Real life weight loss: "I would have died at 30 before I lost 200lbs"

At 354lbs, Kristen Bobo lived to eat. Kristen struggled with her weight from a young age. However, after losing her mother at the age of 13, food became a source of comfort. 

Kristen, 29, of Wisconsin, described herself as a hermit and resigned herself to that life, convinced she would not make it to 30. 

Kristen told Truly (opens in new tab): “I didn't have life. I lived to eat, that's all, that’s the only thing I got excited about, was eating. I would go into McDonalds and pretend I was ordering for a family."

However, Kristen’s turning point came like a light bulb moment when she was 25. She woke up one morning and decided she needed to change her ways. 

Kristen said: “One day I was just like, I don’t like myself. I am the reason I am this way and as soon as I stopped blaming everyone else for my weight and for my problems and realised it was all my fault, I was just like, 'Well, if I did this to myself, I can undo this to myself'.” 

Kristen ditched the fast food, stocked up on fruit and vegetables and then joined her local gym. Terrified at first, Kristen soon got into her stride there, opting for the elliptical before venturing over to the weights section. 

She said: “When I started lifting, that's when the confidence started, like I absolutely fell in love with it.”

 Now, after losing 200lbs, Kristen is living life to the fullest. She said: “In my opinion I look awesome. And nobody can tell me different no matter what, because I worked really hard for this.”

Our takeaways? Kristen's a big fan of weight training, citing it as a big confidence booster. But there's also a huge weight loss benefit to building muscle, too. 

According to the scientific journal Adipocyte (opens in new tab), bodies with more muscle mass have faster metabolisms, able to burn fat easier even while at rest. If you just look at the number on the scale, gaining muscle can seem to slow your progress, as muscle weighs more than fat. 

However, although your total weight loss will slow, your body composition changes as you burn fat and replace it with lean muscle, making you healthier overall. If you're struggling to lose weight, just like Kristen was, consider adding some weight training into your workout regime. 

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