Weight Watchers Success Story - Lori M.
Lori M.
Redondo Beach, CA
Age: 40
Size 18/20 to size 4 in 361 days using Weight Watchers
I saw Lori's amazing before and after photos on Facebook and reached out to see if she would be willing to share her story here on Simple Nourished Living. I know you'll find her story as inspiring as I did...
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On 10/14/2013 I went vegan for ethical reasons and by 1/13/2016 I had packed on an additional 20+ pounds on TOP of the 40+ pounds I already needed to lose. I thought vegans were supposed to be skinny?! There is a misconception about how eating a plant based diet will help you drop pounds, in fact it is often the opposite. “Because it’s vegan, it must healthy, right?” WRONG. Plant based versions of non vegan food are also packed with calories. So, when you eat them with no control you can pack on weight even faster. I assumed since it’s “healthy” it’s okay to over indulge.
I’ve struggled with my food addiction and binge eating disorder since I was 5 years old. I used to hide food in my room or sneak to the kitchen in the middle of the night and shove food down my throat so fast I would almost choke. I strategically took a few bites out of everything to lower my chances of someone noticing it was gone. I hid wrappers deep in trash cans in attempts to hide the evidence. I would eat discarded food from that night's dinner, all in a matter of minutes...was like a high I can’t explain. As I got older the binging got worse having since I could buy my own food and eat when I wanted. After decades of hiding I was consumed by guilt, constantly felt hopeless and disappointed at myself. That lead to more binging, over and over again.
I had tried everything and anything to lose weight. Magical green teas, 21-day detox systems, liquid diets, weight loss pills, low carb, low fat, no oil, raw til 4, supplements, shakes, home delivery meals, Nutrisystem AND Jenny Craig...I can go on. And sure, I would lose weight but as soon as I went back to eating what I wanted to eat the pounds always came back on...and they would bring a few of their friends with them.
In May of 2014, I made a last attempt to lose weight by incorporating an aspect I had never bothered to explore...exercise. Every day for a month I religiously tracked every calorie in My Fitness Pal. I worked with a personal trainer twice a week and pushed myself in an hour-long cardio barre class 6 days a week. After a month of absolute torture, I had lost a little over 2 lbs. Talk about discouraging! So the last 2.5 years or so I resolved myself to the fact I was meant to be a “big girl” and stopped my quest to lose weight. At that point I was 210 lbs and clinically obese.
What Was Your Wake-Up Call Or “A-Ha Moment” That Caused You To Really Commit Yourself To Succeeding?
Christmas of 2015 my sister gave me a digital picture frame. On January 13, 2016 I set it up on my desk and transferred photos I hadn't seen on a screen larger than my phone in YEARS! As I sat there reminiscing over the last 15+ years of my life, I did a double take a few minutes in. Who was that fat girl in all the photos? Then it hit me like a ton of bricks. That was ME! Seeing myself in photo after photo getting bigger and bigger year after year was mortifying!! How did I let myself get this big? Why didn’t anyone say anything? After I picked my jaw up off the ground I logged onto Weight Watchers, signed up for the online program, and the rest is history!
In 361 days I lost 75 lbs, over 36% of my body weight. I was a size 18/20, I am now a size 4. That’s three sizes and 25 lbs UNDER what I thought at the time to be an aggressive, possibly unattainable goal.
How Have Your Life Changed Since Beginning Your Journey?
My whole life I have either been “all in” or “all out”. Weight Watchers is no exception. In my “guesstimation” I have spent over 32,000 hours over the last year studying point values and improving my techniques for myself and other to yield maximum results. Once my weight loss began to show, and since clearly I knew what I was doing, my friend Liz asked for my help. My approach spread and soon I had a Facebook group filled with people wanting my expertise to help achieve their weight loss goals. I unofficially gave “one-on-one” coaching to anyone who asked. As their success spread, the demand for my time increased and there weren’t enough hours in the day! So I put my Tips & Tricks in a document and offered it freely to anyone who wanted to help themselves succeed.
That group of three “Vegans of Weight Watchers” is now a group of many, with about 14 active members. I take a “tough-love” approach to push the group, and in the last 7 months we have lost over 700 pounds! And THAT’s when my friend Carmen encouraged me to take this to another level. So I started my public page in attempts to get my Tips & Tricks into anyone’s on Weight Watchers, regardless of dietary preference.
Advice and/or Words of Wisdom to Others Who Are Struggling?
People often ask “why do you work this hard for free”? It’s this simple: It’s time to stop pretending food addiction isn’t real. It’s time to stop pretending binge eating disorder doesn’t exist. It’s time to change, for good. Being part of that change is the most rewarding feeling in the world.
My “Tips and Tricks” are proven to be turn-by-turn directions leading straight to your weight loss destination...but alas...it’s YOU who has to get in the car and drive. So put it in gear and let's go! I’ll be cheering you on every step of the way and waving the flag at the finish line! Just remember, you are going to want to give up. Don’t. If you want something you’ve never had, you have to DO something you’ve never done. So what are you waiting for?!
Visit my Facebook Page to access my “Tips & Tricks,” gain support, motivation and hopefully be inspired to keep going every day.
Please note: My “Tips & Tricks” can be applied to any dietary preference. These techniques are based on my own experience and were not provided or endorsed by Weight Watchers Corporation.
More Ways to Reach Lori:
IG: @vegansorweightwatchers
Email: VegansOfWeightWatchers@gmail.com
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Lori
Thank you for sharing this!!! ? I hit my final goal of a size 2 last week 🙂 NOW aim done!!!
Martha McKinnon
Well done, Lori! You are an inspiration.
Janice Collins
thank you so much for this, I to am a vegan and have done nothing but gain weight and also on line WW member that was lifetime, so this is very engouraging....I will try again now....
Lori Manby
Hi Janice!! You are SO not alone! Have you joined Vegans of Weight Watchers on FB? Since this article, the Vegans of Weight Watchers community has sky rocketed!! I would love to help support you on this jourey! Here's the public page... take note of the pinned post, it has all you'll need in one place, including the group filled with over a thousand vegans, just like me and you! Hope you are well!!!
Jenna Rise
Success is NOT losing, but maintenance. You are off to a great start!
Carissa
Lori is such a huge inspiration! Proof that hard work & dedication works!
Lori M
Thank you so much!!! ?
Lori M
Thank you so much!!! ?
Amber
That's really an amazing story! You really are an inspiration. I'm going to your page now to join I need that extra push. Thank you!!
Pam Beth
Hey Martha it’s Pam from Skinny Sweets Daily.
I loved this article. Thanks for sharing Lori’s story. I have recently become a vegan and have packed on 10 pounds in 6 months! I am staying on a vegan diet and am going to check out Lori’ tips. You know I’ve always been a fan of your fabulous recipes btw. Take care, smiles, Pam ?
Martha McKinnon
Hi Pam, So nice to catch up with you. I've always loved Skinny Sweets Daily. All the best!
Nancy Baughman
Hi I saw your story and am so happy for you,. I became mostly vegan almost 4 months ago. When I say mostly vegan it is about 95-97 percent vegan. When I am not 100 percent vegan is if I am invited to someone’s house to dinner in which I eat very small portions of what I wouldn’t normally eat and larger portions of what they have that are vegan. Also ocationally have cheese, only when eating out never more than 1-2 times a month, and 2-3 times maybe some fish. I am quite happy with my new lifestyle, when I started I weighed 238, in 3 months I lost 15 pounds, for the last month I have been in China where I rented an apartment so I could make my own vegan food. It has gone very well only ate out 3 times, only vegan food and had tuna twice. I am curious to see how I did when I return home in 3 days. I am considering vegan weight watchers, but what I am very interested in finding is an app that will help me be sure that I am getting enough nutrients, something that lets me input say what I had for breakfast, it says ok you have fulfilled these requirements, these are healthy vegan suggestions for what you might consider eating to fill other requirements. I have chosen not to eat meat to improve my health and to have less chance of major health issues, and of course”Forks over Knives” made the choice a much easier one. I have wanted to do this for years, but this year I took the leap and did it, now I want to do it well. Being inChina is amazing, nearly everyone is thin, such a change from the states, fresh fruit and vegetables everywhere, and in the supermarket much much larger fruit and vegetable choices, and it composed a much larger portion of the store. I am open to your suggestions, I am positive this is going to benifit me. Thanks nancy
Sandi
Thank you so much. I have been struggling with my weight ever since I went vegan over a year ago. I will definately sign up and friend you on Facebook. Thank you again.
Mandy
I absolutely feel that losing all of that weight was a huge success! I was inspired by your story, Lori, and every time I saw your photo pop up on my Instagram, I would think, "Oh man, I wish I could be that." I have been vegan (for the animals) for around 2 years. I lost weight in the beginning, but then stopped losing and became frustrated with that, but at the same time I loved my diet so much that I convinced myself I was complacent, though inside I was anything but comfortable in my own skin. After some thought, and some research...I finally signed up for Weight Watchers, and I am doing pretty good, however I have found myself struggling with meal planning from time to time, but your tips and tricks have definitely helped me! I totally agree with you 100% and I'm so grateful for all of the help! I so hope that one day I can have before and after photos that look even 1/2 as amazing as yours do. I appreciate your time and efforts and I thank you for your sharing your story with the world.