. Only after she did this habit well did she then try to walk without her helper. This way was not just her idea. Studies show that this works too.
A study was done at East Carolina University. Adopting one new healthy thing weekly helped women slim down faster, 300% faster than strict diets. Keri Gans is a food expert. She wrote the book “The Small Change Diet” based on this same idea. “I’ve seen so many clients achieve big goals using small steps,” she noted. “Each little success builds so much momentum.” LaNette’s story is like this. She lost 100 pounds quickly, within six months, by always doing this – mastering one small change at a time.
4. **Finding the Magic Combo: Protein and Healthy Carbs**: Eat natural food and eat many fruits and vegetables. LaNette found a special food key to feeling full and good: a mix of protein plus healthy carbs. Protein is good for feeling full. Everyone knows this. But LaNette felt that adding carbs worked best. For her body, it did. It helped her stick to her food plan.
She didn’t need a scientific study first. She just saw how food made her feel. She ate this mix in all her meals. It was a plan she made. Like having protein muffins sometimes. Or eating potatoes with chicken. Also her vegetable – based meals. This mix made her feel full for a long time. She needed this to manage her eating.
LaNette learned later that science agreed. Studies show that the right mix of food components is important for feeling full and eating healthily in the long term. By listening to her body and finding this “magic combo,” she made food that was good for her body and also satisfying. This helped her lose a lot of weight over two and a half years. She lost 200 pounds in total.
5. **The Ultimate Craving Cure: Pause, Pray, Plan**: The hardest thing for people losing weight is to stop strong craving feelings. Especially when you eat due to feelings. LaNette Whiteside used a good way for this. “Pause, pray, and plan,” she did. She learned this from a website named TheHolyMess.com. Sara Borgstede made the blog. She used this way in therapy too, for her own emotional eating problems.
Sara talks about brain and craving science. The basal ganglia are like the “toddler brain,” always wanting high – calorie food. It’s a way to survive. The frontal lobe is like the “adult brain.” It thinks about logical things and decides whether to eat or not. The problem happens when the adult brain gives in to the toddler’s wants all the time. This makes cravings worse, like a big tantrum.
The ‘pause, pray, plan’ way teaches the ‘adult brain’ to take power. When a craving comes, first you stop. You know the feeling is there but don’t act right away. Sara says try not to think about it, like distracting a child who is too wild. Often the craving goes away. If it stays, you can pray for help or calm yourself without food, like taking a slow walk, having a nap, or taking a bath. Last, you make a plan: decide to eat that food at tomorrow’s meal. Teach yourself to better handle feelings, not just to stop eating food now.
LaNette says this way really works. Even after losing lots of weight, she uses it on bad days, like when she wants to buy donuts. By doing ‘pause, pray, and plan,’ she says, “It has broken the chain that emotional eating had on me!” You need to control yourself for a few days first. Sara says, “After 30 days, you’ll be shocked at how much cravings diminish,” showing its long – term power. It trains your brain differently.
6. **Realizing the Illusion of the ‘Easy’ Sedentary Life**: Leah Mancuso lost 200 pounds in total. She first thought that being still was an easy life, always eating fast food. She thought it was an “easy, comfortable life” and asked why she should give it up. This thinking that it was easy was a barrier to the changes she needed. Many people feel the same way. It feels cozy to do bad habits.
But when she looks back now, Mancuso really sees things differently. This “easy” life was actually “just less.” It was no comfortable life at all. It was a life of not doing things. Her body size stopped her from doing the things she wanted very much. Sometimes she didn’t go to restaurants. She couldn’t ride fun rollercoasters. Even she couldn’t fly on airplanes because the seats were too small. The easy part wasn’t real. It hid the fact that she was being stopped and missing good opportunities.
This idea changed her view. It changed everything about her life. The way seemed easier, but it cost her much joy and fun. Seeing that this wasn’t real helped her a lot to start changing her lifestyle. Knowing that the hard work would lead to a life of “more” – more things to do, more feelings of freedom, and truly more real comfort and happiness.
7. **Understanding the Interconnectedness of Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health**: Before her weight – loss journey started, Leah Mancuso thought that health parts were separate. She thought she could ignore the physical part and make excuses that it was no big deal as long as she focused on her mind and her mental health only. This way of seeing parts as separate stopped her from seeing the whole health picture.
She didn’t see it until she started putting work into her physical health. She saw how deeply they were connected. Body, mind, and feelings were all together. When she made her body healthier by moving more and eating better, she found that her mental and emotional health also got better. This wasn’t just a happy coincidence. It showed a basic truth. All these parts helped each other a lot.
Mancuso’s experience showed this well. It is a known fact that moving the body helps the mind. But her idea went even further. It changed her way of life. It not only helped her mood or the stress level she had. It opened up a way to connect with others, and more good opportunities came. This big idea – taking care of one health part helps others – is a critical lesson to learn. True well – being needs care for the whole person you are.
8. **Gaining ‘Fuller Experiences’**: Leah Mancuso’s story often offers a powerful reminder. “Easy life is not always real,” she thought. She believed that eating fast food felt easier before. Avoiding movement was the easy path she perceived. It felt comfortable to her, which was all she knew then. Her pattern was familiar for such a long period. “Why give up this simple existence?” she wondered at times.
But looking back, her perspective changed a lot. That “easy” life actually was just “less.” It wasn’t comfort she had; it was limitation. Her body size held her back from the chances she desired. Enjoying a meal out at certain places was hard. She couldn’t feel the thrill of riding a rollercoaster. Even flying on an airplane was uncomfortable because of the seat size. The apparent ease became a barrier, masking the life she missed.
This profound shift became a transformative moment. The effort to change habits led to “more.” More freedom to choose activities was wonderful. More energy helped her pursue things she liked. Greater physical endurance came slowly. This dedication results in fuller experiences, she says. Richer relationships grow, and new opportunities appear. Increased confidence and joy feel much better. A greater sense of truly living arrived for Leah. The path that seems easiest at the moment can cost a lot.
9. **Swapping Takeout for Balanced Meals**: For Megan Tjelle, a turning point appeared. She eventually stopped relying heavily on takeout. Like busy people, convenience often ruled their habits. Her challenging nurse job with long hours added pressure. Relying on quick foods contributed to weight gain. Less nutritious options made it harder to establish healthy eating patterns. A fundamental shift was needed in her eating habits.
Using a structured approach helped her make a change. A local meal – delivery service provided meals. It now gives her three balanced meals each day. This created a gentle calorie deficit for weight loss. The service isn’t cheap, she admits candidly. Still, she is saving money compared to buying takeout. She found that this practical solution gave her the needed structure. This helped her easily break away from unhealthy choices.
Beyond the meal service, she also made changes. She usually stopped eating late at night. Irregular work hours made this very challenging. But it proved to be very beneficial. She swapped sugary coffee drinks for plain coffee. Instead of cream, she added some milk. Cutting out these sugary beverages was a huge step for her. She had been consuming calories without ever realizing it before. These food swaps built a strong foundation.
10. **Starting Exercise with Simple Steps**: Embarking on exercise can feel intimidating sometimes, especially when the weight – loss goal is big. Difficult past experiences make it harder. Megan Tjelle understands this feeling well. She wanted movement but not intense workouts. She committed to going to the gym every day consistently. Her initial activity was simply walking on the treadmill. She spent half an hour doing it.
She had heard about challenging trends like 12 – 3 – 30. She knew it was too hard for her initially. Rather than being discouraged, she modified it. She started with a lower incline of just two percent. This built her stamina and confidence without overwhelming her. Risking injury was not something she would do. The principle of taking baby steps worked well physically.
Starting small and building gradually worked well. As she lost weight, her body grew stronger daily. Her confidence in her physical abilities increased a lot. She no longer felt scared or nervous. Venturing into other gym areas felt okay. She progressed from walking to using resistance machines quickly. Eventually, she started running, which felt great. Her dedication to simple steps paved the way for much more. Running a half – marathon became a reality for her. She can now even do unassisted pull – ups. The key is to start moving, no matter how basic the steps are. Allow yourself to progress over some time.
11. **Addressing ‘Food Noise’**: Even after making progress, food noise can remain. Constant thoughts about eating can be hard to deal with. Strong cravings sometimes appear uncontrollably. Megan Tjelle experienced this herself. She described it as hard to stick to a calorie deficit. Cravings always felt almost uncontrollable. Food noise was a constant presence in her head. The internal struggle worried her quite a bit. The fear of hitting a plateau and regaining weight was real.
Recognizing that the internal battle was a significant barrier was smart. She finally discussed it with her doctor. They explored options to help manage this challenge. This led her to try a weight – loss drug. Wegovy is the name of part of a drug class. They are called GLP – 1 agonists. These drugs are known to affect appetite and satiety quite well. They are often described as silencing food noise completely.
Megan reported that the effect happened immediately. The constant food noise disappeared right away. She experienced some initial side effects. Nausea was one of them, and it lasted for the first couple of months. Luckily, these faded away over time. Using such medication is not a standalone thing, though. It required her to continue healthy eating and exercise. Her experience shows that medical help can aid in addressing hurdles like intense food noise.
12. **Navigating How Others Treat You**: One surprising lesson Megan learned was how different people treated her. She was shocked and saddened by the change. “People are nicer to you when you’re in a smaller body,” she said plainly. This is sometimes called thin privilege. Many who lose weight notice this phenomenon occurring frequently.
Megan provided tangible examples of this. People were more likely to offer help to her. Sometimes they held doors for her. Offering to carry things was also new. Small acts of courtesy and assistance came more often. After weight loss, subtle biases were shown to occur. Unacknowledged advantages afforded to thin people exist. Appearance standards influence how people act.
She noticed a change in how she was perceived. Attention from men grew considerably. Individuals who had previously not shown interest appeared. Even those who had ghosted her before contacted her. Suddenly, the same people were reaching out to connect. She knows that validation can feel good sometimes. Her experience shows the hard truth about the unfairness of appearance. Social interactions and perceived worth are influenced a lot.
13. **Discovering Your Own Capability**: Beyond physical changes, external ones sometimes appear. Megan Tjelle’s most profound lesson arrived. The discovery of her own inner capability happened. Like many who struggled with weight, past failures were there. “I think I always knew I had it in me,” she said. “But I never truly believed in myself before.” Her journey of losing over 100 pounds was more than that. Not just shedding weight, but building belief occurred. Achieving difficult goals was now possible for her.
Successfully navigating setbacks involved daily choices. The weight – loss journey proved to be a powerful lesson for all. Resilience and determination grew with every step. Each small victory and constant effort helped a lot. They slowly chipped away at past doubts. A foundation of self – trust was built for her. The process taught her that the limitations she had accepted were not really hers. Constructs she had placed upon herself happened. Maybe they were influenced by past societal perceptions.
The result of this journey was that liberation felt real. She confidently states that limits are gone. “I can’t put limits on myself,” she announces. Losing 100 pounds means she can accomplish anything. Setting her mind to achieve something feels possible now. This newfound sense of capability fuels her. The desire to live life to its absolute fullest potential is here. Prioritizing her health and happiness is not a chore. A pursuit she is fully capable of achieving is key. Her story is an inspiring testament to the capability within. When we choose to believe and take action, great things happen.
14. **Relying on Self-Discipline**: Alyssa Greene’s journey shows the power of self – discipline. She lost 25 pounds over two years. It highlights the quiet power as the core motivator she feels. Dramatic and rapid weight – loss stories capture attention. Greene’s steadier progress underscores consistent effort. Over time, guided by an internal drive, it happened. Effective and sustainable results for her were shown. Balancing life and health was a common challenge she faced. She didn’t rely on external quick fixes herself. A deliberate, self – guided approach worked best.
A key part of her strategy was self – education. Greene took the initiative to learn about nutrition. Understanding what her body needed was important for her. It was clear now how food choices impacted her goals. Knowledge empowered her to make informed decisions. She shifted control from diets to her own understanding. Self – directed learning combined with conscious commitment. This became the engine driving her progress steadily.
For Greene, discipline isn’t about deprivation, she says. Aligning actions with desires for well – being is what it is. Her philosophy is clear: “I do what I want for me,” she states. “It’s not for anyone else.” Struggling with family influence is difficult for some. Success really boils down to discipline, she thinks. She encourages others to look inward. She asks them to honestly ask themselves how badly they want change. She feels that the drive must ultimately come from within.
The stories of these women offer a powerful picture. Weight loss isn’t just a physical challenge alone. The journey also appears to be one of mental, emotional, and spiritual growth. Taking tiny steps and facing powerful cravings happen. Challenging limiting beliefs and embracing realities occur. Their lessons resonate deeply inside all of us. They remind us that sustainable change is slow and steady. Mastering small habits one at a time is the way. Fueled by inner strength and self – compassion is key. A clear vision of a fuller life awaits, and you know it. Success isn’t magic; it’s a testament to the capability within. When we choose to believe and take action, every step matters.
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