Emma (25) sheds a Whopping 65 Kg and Becomes a Personal Trainer

How it all started…

During my childhood I was always a little plump, not extremely overweight or obese, but plump enough to be bullied in both kindergarden and school. It all went really overboard when I graduated in 2008 and started working. The months before I graduated from high school several people close to me died and I became very sad. I concealed the grief with work, which in turn meant that I overworked myself and I started to get joint pain. As the pain increased, I became more and more inactive and grew more and more overweight.

I had enough…

When it was at its worst, I weighed over 130 kg (20 stone 6.6 lbs /286 lbs). I no longer wanted to feel like a 22 year old trapped in a 95-year-old’s body, so I decided: “It’s now or never”.

Lifesum and a good energy balance…
In the beginning I used Lifesum mostly to record my measurements, though later I went down in weight without using the app. I exercised in fairly big quantities, which made me think I could just eat my regular food without caring too much, so I began using the app just “for fun”. I started dropping weight, and in the end was too skinny instead and almost worried I would become malnourished. That’s when I really started using Lifesum. It turned out I had a heavy calorie deficit and using Lifesum I could turn this around and get a good energy balance. Today Lifesum is a great tool for me to continue to keep track of my energy as I am marathon runner and burn a lot of calories.

Diet was not for me…

In previous attempts at weight loss, I’ve tried various different diets. This time I didn’t want to follow any diet but instead find a balance between diet and exercise. To me it means eating food without the prohibitions and regulations. So I decided to eat regular meals and add exercise. The only things I took away initially were candy, chips, pizza and fast food.

My weight now and then…

My goal from the beginning was to get a healthy body with a normal BMI. I changed my mind when I found out that BMI does not account for muscle mass if you are physically fit. BMI became less important and instead I looked in the mirror and followed that principle. I even had a dream about being able to get on a pair of pants in size 38 without a problem. I reached my goal and in about 1 year and 10 months I had lost 65 kg (10 stone 3lbs/ 143 lbs) and thus halved my body weight!

Lifesum made me change my habits and adopt healthy ones…

Lifesum helped me get the energy out of a day so that I could perform at my best, be it exercising, working, or socializing.

The best part of my weight loss…

The best thing about my weight loss is that today I am free of symptoms and medicine from my rheumatism and that I can live like the person I always wanted to be. I am 25 and feel 25, not 95!

My 3 secret tips for You to succeed…

– Add to something instead of taking away. I thought for example that it was easier to add physical activity than removing carbs in my diet.

– Stop wallowing in self-pity. If you’re thinking something like; “I can never lose weight, I will never be able to run since I have never been able to run, I’m so stiff and untrained that there is no use trying” it will never work. Stop thinking about yourself as a victim and go past the barriers, it can only get better! In the end only you who can make a change. No one can make a change for you, but they can give you the tools to succeed.

– Set clear goals! Not just some vague goals like “you want to lose some weight”. How many kilograms? Why do you want to lose pounds? If it’s because you want to get a slimmer body, why do you want a slimmer body? Perhaps you want to feel more secure about yourself, and what can that lead to? How are you as a person?

Congratulations Emma from the whole Lifesum team!

If you want to share your story on our blog, please send an email to contact@lifesum.com

Want to know more about Emma who is now a qualified Personal Trainer and a Health Coach?

Check out http://www.marathonemma.se/ (only in Swedish)