Mom Reveals How She Lost 91lbs With A Simple Lifestyle Change: ‘Glow Up’

After gaining 60 pounds during pregnancy in 2018, Lauren Polinskey struggled with her new life as a stay-at-home mom. As his weight continued to increase, his mental health deteriorated.

The new mum cared for her son, John, who suffers from epilepsy and is said to have seizures between three and 10 times a day. The demanding nature of caring for him and feeling discouraged about his marriage put a strain on his well-being. She said Newsweek that she was “beyond unhappy and miserable” at the time.

As his mental health deteriorated, Polinskey, 27, of Van Buren, Arkansas, weighed a maximum of 230 pounds and wore size 20 clothes.

“My mental health has reached an all-time low”

She said: “I felt so deeply alone and like a bird in a house. I hated my life and my exterior became a reflection of my interior.”

While the pandemic changed a lot of things in life, it gave Polinskey a new perspective on her unhappy life and she decided to start focusing more on herself, starting with her health. She said she realized life wouldn’t get any better if she kept gaining weight and feeling bad about herself, so she made it her mission to be a happier version of herself again. ‘herself.

Polinskey explained: “I decided I wanted to lose weight at the start of 2020. My mental health hit an all-time high, so I filed for divorce and started taking care of my own needs again, after neglecting them for so long. I always put others first, but I never took the time to attend to my own needs.

“It took being absolutely broken as a person to say, ‘Forget it, life is too short to be miserable. I lost weight by completely changing my lifestyle, inside and out. I was on a mission to be happy and healthy again.

“I still walk two to three miles, three times a week”

Since she had tried unsuccessfully to lose weight in the past, Polinskey started with a new tactic this time around. Rather than overhauling her diet with unsustainable changes, she simply became more active, doing a short workout at home or taking a walk outside.

The home workouts helped her lose 17 pounds in the first five weeks, showing her that not only is losing weight possible, it can be simple. After that, she made a simple lifestyle change of walking every day, which brought the weight down.

Buoyed by her success, she continued her daily walks. Polinskey improved her diet by reducing sugar and carbs. She said it suits her far more than a strict diet or any kind of “too complicated eating”.

“I accepted that for this to be a lifestyle change, and for me to be healthy forever, I was going to have to live a more active life,” Polinskey said. “Diets are temporary, and I recognized that with this trip after all my failures. That’s why I started with moving my body and not nutrition.

“I love walking, it was the main exercise on my weight loss journey, and I still walk two to three miles, at least three times a week. Now I also lift weights three times a week.”

To date, Polinskey has lost 91 pounds since starting her journey, and the simplicity of her weight loss journey has helped her build a lot of social media. The mum has gained over 424,000 followers on TikTok (@laurenpolinskey) by showing that drastic weight loss doesn’t need to entail grueling workouts or restrictive diets – a daily dose of movement is all it takes.

“Counting calories really opened my eyes”

Although she hasn’t changed her diet much, Polinskey is making smarter decisions about what she puts in her body. It wasn’t until she started counting calories that she realized how much she was consuming each day. She estimates that she consumed 1,200 calories a day just from her daily sugary coffees.

“I’ve hit a few plateaus, and to each one I would add a new lifestyle change or healthy habit to jump-start the scales,” she said. “During the first plateau, I increased my water to half a gallon. Then I started counting calories and eating with a calorie deficit.

“Counting calories really opened my eyes to how my weight had gotten so out of control. I was drinking 1,200 calories on coffee and hazelnut cream alone.

“I also chose to avoid major carbs on a daily basis to speed up my weight loss. I avoided bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and dairy products, but found delicious substitutions for all. I found foods that I really like now. That’s what I love about a calorie deficit, it’s like learning a lesson because you realize there are healthier versions of so many things.”

Calorie counting can be a useful tool for weight loss, as long as it’s done safely and correctly. To calculate the number of calories to consume per day, Harvard Medical School recommends multiplying your weight by 15, which approximates the number of calories you need per day to maintain your current weight.

If you’re looking to lose weight, calorie consumption should be about 500 to 1,000 calories below this total. However, it is essential that caloric intake is at a minimum of 1,200 for women and 1,500 for men each day to avoid depriving the body of enough nutrients.

She admits she “used to cry wanting (her) high school back”, but now she’s even healthier than she was when she was 18. Polinskey shared a video of herself trying on a pair of size 4 jeans for the first time, which gained over 278,000 views as people praised her commitment to self-improvement.

“Sometimes I find it hard to believe I’m not where I used to be, and wearing a size 4 reminded me that I can do whatever I want. I love myself and I regret having neglected my needs as much as I am proud of myself for pulling myself out of the depressed, obese hole I was drowning in.

“I hope other women know that they’re not past their prime, and that it’s possible to shine at any age and after having babies. Just say ‘enough’ and realize that self-care is extremely important.”

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