By Liana Jacob
MEET the determined woman who lost a whopping fourteen-stone in four years after the breakdown of her engagement forced her to take control of her life.
Family business manager, Megan Fuschak (30), from Texas, USA, started putting on weight when she was just seven-years-old, when a sudden move away from her grandma and close friends triggered her depression which saw her seek solace in fast food.
When her grandma passed away in 2003, grief caused Megan to balloon to 21st 6lbs. It wasn’t until her relationship broke down in 2011 and at 29st 9lbs and a UK size 32, that Megan decided to ditch her unhealthy habits.
After reducing her daily calorie intake from 4,000 to just 1,500-2,000 a day, Megan is now a slim 15st 4Ibs and a UK size 14.
“When my grandma passed away, I hit hard depression. She was everything to me,” Megan said.
“I was miserable. I had so much self-hate and doubt about who I was. I was unhappy and fell into depression.
“It was after I got out of my relationship that I decided I needed to take control of myself. My health was declining and I already had four blood clots previously.
“Something just clicked. ‘This isn’t who you are’, so I took the biggest step and decided to change my life.
“I began to eat healthy and included exercise to my routine. I now run daily, try to incorporate a home workout and I have my protein shakes every day.
“I went in the opposite direction. I was eating fast food every day, drinking soft drinks, satisfying my late-night cravings and exercise was never part of my routine.
“Now I start eating healthy, I’ve cut soft drinks out of my life and replaced it with water, while slowly started working out.
“It had changed my life in an amazing way. I still have days where I see who I used to be but when you go through an extreme weight loss, you have to work on your mental health as well.
“I’ve gained a life back that I never really had before. I’m happy when I wake up in the morning. I love who I am looking at. Every day is a new day and I’ve never been more grateful to see a sunrise.
“I still have things to work on, but I’ve fought so hard to become this woman and I’m so proud of her.”
While her persistence has paid off in a big way, Megan found mustering up the motivation the most difficult part of her weight loss journey.
“The hardest part was motivation at the beginning. Life gets in the way but you have to remember you’re doing this to become a better you,” she said.
“I usually get the ‘oh my God, you’ve lost so much weight’ or ‘you look so good’.
“You have to figure out what made you get like this in the first place. You need to truly focus on getting your mind right.
“Start little. You don’t have to sprint. It’s not a race, days will be hard but you must remember that in the waves of change, we find our true direction.”
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