"I lost 107 pounds!"
This reader slimmed down by ditching conventional diets and creating her
by Kelly Marages
Nia Rennix, Massachusetts
Age: 25Height: 5'1"
Pounds lost: 107
At this weight: 1 ½ years
Nia's challenge
At age 12, Nia was
180 pounds and
started the first of
many diets. "Then
my doctor
diagnosed me
with insulin
resistance. The
medication would
have helped me
shed weight, but
it made me sick,
so I stopped
taking it," she
says. By college,
she reached 232.
Desperate to drop the extra pounds, Nia started investigating gastric bypass surgery. "But I asked myself if I'd really done all I could," she says. Nia realized her diet contained many products made with white flour and sugar, which her doctor said exacerbated her condition. She also ate bigger portions than she knew she should. And because gyms intimidated her, she never had a consis- tent exercise routine. "Still, through all my experience with diets and diet plans, I'd learned a lot," says Nia. "So I thought, What if I put together all the best tips to create a program tailored to my needs?" Taking control
The first thing Nia decided to do was to not set a goal weight. "It felt too daunting to say 'I'm going to drop 50 or 100 pounds,'" she recalls. "So I told myself I just wanted to be able to tie a towel around my body after taking a shower." Nia began walking on a treadmill at home for 20 minutes every other day and cutting out sugar, white flour, and lowfat foods with high calorie counts. Then she added lean protein and whole grains. "I remembered that a few of my past diets emphasized how filling they were," she says. With these changes, she was able to lose 3 pounds a week. Within five months, she was down to 184. At this point, Nia felt comfortable enough to go to the gym. She hit the treadmill for an hour three times a week. Soon she added weight training twice a week, and the pounds kept coming off. After a year she weighed 135. The payoff
Because Nia was away at college as she was losing weight, her family didn't witness her transformation. "When my mom came for a visit and saw me in the airport, she started to cry," says Nia. "She couldn't believe I'd really done it." Encouraged by the support from home, Nia continued trying new workouts, like Pilates and Spinning. She reached her current weight of 125 a year and a half ago, and she's no longer insulin resistant. "Because I achieved this weight using my own plan, it helped boost my self-esteem," she says. "Besides my health, confidence is something I'll have for the rest of my life." 3 stick-with-it secrets
- Make changes gradually "When I want to increase my cardio time, I'll add a minute or two a day. That way I can push myself harder without feeling overwhelmed."
- Think outside the gym "I try to make working out fun. Sometimes I'll go hiking, horseback riding, or dancing to mix up my routine."
- Divide your meals "If I end up at a chain restaurant or pizza shop with friends, I'll treat the meal as if it's an appetizer and just eat a salad. Then I'll have a healthier dinner at home later."
- Cardio 60 minutes/3-4 days a week
- Pilates 30 minutes/2 days a week
- Strength training 30 minutes/2 days a week
