Advertisement

Real life weight loss: How I lost 31KG

Photography Greg Ruffing

One click of the shutter was the push this reader needed to change her lifestyle

Stress from her job as an education technology integrator left Melanie Kitchen, now 37, grabbing whatever food was fast and easy – usually takeaway deep-fried chicken or pizza. During her second pregnancy in 2005, Kitchen hit an all-time high on the scale.

“I stopped looking after 90kg,” she says.

Post-baby, 165cm Kitchen went down to 86kg and often had no energy to devote to her newborn daughter and 17-month-old son. “Exercise seemed like just one more thing to add to the to-do list,” she says.


The change

In July 2006, Kitchen was considering surgery to alleviate the back and neck pain caused by her size 16F bust. The final straw, though, was when someone pulled out a camera on a family trip.

“I always tried to stand in the back, but this time I couldn’t hide,” she recalls. “I decided that I wanted a body I could be proud of.”


The lifestyle

That month, Kitchen started taking hour-long walks three days a week. Instead of takeaway, she cooked at home, including breakfast, a meal she used to skip. She fought ice-cream cravings with frozen yoghurt.

“Once I got rid of the junk, I found that I liked fruits and vegetables,” she says.

The small changes added up, and she dropped 11kg over the next two years. In July 2008, she began working with a personal trainer at her gym, who got her doing cardio and strength training three or four days a week.

Kitchen was down to 70kg when a knee injury sidelined her in December 2009. She got back on track by bumping up her strength training and adding yoga to her routine. In November 2011, she felt fabulous and fit at 59kg.


The reward

Slimming down has kept Kitchen off the surgeon’s table. Now a 12C, she wears strapless tops with confidence – and never fears a camera.

“I no longer have negative thoughts about how I look. I’m comfortable in my skin,” she says.


KITCHEN’S TIPS

Repeat yourself “I ate the same breakfast and lunch most days so I didn’t have to come up with new recipes, and I rotated dinner to keep from getting bored.”

Do a good old reality check “I ask myself, ‘Will there ever be another chance to eat this indulgent food again?’ I eat it only if the answer is no.”

Play to lose “If I can’t make it to the gym, I take the kids to the park instead, and we run sprints and play on the equipment.”


Read more weight loss success stories