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How Erin Lost 65 Pounds

August 17, 2010   16 Comments

Snack Girl absolutely loves Jennifer Hudson. BUT, she is not inspired by Jennifer's weight loss story.

Healthy Weight Loss Story

She has been splashed on the pages of People in her new size 6 self (and she looks great). But, she really is a special case. She is an actress getting ready for a role (Winnie Mandela) and she is getting paid as a spokesperson for Weight Watchers.

Don't worry! We can find inspiration right here with a reader of Snack Girl, Erin. Erin has lost weight (65 pounds!) and she is a regular person. She sent me these photos and interview and I hope her story is helpful.

Erin now:

erinafter

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

Erin: Substitution. Prior to really getting on the band wagon I always thought of "dieting" as forgoing everything I love to eat. But that hasn't been the case at all.

I've learned how to substitute what I love for healthier (or not as bad for you) versions. It keeps me on track with my calorie intake, which allows me to be happy while continuing to lose weight.

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

Erin: I'm actually dealing with this again right now. It's really easy to give up and unfortunately my personality borders on the all or nothing mentality, so I can very easily give up without much guilt (at that moment).

But, then I think of a photo I have of myself right before I started on the weight loss journey:

erinbefore

I can actually feel the tightness of the skin in my face and remember how hard it was to find clothes that fit. I've not hit my ultimate goal just yet, but thinking of that time and not wanting to get to that size keeps me chugging along. If I'm really down in the dumps about it, I also remember that the scale may not be moving, but I'm still getting healthier.

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

Erin: Eating out was a big change that I made. We still eat out, but I pay more attention to what I should have vs. what I want. I'll still indulge, but rather than eat the entire sandwich I'll eat half. It's really hard because I watch others eat this and that, while I'm trying not to.

My at home food vice that is difficult to control myself over is potatoes. I still eat them, but definitely not as often or in as large a quantity. This is very difficult because I adore potatoes. The only thing that makes it a teeny bit easier is that neither my husband nor kiddo like/eat them. They definitely fall into the "out of sight, out of mind" category.

Snack Girl: What advice would you give to your "65 pound heavier" self?
Erin: Just do it. You're getting nowhere by doing nothing.

I'm not saying losing weight is easy, but I should have started sooner. I just felt that I couldn't, that it's too hard. But in the first two months - by bringing my caloric intake down and walking 5-6 days a week for 30 minutes - I lost 25 pounds. I really want to kick myself in the butt. It wasn't as hard as I made it seem to be.

Snack Girl: What is your favorite snack?
Erin: Oh boy, this is a tough question. I've learned through the past few years that I can still enjoy decadent snacks in a "sneaky" sort of way. I try to keep all my snacks in the 100 calorie range, never, ever going over 200 (and 200 is more of a dessert range).

Aside from sugar free jell-o and fat free cool whip, my current favorite is a Deep & Velvety Chocolate VitaBrownie w/walnuts and some DOLE Dark Sweet Cherries. That's my curled-up-on-the-couch-watching-tv snack, and for this chocolate lover, it can't get any better.

Thanks for inspiring us, Erin!!

Please share your weight loss challenges and solutions.

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16 Comments:

Way to go Erin! My question would be has your whole house embraced the healthy changes or is it just you? And if they haven't how do you deal with that?

Thanks for posting, I needed some extra motivation :)

Great job Erin!! Your pictures are truly an inspiration~~~and I love your words..."Just do it. You're getting nowhere by doing nothing."

Erin,

You look fabulous! Congratulations... you should be proud of yourself.

WTG, Erin! I've lost 67 pounds and I can completely identify with all you've said. It's about finding things that are yummy AND good for you that makes all the difference. Deprivation = binging for me, so I always makes sure that I have things that make me feel wonderful.

way to go Erin! That's a great deal of weight loss for you, and it proves that you don't have to be a celebrity and going to the gym to train every day with an expensive personal trainer and expensive gym membership to do it. I'm at a plateau right now after just loosing 15 pounds or so, and it's making me really depressed. On the other hand, I do have to admit that i'm not putting as much effort into it as I should be.

I also feel sliiiiightly like it's easier to eat less if you're making food for a family/more than one person? :D it's easier to split up what you're making I think. I hate left overs, so I keep ending up eating the whole pot of noodles or whatever i was making, instead of just half. *sigh* I need to fix this!

Many congrats, Erin! Your persistance was key here - and staying motivated. Great job.

Congrats to Erin, for SURE! But I've got to take issue with your trashing of Weight Watchers. I'm not a paid spokesman, and since late March of this year, I've lost just under 60 pounds, using the tools WW has given me! Most importantly- I've learned to change WHY I eat, not just WHAT I eat, and this will serve me well for the rest of my life! PLEASE, don't trash WW. They likely saved my life.

That's great! Keep up the good work Erin! Real role models are always better than paid spokespeople! Way to go!

I don't think you can call anybody who is "sponsored" by Weight Watchers a "special case". You act as though Jennifer H. didn't lose the weight on her own just because WW is paying her! It didn't magically disappear, she still had to eat right and she's still a "real" person. No surgeries, she did it by using the WW program. Happy for Erin too, but don't put down Jennifer's accomplishments.

To clarify - I LOVE Weight Watchers. I think it is a great program that has helped many people. I am also glad that Jennifer Hudson lost the weight - I just don't find Jennifer's story as inspiring as Erin's story.

I can relate to Erin.

I am very happy for Erin, I hope she has much success. But--I also took issue with the title of this story. I also go to WW and have lost 17lbs I actually find JH's weight loss inspiring because she put it out there for all to see---if she gains the weight back we will all know about it.

Thanks Ann! I was gonna chime in to say the exact same thing about Jennifer H! She did the work and ANYONE who can do the work deserves the respect and amiration PAID or not! She didn't just step out of a size 16 fat suit and into a size 6!! She ate right and hit the gym 5 to 6 days a week!! She has NEVER been in a size 6 her whole entire adult or teenage life! If you DONT know her story, you should look into because it's a GREAT story. She lost her mother, brother and nephew at the same time to violence! Trust me, that in it's self is something that most people NEVER come back from or use as an excuse to not be motivated to do anything! AND BEFORE she was on American Idol, she went from a size 22 to a SIZE 10 as a "regular person" :-). She went up to a 16 after having her beautiful son and THEN joined WW :-) J-Hud has done the work!! Trust me! Congrats to you to Ms. Erin for doing the work! To all those who are on their journey! We can ALL do anything we aspire to do! I am very proud of you for sticking to it!

Hi All! Thanks for the compliments! :)

@Resa: It's been so-so with the family. My husband *sometimes* tries to lose weight, so during those times, I'm "safe." LOL At other times, I'm pretty much out for myself. Since he works crazy hours, I really only cook for myself and the kiddo. So in that aspect, it's pretty easy. :)

But, it is hard when he wants to have Sonic or Five Guys for dinner. :/

Great job Erin! Thanks for sharing Snack Girl.

You look fantastic, Erin. Stunning! I'm having breast reduction surgery next week and am looking forward to my new life. Thank you for sharing your story and providing motivation!

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