A lot of people who have tried to lose weight for years and have pretty much given up need to read about a woman who finally decided to lose weight because of her job. She wanted people to take her serious and wanted to lead by example.
Alerted to the health dangers of being overweight, Samantha Szabo changed her lifestyle and her eating habits. Now she’s 145 pounds lighter, and in better shape than she was in high school.
Originally published in Fitness Magazine
Name: Samantha Szabo
Age: 31
Height: 5’5″
Her Weight Before: 280
Her Weight After: 135
Pounds Lost: 145
At Current Weight: 1 year
Even at 280 pounds, Samantha Szabo considered herself athletic. “My weight didn’t stop me from playing sports; I told myself I carried it well,” says the Brooklyn physical-therapy assistant. But her career choice alerted her to the health hazards of being overweight, and she made changes that led to a 145-pound loss. “My energy level is higher; I move more gracefully — even my skin glows.”
Samantha grew up on a “meat and potatoes” diet, but softball, track, basketball, and soccer kept her weight around 150 as a teenager. After her mother’s death, her diet deteriorated. “I’d skip breakfast but chow down on chicken wings and beer at 10 p.m.,” she says. By 26, she weighed 250; a few years later she was up to 280. Around then, she was studying to be a physical therapist. “I started to wonder if patients would take advice from someone my size,” she says. “I decided to try to slim down.”
Samantha began with a sensible low carb eating plan. “I cut portions and replaced fried foods, white bread, and pasta with fish, vegetables, and whole grains.” She also started eating breakfast. Within four months, she had dropped almost 50 pounds. Then she started walking two miles a day; later she joined a gym and added cardio and strength training. Ten months later, Samantha was down to 135 pounds.
“Everything is better since I got healthy,” says Samantha. “I’m in better shape now than I was in high school.”
Samantha’s Weight-Loss Plan
The Diet: For breakfast, Samantha has two egg whites and two ounces of broiled salmon. Lunch is grilled chicken salad. Dinner is chicken or fish with salsa and steamed cauliflower. She snacks on raw veggies, whole wheat cereal, and hard-boiled egg whites.
The Workout: Samantha does 90 minutes of cardio (elliptical, cycle, treadmill) and 30 minutes of strength training five times a week.
Biggest Temptation: Buffalo wings. “When I crave them, I make grilled chicken with hot sauce.”
What She Couldn’t Wait to Wear: Trendy underwear. “I actually cried the first time I went shopping at Victoria’s Secret and was able to fit into the colorful, sexy bras and undies.”
I know that everyone doesn’t have the time to work out two hours a day, but Samantha wanted to lose weight fast and that’s the way to do it. Even if you can’t do a two-hour workout, you can still lose weight. Naturally the more you work out, the faster the weight loss. If you think about it, how many people can spend two hours a day in the gym. It’s not realistic. I lost my weight in stages. First, I dropped about 30 pounds. I hit a wall and for several months I stayed the same. The following year knowing I regained about 5 pounds; I wanted to continue and try to lose 20 more. It actually took me several months of yo-yoing up and down before I got down to 175. That was 45 pounds total over a couple of years. Like everyone else, my life is hectic, and I’m pulled in several directions at once and can’t always watch what I eat, so losing weight can be challenging for anyone.
I hit the wall again at 175 and stayed there for a couple of years until I felt I had too much body fat and wanted to lose more. Today I weight about 160. I want to start weight training again and hopefully again a few pounds of muscle. As a senior more muscle is a good thing.
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If you really want to lose your body fat look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You’ll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books.
There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want to Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
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