SUPERMUM and healthy living advocate, Whitney, had a difficult relationship with food from a young age - but when she had children, her weight really skyrocketed. At her heaviest, her "health and mobility was at an all time low" - to the point where she "couldn't walk" and she was "hooked to TENS units and compression cuffs just to sleep at night". Eventually her doctor told her "I can't help you". Given the way in which her "eating addiction" had crept up on her over the years, it also took her a while to notice that her children were inheriting her food habits and, along with her husband Dylan, were overweight too. Whitney realised that she "had to make a change because it started with me". Consulting a therapist to help fortify her mentally for the road ahead, Whitney revamped her diet with a focus on low carbohydrate foods and lost 60lbs before having weight loss surgery in 2022 - after which the hard work really started. With her newfound passion for healthy eating and after establishing a 5-days-a-week gym regime, Whitney has lost an incredible 170lbs and dropped five wedding ring sizes. But the true reward for Whitney has been the effect her own journey has had on her family - her sons losing 65lbs and 70lbs respectively and her husband, Dylan, losing 40lbs. The outcome is not lost on Dylan, who told truly: "I'm beyond grateful to be honest. I believe she is 100% the main reason why we are how healthy we are and how happy we are as a family now."
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00:00At my heaviest, my health and mobility was at an all-time low.
00:04The doctor, he took one look at me and said,
00:07I can't help you.
00:08When I realized that my children were picking up
00:10the same bad habits as me, I knew that at that point,
00:13I had to make a change.
00:15At my heaviest weight, I was 302 pounds.
00:17I've lost 170 pounds.
00:21My change in lifestyle benefited my family
00:24because they've also lost weight.
00:26I'm beyond grateful, to be honest.
00:27I believe she's like 100% the main reason why we are
00:31how healthy we are as a family now.
00:36So on a typical day at my heaviest weight,
00:39breakfast, it was pancakes, donuts, waffles.
00:42One of my worst food vices was these sugar cookies.
00:47I would probably eat a whole container of them by myself.
00:51When I was younger, food was a safe space for me.
00:54I grew up very poor, so we had nothing but processed foods.
00:59So that's where my eating addiction came from eventually.
01:02When I grew up, that's just the things
01:04that I was used to eating.
01:05I would say I was fairly small until I had children.
01:10And then with each pregnancy, I just gained weight,
01:14didn't lose at all, had another baby,
01:16and then the cycle just continued.
01:21My diet has changed a lot in my transformation.
01:24Mostly it was just sugary foods,
01:27anything that was fast, quick, satisfying in the moment.
01:31I like to still be able to eat the things
01:34that I used to eat, but in a low-carb style.
01:37At my heaviest, my health and mobility
01:40was at an all-time low.
01:42I had three slipped discs and two of them were ruptured
01:44and I couldn't walk.
01:45I couldn't even sleep in the bed for about two years.
01:48I was hooked to TENS units and compression cuffs
01:53just to get to sleep at night.
01:55The doctor, he saw how bad my MRI was.
01:58And as soon as I got in there,
02:00he took one look at me and said,
02:01I can't help you.
02:02And it was because of my weight.
02:05Dylan and my kids were super supportive at my heaviest.
02:09They never mentioned anything about my weight
02:11while I was big.
02:13I didn't even realize it, to be honest,
02:14what you would hurt.
02:17I guess that's what they call the love vision.
02:20Whenever mommy was bigger and overweight,
02:24did I seem sad to you?
02:26No, because you always wanted us
02:31to feel happy and joyful.
02:34And you didn't want us to feel down about your weight.
02:39I noticed my family was struggling with food
02:42when doctors started pointing out things
02:45and mentioning my children
02:46because they were always with me.
02:48My oldest, Logan, he weighed 235
02:51and my middle son, Dylan, he weighed 193.
02:54What do y'all think about our diet before?
02:56Oh, no, that's not healthy.
03:01No?
03:01Always fast food, always ate out.
03:06And then we would also come home
03:08and eat all those things again,
03:10which would lead us to a lot of weight.
03:13When I realized that my children
03:15were picking up the same bad habits as me,
03:18I knew that at that point I had to make a change
03:20because it started with me.
03:22I first started losing weight going to therapy
03:25and starting low carb.
03:27I lost 60 pounds originally
03:29and then I had my weight loss surgery.
03:31There is a stigma with the weight loss surgery.
03:34There's a stigma that it's cheating
03:37or you took the easy way out,
03:38but people don't understand that the statistics
03:41are very high for you actually gaining
03:43all of your weight back.
03:45I knew that if I didn't stick to it,
03:47this was my last stretch of hope.
03:50So I just started with the treadmill
03:52and then about a year or so into my journey,
03:55I started doing personal one-on-ones with my trainer.
03:58That helped me build my confidence
04:00to get into weight training and that's where I am now.
04:04At my heaviest weight, I was 302 pounds.
04:06I've lost 170 pounds.
04:08It took me a year and four months to lose all the weight.
04:12Training's important in my life
04:13because it's something that I have to do
04:16just for my mental health.
04:17When I'm there, I know I'm bettering myself.
04:20That's my me time.
04:21I work out Monday through Friday every week.
04:24I don't necessarily like it in the moment,
04:26but it's part of a habit.
04:27Sometimes I come in here kicking and screaming
04:29and my favorite part is to leave,
04:31but I know that if I get it done,
04:32I prove to myself once again
04:34that I'll never be the girl I was before.
04:37So these are my scars from my tummy tuck
04:41and then I have a scar from underneath my chin
04:44to down past my neck.
04:46I had a very prominent double chin
04:49and with that came a lot of loose skin under here.
04:52I decided to get the skin removal surgery
04:55fairly early on into my weight loss.
04:57I'm not saying that everybody needs to be insecure
04:59with their loose skin.
05:00I still have it and I still intend to keep it
05:03in the places I do have it, but it was a huge insecurity
05:07and it's an everyday battle
05:09just because you're a smaller person
05:11doesn't mean that you have all the confidence.
05:13So this is actually a 5X t-shirt that I used to wear.
05:17It is so huge on me.
05:20This was my original wedding ring.
05:23It's a size nine.
05:24I had gotten so big that it didn't fit my finger anymore.
05:28So I got a fake one and it was a size 10.
05:32It just falls right off.
05:34And now I just wear a little gold band
05:37that's a size five and a half.
05:39I lost four and a half to five ring sizes.
05:41After all the work I put in,
05:43I definitely feel lighter and more free.
05:47And I feel like I can accomplish anything
05:51now that I've actually taken on this task
05:55and I've defeated it.
05:56The future for me is freedom.
05:59I'm just so ready to live my life.
06:02I'm here to motivate if I can or to inspire
06:06or encourage people to just live healthier.
06:09Honestly, Whitney's weight loss has been very inspiring.
06:12It actually blows my mind how much she's achieved
06:14so far in her journey.
06:16I witnessed personally of all the people
06:17that reach out to her and acknowledge her
06:21and how many questions she's answered
06:23to help other people go through the same process
06:25that she's gone through and stuff like that.
06:27It's just really amazing.
06:29My change in lifestyle benefited my family
06:31because they've also lost weight and become healthier.
06:35My husband lost 40 pounds.
06:37My oldest son lost 65 pounds
06:40and my middle son lost 70 pounds.
06:42I'm beyond grateful to be honest
06:44because from where we were to where we are now,
06:47I believe she's like 100% the main reason why we are,
06:51how healthy we are and how happy we are as a family now.
06:54I feel healthier.
06:55I feel more energetic and I'm proud of myself
07:00for doing and pushing myself,
07:03including my mom with all the help
07:05and support she's given me.
07:06Seeing my family happy and healthier makes me feel
07:11like I actually did something beyond losing weight.
07:15I definitely never thought I would be this person.
07:23Going from somebody who was overweight
07:26to changing my mindset and being that person
07:29and that advocate and that friend for other people,
07:32that's my main goal for anything and everyone
07:36is to just let them know they're not alone
07:37because this journey can be very difficult.