Real Life Weight Loss: Why a selfie made one woman lose 220lbs in two years
How Minnesotan Stacy Blair shed 220lbs and became a healthy lifestyle coach, after a revealing selfie changed everything
When a selfie caused her to burst into tears, Stacy Blair decided she needed to change. The 31-year-old from Minneapolis, Minnesota, US, felt miserable after stepping on the scales at 352.4lbs.
Stacy decided that this time would be different to previous weight loss attempts and she was going to do it for her health.
Even a knee injury did not hamper Stacy’s efforts as she focused on a healthy diet. In under two years, Stacy managed to lose an incredible 220lbs.
Stacy told Truly: “I am a true testament to how important food is on your weight loss journey.”
Following a bike accident in June 2019, Stacy struggled to hold her own head up but after starting her fitness journey earlier this year, she is able to smash out push ups and burpees in her workouts.
Having gained 30lbs following the accident, Stacy managed to lose the weight again, developed muscles and dropped to 27% body fat. Stacy now weighs 151lbs which means she is maintaining a 200lbs weight loss since she started in September 2017.
Stacy said: “This was my opportunity to focus on my strength and not so much the scale, and just the way I feel and how I fit in clothes, and my body fat percentage.” In January 2020, Stacy started her business: Losing For Health.
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Now, as a healthy lifestyle coach, she is helping others develop healthy habits, and lose weight as a bonus on their journeys. Stacy said: “Find your why that is stronger than your most powerful excuse.”
Our takeaway? Stacy's reliance on diet for weight loss. Exercise can burn calories and keep you fit and healthy, but taking a structured approach to your diet is the best way to slim down.
Consider keeping a food diary as a way to continue being mindful about what you eat. One study, published by the Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, also found the more food records people kept, the more weight they lost.
Participants who spent just over 14 minutes per day actually recording how much they ate and drank actually DOUBLED their weight loss progress. Yep: just being mindful about what you eat could help you dramatically drop lbs.
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Matt Evans is an experienced health and fitness journalist and is currently Fitness and Wellbeing Editor at TechRadar, covering all things exercise and nutrition on Fit&Well's tech-focused sister site. Matt originally discovered exercise through martial arts: he holds a black belt in Karate and remains a keen runner, gym-goer, and infrequent yogi. His top fitness tip? Stretch.
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