By Liana Jacob
MEET the mum who after over-indulging during her pregnancy ended up in hospital several times with high blood pressure and severe chest pains lost a third of her bodyweight in just 21 months.
The five-foot-nine work-at-home mum, Amanda Keller (22), from Arizona, USA, grew up very skinny but never strong and in shape.
When she fell pregnant, Amanda panicked at not gaining any weight during the first half of her pregnancy that she over-indulged in junk, gaining three stone eight pounds resulting in her highest weight of 13 stone six pounds and a UK dress size of 14.
After months of severe chest pains, visiting the hospital several times with high blood pressure and fearing for her and her daughter’s health, Amanda decided to make a change.
She found Kayla Itsines’ Bikini Body Guide (BBG), following her workout routine and lowering her junk food intake, Amanda lost four stone six pounds in just 21 months and landed on the slender weight of nine stone and a UK dress size two.
Since being introduced to BBG, an eBook containing 12 weeks worth of 28 minute resistance workouts, all aspects of Amanda’s health have improved.
“I felt really sluggish and unhappy with my body. I wasn’t happy with how the weight made me feel; physically and emotionally. I also had no energy,” Amanda said.
“I decided to lose the weight because of two reasons; one – I just didn’t like being overweight. I was a stay-at-home mum when I started working out and before I was working out, I was very depressed.
“Another reason was that I was constantly having severe chest pain for months. I went to the hospital several times and I had high blood pressure, but they could never figure out the chest pain.
“I was really worried, since I had a young baby at the time, so I decided to try to become healthier to see if that would help – and it did. The chest pain went away after losing the weight.
“I’m so much more healthy now. I don’t have chest pain anymore. It helped me get out of my slump of always being indoors and depressed. I have so much more energy to keep up with my daughter now.”
“I feel more positive about myself. I am proud of what I’ve accomplished. I’ve always liked playing sports a bit but I never liked running or workouts.
“I feel like I’m a much healthier person than I’ve ever been in my life. I’m much more positive and I feel as though I can get more done every day because of the energy it gives me.”
Changing her diet has been the most difficult part of the weight loss process.
“I don’t diet but I just try and remind myself when I go to grab an unhealthy snack to find healthy alternative instead,” she said.
“I didn’t workout at all before, even before my pregnancy. I wasn’t overweight before I got pregnant, but I was weak and had no muscle.
“I was very out of shape and would be out of breath from the simplest of activities. Now I workout three times a week and I can handle a lot more.
“I think the hardest part of losing weight is watching what you eat. It’s hard to change unhealthy eating habits.
“A lot of people are surprised at how much I’ve lost and will ask me what I did in order to lose weight.
“My husband and friends are proud of me. I always tell people that my goal now is not to lose more weight, but to gain muscle. I am aiming to be strong, not skinny.
“Ease yourself into it and expect a few fall-backs. I gave up and started back up again several times. It’s OK to take a week break if you feel like you need it.
“Do not be too hard on yourself. Also, to stay motivated, take progress photos. When I am not feeling motivated to workout, looking at my progress helps me get back in the mood to workout.
“I would also say drop all fizzy drinks, juices and alcohol. I only drink a cup of coffee in the morning and water for the rest of the day. I very rarely ever drink alcohol. We don’t have fizzy drinks or juice in the house.”
Blood pressure at 140/90 mm Hg is considered high for pregnant women.
If you have high blood pressure, or hypertension, your heart has to work harder to pump the blood around your body which can affect the muscle of the heart.
Hypertension impacts roughly ten to 15 percent of pregnancies.
