'This simple strategy helped me lose 128 Pounds without plateauing once’

Besides emotional eating, I was also dealing with depression, family problems, and substance abuse, so during my senior year, my parents and I decided I should enroll in a program for adolescents with these issues. The program required me to move out of my home and into their facility in Denver.

I did a lot of internal work on myself through the program, but I wasn't completely ready to address the fact that food was an emotional bandage for me. So while I graduated from high school, I didn't complete the program that was supposed to help me, among other things, lose weight.

By the time I graduated from college, I was approaching 300 pounds.

Then, in August of 2002, I applied to live and work at the same facility where I sought help my senior year of high school. All pounds aside, the program had been instrumental in getting me to a mentally and emotionally healthier place. I wanted to give back to other young people that needed help.

THE CHANGE

In January of 2004, after working at the facility for a year-and-a-half, our director challenged the entire staff to set personal, professional, and physical goals for the year ahead.

I decided that my physical goal was to take three, 20-minute walks weekly, and eat one-to-two servings of vegetables per day.

At our six-week check-in, I happily reported that I was succeeding at my goals. I was proud of my accomplishments and I started to incorporate other forms of exercise, such as riding a stationary bike, into my routine one to two times per week.

After six months, I had dropped 50 pounds and hired a personal trainer to help guide me with my next steps.

THE WORKOUTS

My trainer set me up with a program that involved working out six days per week. For three days, I lifted weights, focusing on full-body workouts, and on the other days I focused on cardio.

Over time, I became more active outside of the gym. I began playing softball, volleyball, soccer, snowshoeing, and hiking on the weekends. I live in Denver, and getting on the trails never feels like a workout to me because I enjoy it so much.

I'm proud to say that, so far, I have summited 28 of the 53 Colorado mountains with elevations above 14,000 feet.

Now that I'm currently focused on maintaining my weight, rather than losing, I work out about four to five days each week.

THE FOOD

I read the book The Weigh Down Diet, which helped me evaluate my relationship with food and taught me to rely on my faith rather than food to cope with whatever was going on in my life outside of the kitchen. In one passage in the book, the author challenges the reader to watch what others put on their plates, and that's when I had an epiphany.

I realized that a plate of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, and brownies didn't constitute healthy eating, which was a completely new concept for me.

My trainer worked with me to become more mindful of the food I was putting in my body by teaching me how to balance out my meals. For three months, I measured and tracked my food intake so that I could learn proper portion sizes and get more in touch with making healthy choices.

Over time, turning to healthy food became more natural, and I stopped questioning my food decisions. At first, I started focusing on making sure I was eating three meals per day. And as I kept losing weight, I began incorporating two snacks a day into my eating plan. My go-to meals included: eggs or oatmeal for breakfast; tuna, deli wraps, or salad for lunch; and chicken, fish, or lean ground beef, and vegetables for dinner.

STICKING WITH IT

I know this is rare, but I never plateaued during my weight-loss journey. Instead, I lost about a pound or two per week over the course of 19 months.

I think a lot of that had to do with the fact that I had kicked off my weight loss with small, doable goals. I didn't take on everything at once. That way, none of the changes in my approach to exercise or nutrition felt overwhelming.

In fact, I never even set an overall weight-loss goal, and I didn't know what I wanted my "after" weight to be. I focused on the five pounds in front of me. When I lost those, I focused on the next five. "I got this," I told myself. And I knew that it was true.

THE REWARD

After losing 128 pounds, every aspect of my life is different. For instance, I'm now able to wear a seatbelt on a plane. But more than that, I look at everything, including myself, differently. I feel empowered.

Eleven years have passed since I lost the weight, and my passion for healthy living only grows. It has become a part of me, and I hope that my story helps to inspire others and give them the confidence they need to make a healthy change. I love to encourage those around me to be active, properly fuel their bodies, and set small goals like I did.