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How Courtney Lost 44 Pounds

February 21, 2011   9 Comments

Snack Girl gets to meet many awesome people as part of her job. Courtney is the latest.

How Courtney Lost 44 Pounds

She forwarded me her website, Just One Pound....One Hundred Times, and I was really inspired.

I decided to interview her so that we could all benefit from her wisdom (she is SO young to be so wise).

Snack Girl: What would you say is the biggest factor in your weight loss success?

Courtney: One word. Accountability. But not in the way that most of us of accountability. I feel very accountable to myself. I don't want to let myself down, I finally realized that it was no skin off of anyone else's nose - just my own.

I was always overtired and becoming more and more uncomfortable in my own body. All of my clothes were tight and I started feeling like an old woman. One night, I just had an epiphany, that I was slowly killing myself.

I went to a Zumba class with a friend on July 23, 2010 and a woman prayed before the class that we would all love our bodies and start making healthier choices so that we would become strong. It started for me that night.

Now I'm a Zumba instructor and I teach classes each week where I get to motivate and encourage women to reach their goals. Even on the roughest days that keeps me motivated!

Snack Girl: When you didn't lose weight for a few weeks - how did you keep motivated?

Courtney: There have been a few times that I did not lose as much as I'd wanted to and I've even gained once. It's so disappointing. I attend Weight Watchers meetings where our leader really emphasizes tracking what we're eating,

I've become a faithful tracker. If I don't lose as much as I'd wished or if I do gain, I immediately look back over the last two weeks of my food journal and see what I've eaten, where I may have missed something or if I'd tracked all of my activity (exercise) properly.

Usually I can find some clues there. Otherwise, I just chalk it up to my crazy body and remember to not give up. It's really important to just get up, dust yourself off and keep on going in the right direction.

Snack Girl: What foods and habits were the most difficult for you to give up and change?

Courtney: I most definitely have my fair share of bad habits. There were a few that have been more easy to give up, like soda and sweets. My biggest struggles have been completely revamping my idea of portions and eating out so much.

I grew up in an amazing family, who just so happen to love through food. Let me tell you, we have LOTS of love. Just stop by my grandparents house on a random day, and you will most likely be offered a snack or even a meal!

My portion control (or lack there of) had gotten completely out of control. It was very difficult for me to remember to measure and weigh my food when I first started Weight Watchers. I had become so accustomed to just spooning out what I wanted and not giving a second thought to how much I was actually consuming.

Also, eating out had become an almost daily occurrence. There was not a day that went by that I did not eat at least one meal from a restaurant, be it fast food or otherwise.

Now, I easily drive past the fast food places knowing that I will feel better physically and emotionally if I avoid their "food".

Snack Girl: What advice would you give to your "40 pound heavier" self?

Courtney: I would tell her that she is beautiful. I would tell her that she is more capable of tackling this HUGE task than she realizes. I would also tell her that if she would just love herself and give herself equal time that she would accomplish goals she didn't even know she had!

Snack Girl: Why did you start your blog?

Courtney: I started my blog( Just One Pound....One Hundred Times) about a month after I started back at Weight Watchers. I felt a passion and excitement about fitness and weight loss like never before. It felt (and still feels) other worldly.

I knew that I had to capture all of this, and in what better format to share than in a blog. I wrote my first entry called "Going Uphill. A Very Good Place to Start" and emailed it to about 25 of my friends and family.

The responses that I got back were all the feedback that I needed to make it official. In WW, they remind us that we will get to our goal one pound at a time. It doesn't matter how long it takes, but we will make it.

My starting goal was to lose 100 pounds, which is why I named my site "One Times One Hundred". What started out as a simple blog and website to track my weight loss has really turned into a platform for me to encourage other people to reach any goals they have - not just weight or fitness related. To me, this is the ultimate!

Snack Girl: What is your favorite snack?

Courtney: I've thought long and hard about this answer. I first need you to understand that this is HUGE secret that I am divulging. It might actually save your life....ok, ok I'm sorry. Am I taking my snacking too seriously?

When I want to satisfy my sweet tooth at night time I will reach for my new favorite hot cocoa. To me, there is nothing better than a great cup of cocoa. I love the thick, sweet, warm deliciousness that is a great cup of cocoa, only buying hot chocolate out at a cafe or coffee house is not only costly to the wallet but to the waistline.

I found a brand of hot cocoa (Equal Exchange Brand) at a local market. It's 70 cals, 0 fat, 13g carbs, 2g protein and 1g fiber per 2 tablespoon serving (2 Points+). It's thick and creamy and very tasty.

To my cup of hot cocoa I add 2 large marshmallows that I cut in half, so that when I look down at my cup it looks like there are 4. The total points value of my chocolately treat is a whopping 4 Points+. It's simple but it's totally satisfying!


Thanks so much for sharing, Courtney!

Here are a few other inspirational stories if you want to get more ideas on weight loss and healthy eating:

How Annabel Lost 150 Pounds
Into the Lite: How Susan Lost 40 Pounds
How Ashley Lost 40 Pounds
How Shawn Stopped Drinking 10 Cans of Dr. Pepper per Day

And here is Courtney's Hot Cocoa:



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9 Comments:

Great story! I am a ww lifetime member who just had baby number 3! I have 40 lbs to lose and my plan is doing ww at home and zumba!!! I lost 30 lbs before I had kids and I have been going to weight watchers on and off in between pregnancies but have never got back to that pre-pregnancy weight. Since I know we are done having kids I am very motivated to get back to that skinny bod I had before. I am using an app on my iphone to track my points. It was only 99 cents and it is really helpful. It is called nutrition and it has a blue logo with a fork and knife. It has a million food options and restaurants. I just put in the points plus formula to set it up. I also started a food blog in December in my last month of pregnancy....so the recipes are not the healthiest. I added a ww section and am putting my kid and husband friendly recipes there. I am down 5lbs in 2 weeks and have 35 more to go!

Check it out: shannonscookingcreations.com

What a very inspiring story. Congrats on your weight loss Courtney! I've been hearing some great things about Zumba class, but haven't tried it yet....hopefully I can get to one!

Awesome!!! Continued success on your journey Courtney! Praying God's Blessings for you!!

Congrats! I am having a heck of a time just losing those last 10 lbs.! I have been trying for a long time. I will take any advice to unlock the secret! I watch my diet and work out ,yoga , and walk to rev my metabolism. I wish there was a magic pill! My age may have something to do with it~ hmm 52. But I feel wonderful and not that age! But just those last 10 lbs........

such an inspiring story-- you go girl!

I too have lost some weight and started a blog to help others. There's one blog post I wrote that I love to share with friends who are struggling with their weight-loss goals. It's an example of my daily journal entries and how I log my calories, exercises, sleep and weight every day. I also explain how to figure out how many calories you need to take in or exercise out to lose at least 1 pound per week.

Here's the link: http://healthytodayhealthytomorrows.com/?p=97

Let me know what you think if you happen to stop by and take a look!

Nice post, Snack Girl! I love hearing about other's success and tips!

Great story, very inspiring. But I'm confused... if Courtney wanted to lose 100 pounds and lost 44, then she has 56 to go on her original goal--but she doesn't look like she has 56 to lose!

???

Hey Hey People!! Thanks so much for all the awesome feedback. It's certainly wonderful to hear all the amazing things that you guys have to say and it's so encouraging to me. I'm even more amped to keep going and knock out my goals!

@ sue, i have lost almost 45 pounds with weight watchers, and i keep revising my goals as i go. my original goal was to lose 100 pounds. i'm thinking i might not make it all the way...but that's certainly OK with me! this journey started about NUMBERS dropping at the scale and has really turned into much, much more for me. what i would recommend is that you keep following my story (shameless plug much?!) and let's see where my body tells me i'm done losing! :) thanks for your feeback - you sure know how to make a girl feel good!!

Congratulations on your progress and new outlook, Courtney! I totally believe that having an exercise that you enjoy is critical. I've done Zumba a few times at my kids' school (for parties and things), and it is a lot of fun. Jazzercise is what I do. It is great fun, great music, they don't care how (un)coordinated you are, and I have made a fabulous group of friends there. I know they will give me a hard time if I take more than a couple of days off, so that also helps keep me honest about going.

Any of you who are looking for a fun way to exercise, try Zumba or Jazzercise and see if it's your thing!


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