‘I Lost 190 Lbs. In 3.5 Years By Making These Healthy Food Swaps And Getting Into Running’

My name is Faith Sloop (@trainingparaamazing), and I am 23 years old. I live in Cleveland, Ohio, and I’m a content creator. competing in the amazing race became my goal and motivation. pushed me to start incorporating more nutritious foods into my diet and running every week. I have lost 190 pounds.

Before my current weightloss travel, counted calories, restricted and watched my weight for as long as I can remember. Growing up low-income and busy (wanted to be in all the clubs), cheap fast food was most of what was accessible and convenient.

All my life I had been in the diet cycle—restrict and binge—over and over again. By the time I was 16, I had gained and lost the same 10 pounds what seemed like a million times. After a certain point, I stopped weighing myself.

I remember that during my freshman year of college, I weighed about 400 pounds. I was only 18 at the time and terrified of how my health would end if I continued down this path.

had been looking for the motivation healthy for a while, but things changed when I got a job in my university’s admissions office as a tour guide during the summer of 2017.

We had a lot of free time and I decided it would be fun to spend time watching a TV show. I opened the Hulu app on my phone and got a new show suggestion, the amazing race. There were 27 seasons available, so I slowly started to work my way up.

Everything changed from that day. I knew immediately that I would do everything possible to achieve my dream of competing in the amazing race. He also knew that at over 400 pounds and in the position he was in at the time, it would take a total reinvention to make that dream a reality. That day I decided that I had to be healthy, to be able to compete on the show one day. (My dream hasn’t come true yet, but keep motivating me!)

As someone who had been on a diet since childhood, the best thing to do was go slowly.

I never cut anything out of my diet (carbs, sugar, etc.). Rather, I focused on adding more nutrition from healthy foods. Incorporating more of the Correct foods, instead of eliminating the “bad foods”, is what worked for me.

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This is what I eat in a day now.

• Breakfast: Superfood Smoothie (Apple, Spinach, Powdered Peanut Butter, Chia Seeds, Almond Milk)

• Lunch: Trader Joe’s Thai Shrimp Gyoza, Edamame, Low-Fat String Cheese, Seasonal Fruit

• Appetizers: Dried apricots, rice cakes, popcorn, bell peppers

• Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Meatballs, Turkey Burgers and Cauliflower Tater Tots, or Veggie Stir Fry Bowls (brown rice, choice of meat, bell peppers, onions, pineapple)

• Dessert: Outshines Strawberry Popsicles, Illustrated Ice Cream, Rice Krispies Delights

I also started exercising by walking on the treadmill at a slow pace while watching an episode of the amazing race.

That hour I gave myself in the gym was my escape from classes, homework and responsibilities. Today, exercise looks a bit more intense. I try to jog or run four days a week, and I hope to sign up for my first half marathon this summer!

I like the feeling of getting my body moving every day, whether it’s a YouTube dance workout (EMKFit is my absolute favourite) or a walk! I like to exercise at my own pace, so doing things on my own always ends up being my choice.

I’m not going to lie, I got into run because I knew that if and when my dream of competing in the amazing race comes true, running is going to be a pretty key skill. But I have found a love for being able to move my body in a way that I never could before.

These three changes have made my weight loss a success.

1. Take it easy. I was always trying to speed up my weight loss by cutting out the major food groups and restricting them like crazy. It would work for a week, but then I would binge again. It wasn’t until I started changing who I was (making exercise a big part of my life, learning what vegetables and fruits I liked and incorporating them into my daily diet) that things really changed. I always tell people looking to lose weight, “If you’re not ready to change your lifestyle and habits, you’re not ready to change at all.”

2. Listen to your body. Now I consider myself a “intuitive dining“meaning I don’t necessarily follow a prescribed three-meal-a-day plan. Rather, I listen to my hunger cues. As a snacker, this has helped me curb much of the mindless snacking I was used to. I call it “mouth boredom”. Sometimes, if I hadn’t eaten in a long time, I’d eat something for the sake of it. But now I really listen to my body and ask what it needs.

3. Learn to like moving your body. I love saying to people looking to lose weight, “If you don’t like running, you can still lose weight and not run a day in your life.” Growing up in America, many of us learn to hate exercise because it’s forced on us. You can lose weight by dancing, swimming, kayaking, walking, and a million other ways. Find one you like and go for it!

I have lost a little over 190 pounds, and it took about 3.5 years.

People ask me all the time, “How did you stay motivated for so long?” And the truth is, I didn’t. What I made it was building habits that would continue even on days when I wasn’t feeling motivated. People think that losing weight has to be continuous exercise and salads, and that is not true.

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