“I’m always smiling.” That’s how Katherine goes about her daily life now, almost two and a half years after beginning her WW journey.
She had struggled with her weight since childhood and had done an earlier version of WW with her twin sister and her mother in the past. But in 2018, Katherine decided to get serious about her weight-loss goals. She was 34 and 340 pounds at the time, and her doctor had suggested gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. She says she didn’t have any health issues at the time, but the weight loss was important. However, Katherine didn’t want to have surgery if she didn’t need to. She decided: “I’m gonna do this myself, I’m young.”
Her approach was slow and steady – she wanted long-term sustainable results, not a quick fix. “I’m not trying to do a crash diet or whatever,” she says of her thinking at the time. “I literally need to change my whole lifestyle, of thinking and processing of food, and the way I look at it.”
So Katherine turned to myWW and is on the Blue plan, a program that she found easy to work with and that she’s still on today.
“I love Blue because of the fact that you literally can make up every meal using free items, and if you really wanted to enjoy your snacks, you could.”
Katherine focused on getting 100 grams of protein a day (using staples like chicken, tuna, and eggs) within her SmartPoints budget, and she chose never to use her Weekly Points.
“I was never hungry on Blue. Ever.”
For the first year, Katherine focused only on her food. She didn’t go to the gym, she just tried to incorporate activity when she could, but she made the food and mental side of things her priority.
“I just wanted to train my brain, and so I did so.”
A year in, she added workouts three times a week for about 30 minutes. She started with stretches, then bodyweight strength training exercises.
Soon, people were asking her for health and fitness tips and following her journey.
“I started realizing that I was becoming an inspiration to the people around me, which [became] motivating for me to want to do more.”
She began making meal plans for people and showing them her exercises.
“And then all of a sudden I’ve got all these people at work who are following me and they wanna do what I do.”
Now, Katherine is on maintenance, having gone from 340 pounds to 180, and from a size 24 to a 10/12. Her energy levels are up, she no longer deals with back or knee pain, and she says she’s a more positive person as well. And, after helping people while on her own journey, Katherine is looking into getting certified in nutrition and personal training.
“I’m on such a positive high, I’m a changed person,” she says. “My whole lifestyle’s changed. The way I look at food, the way I look at exercise, the way I look at myself. I walk around with my head so high. I feel strong, empowering … I look at everybody and I wanna help. And I wanna get my story out just so that people know, don’t give up. I mean, don’t do it for anybody but for yourself. Because at the end of the day, it’s just you. You don’t need to impress anybody. As long as you feel good, that’s the biggest reward. And this was the best thing I ever did for myself.”
Now on maintenance, Katherine is still on Blue and she’s at a point now where she almost doesn’t need to track because the SmartPoints system is so engrained in her head. And she’s kept up with her daily activity, too.
She has a playlist she puts on every morning as soon as she wakes up so she can dance around while starting her day. Later, she stretches for 30 minutes and then walks her dogs. She encourages people to just get moving in a way they enjoy – you don’t have to go to the gym, she says.
For anyone new to WW or hitting a bump in the road, Katherine suggests taking it one day at a time. “Don’t get down on yourself,” she says, adding, “Your mind is the most powerful thing.”
The key is to just stick with it and keep going.
“Nobody wants that slow result, but two years is not a long time,” she says. “It flies. And before you know it the two years are up and then look at this, you’ve got this beautiful, strong, empowering woman!”
She adds, “I feel great, and I just want other people to feel as good as I feel right now. It’s never too late.”