Woman & 222-Pound Loss

For a lot of us, getting "in shape," has been the to-do list for quite some time. New Years resolutions have come and gone, with little to no change to our daily routines, despite a novel attempt at reformation. Aimee Smith of Janesville, Wisconsin is not a lot of us. And she didn't wait until New Years to make a change.

On January 16^th, ABC News ran a story about a woman who lost 222 pounds and now competes in marathons and 10ks. It would be easy to assess the character of someone weighing in at a little less than 430 pounds as lazy and deserving of consequences resulting from what seems like a terrifyingly unhealthy lifestyle. Smith would have agreed.

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"My knees hurt, my back hurt. I had high blood pressure. I was pre-diabetic. I was going down a bad path," she says. "I'm sure carrying around 400 pounds wasn't doing my health any favors." (ABC News)

Smith wasn't even aware of her actual weight because her scale maxed out at 300 pounds. Once she bought a new scale, she realized the need to transform her lifestyle. Since having gastric bypass surgery and a complete overhaul of her diet she has lost half of her body weight in 2 years. She worked with a health coach to help with the psychological aspects of obesity and food addiction.

She told ABC News, "You've got to change your relationship with food. Start thinking of it as fuel rather than a friend you can rush to whenever you're having an emotional problem."

She's currently in training mode for the Wisconsin marathon in May and has her heart set on one day competing in an Iron Man triathlon.