Woman drops nearly 90lbs to fit into her college graduation dress
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A Newcastle, Australia woman has revealed how she dropped 88lbs after bursting into tears after stepping on the scale.
Laura Murray, now 25, didn’t understand what healthy eating meant in regard to portions and the types of food she would eat.
“I would eat a lot of takeaway [takeout], and large portions,” she told news.com.au. “I used to drink a lot of alcohol and eat chocolate and cheese.
“All that nice stuff! The issue was that I would have it in large amounts.”
She said sometimes for lunch she would eat an entire McDonald’s burger meal on her own, before having a whole pizza for dinner.
She was also fighting an uphill health battle, as she was a type one diabetic, treated through an insulin pump in a cannula on her stomach.
Laura said she knew she needed something to change but had no idea where to begin.
“I hopped on the scales and weighed in at 121.8kg [268lbs]. I was so uncomfortable,” she said.
“I cries as I stood on the scales because I’d let myself get to a point where I was so uncomfortable I didn’t like looking at myself in the mirror.”
At 23, it was the moment that sparked change. Laura tried every kind of diet imaginable – shakes, making her own frozen meals, buying a treadmill and weight loss tablets.
She’d previously tried Lite N Easy, losing 30 pounds, but wasn’t truly committed the first time around.
She decided to try the prepared meal option once again, feeling confident she could contact Lite N Easy for nutrition cards of each meal so she could keep an eye on her insulin intake.
“But beforehand, when I was back on shakes, it was very difficult to try and work out exactly how many carbohydrates or exchanges I needed to put in my insulin pump,” she said.
“And in saying that I will have lots of low levels, low blood sugar levels, and when you have them, you’ve got to treat them. It was a bit of a rough challenge, but we made it.”
She was also working with her endocrinologist to make sure she was losing weight in a healthy way while treating her type one diabetes.
The weight began to gradually drop off, and when she hit 220lbs she began to walk around a large park with her fiancee Nicholas.
At one point, the pair were hitting 22 pounds on their nightly walks.
The early childhood educator said the kids she works with were one of her biggest motivators to lose weight, as she had been getting worn out when playing with them.
The kids would beg her to keep playing, but she couldn’t keep up. Now, she beats them when they run the obstacle course, making the kids laugh and try even harder.
In total, Laura dropped 88lb from her frame, something she feels proud of every time she looks in the mirror.
“The other day my sister came over and she goes; ‘Oh my goodness, we’ve lost so much weight’,” Laura said.
“I had only seen her a few months ago. So just things like that [make me feel like I’ve accomplished something].”
But, the real confirming moment was when Laura could fit into a dress she had purchased on a trip years beforehand.
“I always knew I wanted to graduate in the dress. At the time, that dress only came in a size 14, and I was a size 22,” she said.
“It was a beautiful gold and red dress that sparkled in the sun.”
She purchased the size 10, vowing she’d fit into it for her graduation ceremony, and then she got to walk across the stage to collect her degree wearing it after her hard work.
Now, Laura plans to start hitting a gym to help tighten her skin after her 88lb weight loss journey ahead of her wedding.
