Weight loss stories: "How I lost 26.5kg"

Lives Brookvale, NSW
Job Administration assistant
Height 158cm
Starting weight 85kg
Weight now 58.5kg
Weight lost 26.5kg

How she lost it
“In early 2006 I planned a trip to Brisbane to see my family. It’d been a while since I’d seen them and I didn’t want to go home as a size 18 – there was no way they were going to see me that big,” Anderson recalls. Previous attempts to lose weight by dieting and detoxing had failed but this time she was determined. Anderson joined a Vision Personal Training Studio and began logging her food intake in a diary. Her trainer took her to a supermarket and taught her how to read food labels and choose better versions of staple foods such as bread and cereal. “I learnt that it’s not about cutting out carbs and fats, but about getting the right nutritional balance which includes some good fats, the right carbs and protein.” She also started exercising, working her way up to doing a combination of cardio and strength training six times a week.

“I found a love of exercise I didn’t know existed.” Anderson reached her goal weight in time to visit her family.

How she’s keeping it off
Anderson still works out with her trainer, doing four cardio sessions and one 30-minute weights session each week, with an occasional extra hour when she has time. To stay motivated, she constantly works towards new fitness goals, adding more push-ups one week; holding the plank for longer the next; or adding an extra 30-minute row. “Seeing results in my body has been magnificent. The biggest improvement has been in my boobs, which have dropped two cup sizes; and my butt, which is now a size 8 to 10.” Anderson still attends seminars at the centre that teach her about exercise, food and her body. “I’ve been to each seminar about three times now and every time I go I get something new out of it.” She sticks to her food rules of filling up on wholegrains, vegetables, lean meats, low-fat dairy and not much alcohol. “If I want chocolate badly enough I’ll have it, but if you stick to healthy eating long enough, it soon becomes a habit and you automatically make the right choices,” she says.

Her secrets

Find a trainer you’re compatible with
“Having a personal trainer helped me succeed. I could wring his neck at times but he is focused and won’t let me go anywhere but where I’m supposed to go fitness-wise. He lost 50 kilos himself and has kept it off for three years, so he really gets it.”

Know that there are unexpected rewards
“As well as having a body I’m happy with, there are pay-offs from working out that I didn’t know I would enjoy. I’ve discovered how motivated I can be and now I can keep up with my kids at the park. They sometimes come for a run with me and my weight-loss has benefited them too.