Category Archives: Lose Weight Fast

Lookin good, Shannon Beador! The Real Housewives of Orange County star has been candid about her struggles with her weight, admitting that she gained 40 pounds ahead of the shows twelfth season. But now, shes resurfaced and appeared on Watch What Happens Live on July 31 flaunting a 15-pound weight loss and she looks awesome! Check out the video to see her slim down.

The mother-of-three opened up about her weight gain on Instagram on July 10; she wrote, So lets just get to it. Yes. I have gained weight. A lot of weight. About 40 pounds to be exact. I have not had plastic surgery or fillers, its just plain and simple weight gain. There are multiple factors that have contributed to my size and it will be addressed this season on the show Gaining weight and trying to take it off is a struggle that most women will face at some point in their lives.

MUST SEE: Check out Amy Schumer's Incredible Weight Loss!

Recently, the 53-year-old has shared her secrets to her weight loss admitting that she finds at least 30 minutes a day to exercise, even though shes the first to admit that it isnt her favorite activity. She previously opened up about how she was motivated to shed the pounds after considering the detriment effect the sudden weight increase had on her wellbeing.

Thats like a health hazard. Its like youre a walking time bomb. So, that kind of scared me into doing something, she explained. Well, with 15 pounds down and 25 pounds to go we know that Shannon has the attitude and motivation to keep up the amazing work. You go girl!

Brielle Biermann Wants to Join 'Real Housewives'!

See Vicki Gunvalson's Plastic Surgery Transformation!

Christina El Moussa in Talks to Join 'RHOC'

See the original post:
Shannon Beador Flaunts 15-Pound Weight Loss See Her Transformation - In Touch Weekly

Nearly every Friday for the past few months, a woman has come up to me after the body sculpting class I teach and said something like this: Whatever youre doing, its working. Sometimes its, Good job; youve lost a lot of weight. Others, it's a form of praise I didnt even know was a thing: I can really tell that youve lost weight from your face. Your face is slimmer.

My face? Thanks?

As a woman in America there are two things Ive learned through the years: 1. Always try to improve your body. 2. Always say thank you when someone gives you a "compliment." If my body is inherently in need of improvement, then when someone tells me Ive lost weight, its supposed to be a compliment. And instinctively, when I hear anything complimentary, I say thank you.

I enjoy leading this Friday morning class. Teaching provides a sense of accomplishment and gives me an incredible amount of confidence. The people who attend the class are pleasant, and I am happy to take any and all compliments pertaining to the design of the workout or how much it kicked someones ass. Thats all me. I did that. I stood at the front of the room and challenged everyone. What I didnt do was set out to lose weight.

She would just shake it off, perhaps assuming I was being modest. And yet I kept saying thank you every time she insisted that my math was wrong.

Thank youfor telling me I apparently look less awful than I used to? Im glad you now approve of me and my body?

I wont lie: I started taking working out seriously three years ago when my clothes weren't fitting. But when I started down this path, I realized I was more concerned with being in shape than losing weight. Id swim laps with coworkers and get winded after just a few turns in the pool, so every day it became my goal to swim more than I had during my last workout. Then I discovered other types of fitness activities that made me feel powerful and capable of improving. The second I stopped thinking about pounds and started thinking about personal challenges, working out stopped being a chore. I didnt lose more than a couple of pounds, and that was fine because it wasn't the point.

Now as a group fitness instructor, I make sure never to use motivational tactics centering on weight loss, calories, or earning food and treats. I want people to come to my class because they like it; because they want to use a heavier set of dumbbells than they used last month; because its their chance to see a friend who also takes the class during an otherwise busy week. Those are the things that ultimately helped me commit to a healthier lifestyle and what later inspired me to pursue a teaching certification three years ago.

I dont care about these comparisons. Ive learned enough about exercise science and social science to be fully on board with the Health at Every Size movement. I use fat not as a pejorative, but as a simple adjective, understanding that body size says nothing about ones overall health and personal values. I see that in myself: While I would never, in my new understanding of the term, call myself fat, I havent been skinny for years. I know I eat nutritious foods and I know that I am fit. Usually, that's enough for me.

And yet, every time someone tells me Ive lost weight, Im pulled into the mindset Ive been socialized to have as a woman: that this is an accomplishment, but it's also not enough. I begin to pay more attention to whether I look acceptable in an outfit before I step out of the house, and I even start crowing to people about how Ive lost a few pounds.

After a few months of those weekly compliments after class, I hopped on the scale and saw that, to my surprise, I had actually lost a few pounds. That familiar sense of socially enforced pride crept up on me, until I started to think about why those pounds left my body.

The weight vanished during a stressful semester of graduate school, during which I was working five jobs and volunteering, so busy running around most days that I rarely had the chance to eat three proper meals. It happened after a personal trainer told me I had fat aerobics instructor syndrome, insisting that I was using being busy as an excuse for not losing weight, and making me feel like a moral failure because I enjoy dessert. It happened when I was teaching the same workout so many times a week that I was overtraining, compounding my fibromyalgia and putting me in a state of perpetual dull pain.

I know this is true, but it can be hard to remember. Now every day I have to fight myself, trying to find a balance between planning healthful, properly sized meals and calculating calorie budgets for the day. I do my best to ignore the first number that comes up on my scale and focus instead on the body fat percentage and muscle mass numbers that come up next, which are more reliable indicators of overall health (if still limited in applicability). I have to remind myself over and over that exercise science says that active fat people can indeed be healthy, and cultural messages that make women feel their bodies should look a certain way have no validity.

Thats why I want to be done thanking people for telling me Ive lost weight. But I dont know how to stop. Its as reflexive a response as saying bless you when someone sneezes. Its polite. But it tears down my self-esteem to say it, and it makes it harder for all women to resist the patriarchal standards that shape our values system. I dont know if I can stop saying thanks until we all agree to. Are you with me?

Related:

You might also like: It's Shockingly Hard to Become a Group Cycling Instructor. Do You Have What It Takes?

Read more:
I Want to Be Done Thanking People for 'Complimenting' My Weight Loss - SELF

Oprah Winfrey has it all, but there's something the cultural icon has always wanted to rid herself of: excess body fat!

The actress and former talk show host has never been shy about her weight loss struggles. She's also always preached about self-acceptance and all that noise.

Video: A Wrinkle In Time Trailer Has Arrived!

But now that she's lost over 40 pounds thanks to Weight Watchers, the Big O says she can't accept herself if the numbers on her scale get too big!

In an interview with The New York Times, the 63-year-old spoke on the health risks that come at a heavier weight, explaining:

"For your heart to pump, pump, pump, pump, it needs the least amount of weight possible to do that. So all of the people who are saying, Oh, I need to accept myself as I am' I can't accept myself if I'm over 200 pounds, because it's too much work on my heart. It causes high blood pressure for me. It puts me at risk for diabetes, because I have diabetes in my family."

The magazine mogul who shed serious pounds since joining Weight Watchers in 2015 doesn't care if she's ever 1988-Oprah skinny again, but wants to make sure she's in control over her weight. She added:

"This whole P.C. about accepting yourself as you are you should, 100 percent."

It was that logic that made her say yes to Weight Watchers and hold herself accountable through the company's point system. She continued:

"It's a mechanism to keep myself on track that brings a level of consciousness and awareness to my eating. It actually is, for me, mindful eating, because the points are so ingrained now."

Even back in the 80s, Oprah thought she tried it all the banana-hot-dog-egg diet and the pickles-and-peanut-butter diet but saw no results.

Related: Oprah Confirms Mindy Kaling's Baby News!

In 1988, she lost an impressive 67 lbs. on the Optifast diet pill program, and disgustingly memorably wheeled a wagon of her "fat" on her talk show.

Of course, diets like that don't last in the long run. By 1991, she gained all of her weight back and claimed she'd "never diet again."

And the Big O stayed true to her word almost two decades later when she joined WW a lifestyle change, she'll be the first to tell you and slimmed down to a healthier BMI.

Now with her weight issues under control, there's nothing stopping Oprah from literally conquering the world!

[Image via WENN.]

Tags: diets, health, lifestyle, oprah winfrey, weight watchers

Excerpt from:
Oprah Winfrey Talks Weight Loss Struggles, Says She Can't Accept Herself If She's Over 200 Lbs! - PerezHilton.com

With so many diets out there, it can be hard to find the best plan for you to shed those unwanted pounds.

"We took some family photos with our son, when he turned one, and we were just excited to get the pictures back. When they finally came back, we were really disgusted at how we looked, says Sarah Bruns

West Fargo residents Sarah and Nick Bruns realized they had to change their life style; so they joined Profile by Sanford, a personalized plan designed to improve the way you eat and live. They lost a combined 250 pounds.

"The first week was a little tough, your body is just getting used to it. Our energy levels are way better, says Sarah.

"We like to make sure it's more of a behavioral and life style change just because we don't want it to be that quick and easy fix and then you bounce back to old habits and gaining that weight again says Profile by Sanford coach Katie LeCompte.

The program features certified coaches that combine nutrition, activity and lifestyle into a weight loss plan that's easy to follow.

"For me, I need that coaching. They are there for support; you can meet with them every week, you can meet with them every month, says Sarah.

Sarah says she recommends the program to anyone who is looking to turn their life around.

"Its amazing! They know what to do and they'll help you every step of the way, says Sarah.

Continue reading here:
Healthier Me: Local couple makes drastic weight loss through Profile by Sanford Program - Valley News Live

GETTY

We all know healthy eating and exercise are the two pillars of weight loss, but sticking to a strict diet all the time can be tough.

Thats why the cheat meal has risen in popularity, with many fitness fanatics recommending you ditch the salad and tuck into a cake instead.

The idea is that a naughty treat will keep you motivated by giving yourself a little of what you fancy, without massively veering off course.

But new research has revealed that Brits are sabotaging their gym goals with too many calorific treats.

20 fat-burning foods that help you lose weight

1 / 20

Avacodo - includes monosaturated fatty acids that are more likely to be used as slow burning energy than stored as body fat

According to a survey of 2,000 people by Benenden, a whopping 65% of us exercise on a weekly basis with most of us opting to work up a sweat between one and three times per week.

But slimmers are unconsciously undoing their hard work with weekly cheat meals and high-calorie snacks.

The shocking findings show that on average 44% of dieters actually treat themselves to as many as three fast food takeaways a week.

Furthermore, 58% of those surveyed confessed to eating up to three chocolate bars a week sabotaging their weight loss efforts and counteracting the calories burned from exercise.

Click through our gallery on the best ways to burn calories without exercising

1 / 10

Chew gum - A super-easy way to burn some extra calories is popping a few pieces of gum now and then. The act of chewing keeps your jaw muscles moving, andnot only will you be burning caloriesyoull stop yourself from consuming more calories.

Researchers found that respondents burn 1,334 calories a week from exercising on average, but unwittingly consume 4,304 calories from treats, resulting in 2,971 excess calories.

So if you want to make sure your reach your fitness goals, steer clear of those cheeky treats and not-so-healthy snacks.

Its clear to see that we cannot out-exercise a bad diet

Jane Abbott, clinical director from Benenden, said: Although exercise is associated with many health benefits and not just weight loss, it is important to make further lifestyle changes if weight loss is your goal.

Combining both exercise and healthy eating together is a more effective way to lose weight and stay trim.

Its clear to see that we cannot out-exercise a bad diet and although treats should be incorporated into our diet, it is vital that consumption is monitored to ensure a steady weight loss and a healthy balance.

Meanwhile further research revealed that eating during the day, but not during the evening, is the key to losing weight.

Scientists warned that midnight snacking makes you pile on the pounds.

In fact people who have a meal at night don't actually lose weight even when they are on a diet.

At night time we are much less active so dont burn off as many calories because the body's metabolism is regulated by a person's biological, or circadian, clock.

Read more:
This ONE thing is sabotaging your weight loss even if you exercise regularly - Daily Star

MEDIA DRUM WORLD

Katy Hamilton was overweight from the beginning of her teens, despite living a sporty life during her school years.

But when the 27-year-old started university she dropped out of all her extra-curricular activities and increased her calorie intake due to gorging on campus food, fizzy drinks and alcohol.

Katy steadily ballooned to 17st 7lbs and UK dress size 22-24 and felt sick, chronically tired, stressed and suffered from terrible skin problems.

The youngster from Washington DC, US, decided to make a change by signing herself up to Crossfit.

Take a look at these exceptional body transformations.

1 / 30

Elora Harre, 23 has lost eight stone

In a bid to overhaul her lifestyle, Katy ditched the unhealthy food and drink and committed to working out three time a week. She also squeezed in a 45-minute or hour-long walk every day.

The super slimmer managed to drop 5st 10lbs and now she fits into slinky size 10-12 gowns.

Feeling horrible most of the time made me want to lose weight

Katy said: "My weight was always something I wished I could change, I just never could quite make it work.

"I felt really bad physically more than I did emotionally about my body.

"I got sick often, had horrible digestive and hormonal issues with terrible skin.

"Feeling horrible most of the time made me want to lose weight.

"I hated feeling sick after most meals due to my digestive issues and was sick of feeling chronically tired and stressed."

MEDIA DRUM WORLD

She continued: "I lost a majority of the weight in the first year by just changing my lifestyle and daily habits.

"I stopped eating campus food and ready meals for lunches and dinners on Sundays.

"I started working out about three times a week doing a combination of strength and cardio. My diet and exercise are the opposite of what they were before.

"I eat mostly vegetables and meat, drink plenty of water and exercise almost every day of the week; whether it's just a long walk or an intense Crossfit workout."

Now the determined dieter feels much more open to doing new things.

MEDIA DRUM WORLD

Katy said: "I am so much more comfortable in my skin.

I lead a much more positive life and I am able to do so many things I never thought I'd do; like join Crossfit, run half-marathons and shop at any store I want.

"I'm a very confident person despite all the flaws I still have. I feel proud of myself regularly and I'm driven to keep making and reaching goals.

"I feel strong and empowered by what my body is able to do. Most people don't believe I was overweight if I've met them after my weight loss.

"I show many of them my Instagram to give them a better idea. Many are inspired. Most ask how they can be healthier and for any advice."

Despite her miraculous body transformation, Katy admits that she found the process very difficult.

She added: "The hardest thing about losing weight is being patient. I never lost more than two to three pounds a week. It was slow, but steady.

"I had to learn to be proud of each little pound that added up instead of thinking: Ugh, I'm still 2st 2lbs away from my goal.'

"Start by looking at your small, daily habits that are making you unhealthy. For me, I started with kicking the bad diet soda habit.

"When that felt good, I'd pick another, then another, until slowly I had many healthy habits. Start small, go slow."

Read the original:
Woman drops 5st in one year after making THIS simple change - Daily Star

GETTY

While its common knowledge that the best way to lose weight is a healthy diet and regular exercise crash diets continue to make bank with their promise of a quick fix.

The latest slimming fad, dubbed the General Motors diet, promises followers that theyll lose a stone in just one week but it could be more dangerous than its worth.

Even though the General Motors diet was invented in the eighties, it has made a resurgence of late with the promise of great weight loss.

The concept of the diet is to eat different food groups on different days.

On the first day, slimmers are advised to fruit load which means eating only water-based fruits.

The next day the plan introduces a baked potato and some vegetables with the remainder of the days following a similar format until eventually introducing lean meats.

The diet contains only 1,000 calories on average just half of the recommended 2,000 daily calorie intake for women and dieters have reported significant weight loss in the first three days.

Amazingly, these reality TV stars have lost more than 40st between them... all thanks to healthy eating and exercise

1 / 15

Jennifer Ellison from Brookside loses three stone in weight

Due to the low calorie intake, people following the plan are advised to only participate in low-intensity exercise during the week like yoga.

Harley Street nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert told the Independent: Trends may help you quickly lose weight but not fat.

Trends may help you quickly lose weight but not fat

The weight comes back after veering from the given rules of any diet. And the GM Diet is no different.

Some may be drawn to it because they may feel out of control around food and want to stick to a rigid plan.

"Yet after breaking one of the diet rules, people will feel guilty and ashamed, and may then start another diet which leads to a vicious cycle.

Rhiannon added that reduced carbohydrate intake and water weight are the reasons for the quick weight loss but a healthy, balanced diet should be encouraged.

She also pointed out that the plan is much harder to follow than most people assume meaing it can be tricky to stick to.

Health experts advise against following crash diets because they aren't sustainable long-term.

Instead you should stick tohealthy eating and find an exercise that you enjoy so you can steadily get fitter.

View original post here:
This controversial diet will make you lose 1st in one week - Daily Star

Sign Up for

Our free email newsletters

As a rule, we love watching actors push themselves to dangerous extremes for their craft. Dramatic physical ordeals become the stuff of Hollywood lore: Leonardo DiCaprio sleeping inside an animal carcass to prepare for The Revenant, Robert DeNiro gaining 60 pounds for Raging Bull, Daniel Day Lewis damaging two ribs after spending the entire shoot of My Left Foot in a wheelchair. (Female bodily transformations like any time an actress appears to undergo plastic surgery tend to be more fraught.) Yet To the Bone, Netflix's recent film about a young woman, played by Lily Collins, battling life-threatening anorexia, has sparked a different kind of public conversation about performers and commitment. This time, the question is where Method acting and and psychological self-harm intersect, and at what point one actor's discipline becomes a public-health issue.

In the film, directed by Marti Noxon, Collins plays Ellen, a severely anorexic teenager who is sent for treatment at an inpatient clinic run by an unorthodox therapist (Keanu Reeves). Both Noxon and Collins grappled with serious eating disorders when they were younger the film is loosely based on Noxon's own experiences and for both, the film was born of a very personal desire to elevate the artistic treatment of an issue typically been relegated to Lifetime movies or after-school specials. Collins was offered the role just as she was opening up about her eating disorder for the first time in her 2017 self-help book slash memoir, Unfiltered. As she told The Independent, "It was like the world in a kismet situation saying 'this is something that maybe you need to expand upon, something you can maybe bring to more people start a larger conversation.'"

Like 13 Reasons Why, Netflix's last take on a serious mental-health Issue, the film has quickly become mired in controversy over its shortcomings as an educational tool. And many of the criticisms in addition to critiques of its focus on suffering over recovery, and of its focus on a thin, white, conventionally beautiful protagonist have centered on Collins' decision to lose weight for the role under the supervision of a nutritionist. In the view of eating-disorder specialist Jennifer Rollin, who wrote a critical op-ed about the film for HuffPost, the notion that someone recovering from an eating disorder can safely lose weight is "one the most concerning" things about the film.

"Lily Collins saying she lost weight in a 'healthy way' with the help of a nutritionist for the role is like someone with alcoholism saying they drank responsibly for a role," Rollin told me.

Noxon has said that she did not ask Collins to lose weight, and that it was a choice she took on with careful consideration. "Both Lily and I in deciding to make the movie had to evaluate, well, where are we in our recovery? Are we in a good place to make this? And we both felt really strongly that it was something we wanted to do and that would be good for us," Noxon told the Los Angeles Times. In her memoir, Collins calls making the film "the best form of creative rehab," saying that it helped her to face aspects of her disorder that she had failed to fully reckon with, and that she fully recovered from the weight loss she endured for the film.

But for some of the experts I spoke to, Collins' decision was more than an arguably reckless personal choice; it poses a genuine threat for the sort of vulnerable viewers who have already begun sharing photos of her character on "thinspiration" web pages. "We know for somebody with the underlying genetics for anorexia that weight loss, regardless of intention, can trigger their brain to start to get activated. It has put her recovery at risk and it's sent a really dangerous message to other people in recovery," Rollin said.

"If people think, Oh, well, Lily Collins did and it didn't harm her, maybe I can, it becomes a salient example in peoples' minds," adds eating-disorder specialist Lauren Muhlheim. "Hollywood celebrities carry a lot of weight because people will remember that versus a clinician who 10 years in the past told them 'you're at risk if you diet in the future.'" (Muhlheim advises anyone dealing with an eating disorder to contact the National Eating Disorder Helpline. She also recommends a video the cast made called 9 Truths About Eating Disorders, which helps debunk a number of myths and misconceptions that the film doesn't tackle.)

Still, others in the ED community have given the filmmakers their support, arguing that To the Bone stands to do more good than harm by simply existing in the world. Kristina Saffran, co-founder of eating-disorder support charity Project Heal (which has partnered with the filmmakers to help "guide them on how to have this conversation in a responsible way") says it would probably have been impossible to make a realistic movie that wasn't triggering to people with eating disorders, because "when you're dealing with an eating disorder, literally everything is triggering." While Project Heal has said they do not support Collins's weight loss and their involvement with the film took place after the fact Saffran suggests we should "take [Collins'] word" that she is in a better place after the shoot and that it was actually therapeutic for her to go through this process.

Even if Collins hadn't lost weight for the part (and some of the film's more harrowing visuals were the result of prosthetics), eating-disorder therapist Carolyn Costin who moderated a panel on the film alongside Collins and Noxon, in partnership with Project Heal thinks that critics would have found fault with the film's method no matter what. "I think you have to take the basic understanding that you can't have a film about a troubling topic without troubling some people," says Costin. In her view, the absence of realistic representations of eating disorders onscreen means that any attempt to do so faces a disproportionate amount of scrutiny.

"I've been racking my brain, what would be the alternative?" Costin asks. "If you're going to make a realistic movie, I don't have an alternative. if you took an actress who wanted to portray someone with anorexia and they tried to lose weight, you could risk that person getting an eating disorder. And if you took someone to play Marti's character and you kept them at a normal weight, I think you'd be accused of glamorizing the eating disorder because nobody would see anything bad."

Some of this comes down to the different schools of thought on whether you can ever be fully recovered from an eating disorder, which Costin believes is possible. "[Where] the philosophy [that recovery is lifelong] comes from is more like a chemical dependency where people would say 'you can never have a drink because your chemistry is different,' and that's not been proven in eating disorders," she says. "People do this all the time, lose weight, gain weight, smoke, put themselves in compromising positions, yet there's something about the eating-disorder field where people get very upset about it," she says. (In an op-ed, Costin said she too was "was concerned and unsettled upon hearing the leading actress had suffered from anorexia in the past yet lost weight to play the part." Still, she adds, "the important thing" is that Lily has recovered and did not relapse.)

Lost amid all the consternation over eating-disorder pathology and triggering imagery is the question of what it means for an actress like Lily Collins or a filmmaker like Marti Noxon to revisit her own traumas onscreen. Plenty of art has been born out of individual suffering, and it's clear from Collins' memoir that she sees being an advocate and an actress as two sides of the same coin. Her weight loss was, in its way, an attempt to access some sort of autobiographical truth even if doing so threatened to put her back in the path of the same dangers she sought to communicate.

"My experience helped me be able to tell Ellen's story in a true and genuine way, which benefited not only the character but also myself," Collins told The Cut via email. "If I didn't feel I was ready to take on this role, I wouldn't have. But I knew in my gut it was for a greater purpose than just my own healing." She continued:

"In preparing for the role I wanted to pay tribute to the suffering 16-year-old girl I once was and portray a young woman in her situation as best I could, tapping into the mind-set but also keeping a fine distance for the woman I've since become. I chose to help tell this story, one woman's story in search of recovery. Every single person's journey is different. As was mine."

In her book, she writes about how taking the role was by no means an easy choice, about the fear that she wouldn't be able to separate herself from the role or resist old triggers, as well as her struggles post-shoot, filming Okja in South Korea, where isolation from friends and family and a lack of familiarity with the food presented potential triggers for relapse. And she writes about how, ultimately, she took the part along with all the risks it entailed because she felt it was a creative and ethical obligation to bring her story to a wider audience.

"I remember driving home the night we wrapped filming on To the Bone and passing my high school where many of my insecurities, relationship problems, and eating issues had begun," she writes. "I looked out the window and smiled. Little did I know that the troubled Lily back then was going through it all for a greater purpose. To one day share her story as part of a much larger one. To have her voice join the voices of so many other young women. It's a weight off my shoulders, a self-inflicted burden relinquished."

Get more smart coverage of everything from politics to relationships at The Cut, or follow The Cut on Facebook.

More:
Is there a responsible way to make a movie about eating disorders? - The Week Magazine

share

pin

email

After hearing about her brother-in-law competing in Spartan and Tough Mudder races, Arleen Crespo hoped to join one, too. But weighing 230 pounds at 5 feet 5 inches tall, the grueling race seemed impossible to her.

Doing anything physical was exhausting," she told TODAY.

Crespo, 33, wasnt always overweight. After high school, she turned to food for comfort and slowly became heavier. She wasnt even sure how much she weighed.

How these 4 friends lost over 400 pounds together Play Video - 1:00

How these 4 friends lost over 400 pounds together Play Video - 1:00

I never wanted to step on a scale, she said.

After taking a hard look at herself in the mirror, Crespo knew she had to change. She also hoped that by losing weight she could compete in races. She joined a local gym, the Meriden Edge, in Meriden, Connecticut, where she met a trainer, who helped her create an exercise regimen and healthy eating habits.

While Arleen Crespo wanted to lose weight because she disliked how she looked, she also wanted to run a Tough Mudder. She encouraged her three friends to join her.

While the gym membership helped her drop 90 pounds in a year, its also where she met three other women, who inspired and motivated her and gave her the confidence she needed to complete a Tough Mudder.

The foursome, who lost a combined 422 pounds while working out together, ran as a team in 2016 at the Tough Mudder New England at Mount Snow in West Dover, Vermont.

We were all on the same track of life, said Amy-Jo Reid, 36, a member of the group with Quasheena Young, 37, and Brooke Steneck, 24.

In 2014, Reid learned she was likely going to become pre-diabetic and have a fatty liver if she didn't make a change. So she joined the same gym and worked with a trainer in addition to taking Zumba and boot camp classes. In a year, she lost 104 pounds.

I actually didnt know the women before I met them at one of the group classes, Reid said.

Amy-Jo Reid lost 104 pounds, but gained three friends who helped her maintain her weight loss.

After meeting in 2014, they realized how determined they were to lose weight and started encouraging one another. They share healthy recipes, and someone calls Steneck every morning to wake her for the gym they know she sleeps through her alarm.

If someone is having a hard time, we give words of encouragement, Reid said.

Throughout their friendship, Crespo often mentioned wanting to do a Tough Mudder race.

I didnt research it. I said, How much is it? Lets do it, said Young.

But when Young realized how intense it was, she worried. Even though she had lost 108 pounds, she wasnt sure if she could complete the race. But her friends keep her motivated.

Its a sisterhood, she said. One of the best things that came from joining the gym is we have each other.

Quasheena Young lost 108 pounds and feels healthier and stronger. When her friends mentioned the Tough Mudder, she agreed to participate and had no idea what she was getting into.

Steneck who has lost about 70 pounds really needed the support in the Tough Mudder. In mile three, she injured her shoulder and thought it was dislocated.

I immediately started crying, she said. But she visited the medical tent and returned to the race at the end.

I missed a large chunk of the race, she said. They looked like they were hurting a little bit I pushed everyone.

This year Steneck and Reid completed another Tough Mudder. For personal reasons Crespo and Young couldnt. But they continue inspiring one another and shared this advice to others hoping to lose weight:

What it's really like to lose 100 pounds Play Video - 1:01

What it's really like to lose 100 pounds Play Video - 1:01

When Reid started tracking how much lean protein, veggies and fruit she ate, she shed pounds. Then she hit a plateau after losing 60 pounds. Being able to look at her diet helped her modify it to lose again.

I always thought it was just the calories you eat, she said. But its getting the right percentage of protein (fat and carbs).

When Crespo started losing weight, she sometimes felt like it was too hard. But that was her brain, not her body, talking.

Your mind holds back a lot of what your body can do, she said.

Young agrees.

You tell your mind what to do and your body is going to follow, she said.

Going to the gym five or six days a week felt selfish, but when Youngs health improved, she realized the investment was important.

Being overweight, I didnt care about my worth, said Young. You have to know, I am worth it. I am worth going to the gym five days a week.

It feels hard to take time off when youre injured, but Steneck learned she needed to care for her body.

Respect your body, fuel it, rest it. Take the time off if you need to take the time off. Just because you didnt get a work out in, doesnt mean you fail, she said.

At 190 pounds, Brooke Steneck has run a Tough Mudder twice, thanks to the support of her friends.

One day, Young was doing box jumps with Crespo and simply thought she couldnt do another one. But Crespo cheered her on and Young finished them. When they raced, Crespo and Young felt uncomfortable with the water, but Reid encouraged them.

I wouldnt have been able to do this without my girls by my side, Crespo said.

For more inspirational stories, check out our My Weight-Loss Journey page.

Read the original:
'It's a sisterhood': How friendship helped 4 women lose 422 pounds combined - Today.com

When a lot of people think about weight loss, it involves giving up all the foods that you love and busting butt at the gym five days a week. If you're a lazy girl like me, you've probably tried that route and failed more times than you'd like to admit. Here's how to successfully lose weight, the lazy way.

You don't have to break up with carbs or any food group to lose weight. There is absolutely no reason to ban the things you love in order to lose weight. In fact, doing so may only increase your cravings and lead you to failure. The one thing you need to do to lose weight is eat fewer calories than you burn. Instead of giving up on foods you truly enjoy, be mindful of portions and try to balance every meal out with whole, natural foods.

What if I told you a gym membership is in no way necessary to lose weight? As long as you are watching what you eat, exercise is not even necessary to lose weight. However, if you want to speed up the process, upping the number of calories you burn is the way to go. You can do this simply by incorporating more regular movement into your day.

Take your dog for an extra walk each evening. Park farther away from your office. Switch out a night per week of binge-watching Netflix for playing badminton in the yard or taking a stroll around the neighborhood. Investing in a fitness tracker is a great way to challenge yourself to gradually increase your everyday activity level, and you can even compete with friends, if that's your thing.

Body weight can fluctuate several pounds per day, regardless of whether or not you're losing fat. Hormones, bathroom habits, and diet can all cause temporary water weight gain. Don't bother getting on the scale every day. You may find yourself discouraged or even throw in the towel completely trying to decipher the ever-changing number you face. Pick a day of the week and a time of day. That's when you'll weigh in each week. Then, put the scale away and do not touch it again until your weigh-in day comes around next week.

You can drink juice, soda, and alcohol and still lose weight. However, you'll quickly realize that these items should be categorized as treats rather than daily drinks, due to their high caloric content. Water, unsweetened tea, or diet beverages (if you're OK with artificial sweeteners) are your new best friends. They will help you feel full between meals and aid with digestion, which can sometimes struggle to adjust to dietary changes.

Losing weight is simple, but that does not mean it is easy. Search online for weight-loss support groups that embrace practical, safe (and yes, "lazy") approaches to achieving your goal. Like-minded supporters in your corner means you'll be more likely to reach out for advice in those inevitable moments of frustration instead of reaching out for extra-large fries at the nearest drive-through.

Read more:
The Lazy Girl's 5-Step Guide to Weight Loss - POPSUGAR