"Facebook Helped Me Drop Over 100 Pounds!"
As a high schooler in Barrie, Ontario, Christina Taylor, now 25, didn't eat your standard bagged lunch. When she wasn't hitting the drive-through with friends, she was chowing down on pizza from the restaurant her mother owned. "She would send the delivery guy to my school," says Christina. By the time she was 15 and stood 5'7″, Christina weighed 380 pounds.
The Change
In 2003, Christina joined her high school choir on a trip to Italy. But a week in, she was forced to spend the day in bed while her classmates explored Rome. "I was too heavy and tired to move," she recalls. Humiliated but determined, Christina resolved that she would never again let her weight limit what she could do.
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The Lifestyle
Back home, Christina started doing her mom's old aerobics videos a few times a week and soon joined a gym to use the weight machines. She kissed the drive-through good-bye and dropped 50 pounds in the next seven months. Over six years, Christina whittled off 130 more pounds a little at a time by avoiding fast food and keeping up her gym habit. Her progress halted in 2009, when she met her future husband. They ate out often and she gained back 60 pounds she couldn't seem to shake.
In 2011, Christina set up a Facebook page to get back on track and keep herself accountable. She posted photos of her progress and found an outpouring of support from the online community. "People I didn't even know started following along," she says. She lost the weight she had regained to reach an active and happy 200 pounds.
The Reward
Last year, Christina launched her own weight-loss coaching business, and her Facebook page (facebook.com/healthychanges) now has more than 750 followers. Although she's still working to drop 40 more pounds and one day enter a bodybuilding competition, she has already seen remarkable changes. "I'm taken seriously now," says Christina. "I used to rely on being the funny, fat friend, but now people look up to me, and that's an honor."
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Christina's Tips
Be prepared.
"I pack a lunch or healthy snacks when I go out so I have good alternatives when I run into temptation." (PLUS: Learn to Decode Your Food Cravings)
Lift big.
"My favorite exercise is the incline squat. I just reached 500 pounds. When I lift heavy weights, I feel empowered."
Keep good company.
"My old friends didn't help me do what was best for me. Now I have friends who support me and know who I really am."
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