weight loss success stories - How I lost 45 Kg

Mary lost over 45kg through a strict fitness program which included interval training and a healthy diet specifically for weight loss. Read her inspiring story below.

Name: Mary Renwick
Age: 30

Job: Stay-at-home mum

Weight before: 115 kg Weight after: 70 kg

When Mary Renwick moved with her navy husband, Tim, to a military base in Sicily in 1999, her six-foot frame was lean and willowy. But while Tim worked odd hours in his job, Renwick filled her lonely days with food.

“I ate for comfort and indulged in the local cuisine – oily pasta, buttered bread, lots of cannoli,” she says.

By the time Tim was discharged and they came home in 2002, she was 40kg heavier and depressed. In the next seven years, Renwick gave birth to two boys, which improved her spirits but not her weight.

THE CHANGE

In December 2009, Renwick reached down to pick up her youngest son, Parker, then five months old, and felt a stab in her back. A visit to the doctor revealed two bulging discs and a pinched nerve. “When I learned my weight was the main factor in my injury, I decided I could not, would not, live like that anymore,” she says.

THE LIFESTYLE

When the pain subsided in January 2010, Renwick joined a gym. “Once I developed the mindset to regain my health, there wasn’t much to stop me,” she says. At first, all she could do was walk on the treadmill, slowly increasing her speed.

“Within the first month of working out, I pulled out of my trough,” she says. “Who needs therapy when there’s a treadmill and weights?” It was uplifting to see 11kg melt off, but she hit a wall in March.

To push the scale below 100kg, she signed up for two back-to-back month-long boot-camp classes. When they ended, she did intervals and lifted weights five days a week. Renwick also streamlined her diet.

“I replaced processed foods and bad carbs with high-fibre options and healthy fats,” she says.

Just before she hit her goal weight of 70kg in September 2010, Renwick stopped seeing a chiropractor for back pain – it was completely gone.

COOK IT

“I don’t eat out often because even ‘healthier’ menu items can be loaded with butter, oil and salt. At home, I know exactly what I’m eating.”

MOVE NOW
“Before, I used food as a reason to socialise with friends. When my health goals shifted, we started hiking or shopping instead.”

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