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September Success: Meet Heather Robertson

weight loss success Heather Robertson
Before Size 24-26
weight loss success Heather Robertson
After Size 6-8

Welcome back to September Success! During this month, I feature amazing stories of weight loss success that do NOT involve shakes or supplements.

Today, I’d love to introduce Heather Robertson. Heather is a health coach and owner of Half Size Me podcast. She is an incredibly inspirational mom of 3 who lost an amazing 170 pounds. Her journey took her over 5 years.

Heather was kind enough to interview me this past year for Half Size Me, and is releasing a new book, the Art of Weight Maintenance, coming out later in 2016.

Here is her fabulous weight loss story!

Question 1: What triggered you to lose weight?

The birth of my first son motivated me to lose the weight I’d struggled with for most of my life. I grew up in a household where food was the focus. People either over-ate or depended on food for their happiness and emotional stability. I never learned proper eating habits, healthy meal preparation, or how to take good care of myself.

As a new mom I knew my kids would depend on me to teach them these life skills; however, I didn’t feel equipped to handle it.

I had two choices. I could keep doing what I was doing and not enforce healthy eating because I’d feel like a hypocrite. Or I could change and live the life I wanted for my kids to live. Then I’d be able to show them rather than tell  them.

[bctt tweet=”That was my motivation to lose the weight. I couldn’t look at my newborn son & tell him how to live if I couldn’t do it myself @halfsizeme” username=”jegoswam”]

Kids look at what you do. They don’t listen to what you say. I wanted to be a role model for him. Whereas I grew up as an obese child and always had a weight issue, I wanted him to learn to make healthier food choices. I wanted to him to have the life of a healthy kid with a healthy view of his body.

Question 2: How did you lose it?

I lost my weight the old-fashioned way— slowly through nutrition and exercise.

I yo-yo dieted throughout my 20s, but finally realized that I’d never gotten anywhere. I didn’t know how to sustain an exercise regimen, so I started walking. I weighed over 300 pounds after the birth of my first son, so at first I was just walking as far as I could.

Those walks became longer and longer. I started tweaking my eating a little bit here and there, and over the course of several years I managed to lose about 50 to 60 pounds.

I joined Weight Watchers the summer of 2010, about 8 months after my third child was born. After joining Weight Watchers it took me another 18 months but I eventually lost another 108 pounds.

Question 3: Share a story of one of your biggest milestones 

One of my biggest milestones was being able to play with my kids. I coached them in their homeschool P.E. class. I could go swimming with them and not be embarrassed. I could finally be the active mom I always wanted to be.

Another big moment for me was when I first put on a size 6 pant. My original goal was to get down to a size 10 or 12. I never thought I would wear a single digit in any clothing sizes, because when I started I was wearing size 24-26.

[bctt tweet=”I never imagined I could transform my body the way I did. @halfsizeme”]

Question 4: How did you stay motivated when you had a setback?

The motivation for me really came down to wanting to be honest with my kids and myself. I was motivated because I wanted to be a good role model and a good parent.

On the days I was struggling, I would look at pictures of my kids or I would watch them sleeping and realized this wasn’t about only me. My choices would affect my kids too.

This realization that my life and my choices directly impact my loved ones, helped strengthen my resolve. And over time it became easier.

There were times when I didn’t lose weight. There were times when the scale didn’t budge. There was times it was a struggle to make it all work, but I decided that my kids were worth it and that I was worth it. I just kept reminding myself that this was not just about helping me, but also would equip my kids to handle whatever life throws at them.

Question 5: What would you tell someone who is currently struggling with their weight?

If you’re currently struggling with your weight or with losing weight, I would recommend changing one small habit at a time. Many people fail to reach their goals because they have the “all or nothing” mentality. They think, “I’m either going to do this perfectly or not at all,” or they feel like they constantly need to be on or off a diet.

I argue none of this is sustainable. Being perfect is IMPOSSIBLE and getting stuck in the diet cycle isn’t something you want to do the rest of your life.

If you’re currently drinking ten sodas a day, see if you can reduce that amount to 5 or 6. Replace the 4 or 5 regular sodas with diet soda or even water. And if you’re not moving at all, focus on just walking around the block one time today.

Make small habit changes you can gradually build upon over time.

Once you get that one habit down, then focus on another one. Before you know it, you’ll begin to transform your life! Your habits support you being the size you are now. If you want to change your body, change your habits. Pay attention to the things you do each day.

How you move, how you eat, and how you think greatly impacts where your body is right now. If you want to start seeing changes in your body, you must begin to slowly transform those habits that are holding you back.

 

Thanks, Heather, for your insights! You have been amazing to partner with. Stay tuned next week for Neale Bacon’s story.

What part of Heather’s story resonated with you most? Share your thoughts in the comments!