How Folland Lost 68 lbs and Went from Fat to Fab
Meet Folland…
I’m a 30-year-old woman living in Vancouver, BC, Canada. I have two dogs, play roller derby, and work for a local craft brewery in sales. I am very outgoing, active and a certified extrovert. My friends always poke fun at me because I basically never stop moving.
I have an endless source of energy and a thirst for adventure. I’m always the one you call when you want to do something weird and fun like laser tag or go karting or trampoline parks. I’m just a big kid at heart.
I was always overweight growing up. Not obscenely but always a bit heavy/chubby. I have no idea what I actually weighed when I was young but I know that weight was always a struggle. I was aware of it but never really let it bother me.
I was more bothered about my stupid acne than I was my weight! I was heavy but nothing abnormal. I was a chubby girl but not necessarily fat at that point.
I was pretty active as a kid and through my teens, I rollerbladed EVERYWHERE. It was my main form of transportation!
What blows my mind to this day, knowing what I know now about weight loss, is how much I would’ve had to eat to maintain my weight with the amount of activities I did! Oh man. I must have been just non-stop eating so much garbage food.
I know I always had a bag of chips, some 5 cent candies or a Slurpee on hand but knowing what I know now… good grief.
As life moved forward, through college and into my career, I slowly gained more weight. When I was 25 I hit my highest recorded weight of 218 lbs… I suspect I may have been a bit heavier at one point but that was the weight I was the day I decided to stop being fat.
What was your lifestyle like prior to your transformation?
Before I lost weight, I didn’t move at all for over 8 hours a day. I worked in an office and had no real hobbies besides eating, hanging with friends and watching TV. I realized at one point that the only reason I went to go see movies was so I could eat popcorn. Yikes.
I was aware of my weight but just thought I could stand to lose 15 or 20 lbs. Little did I know I would eventually lose almost triple that! I jumped on and off fad diets here and there like most girls but nothing ever worked and nothing ever stuck. I didn’t understand that even though I was eating “healthy” foods, I was eating a lot of them. Basic weight loss = Calories in vs. calories out.
I was in a relationship, engaged to be married, but ultimately very unhappy. My (now) ex-was a really nice guy, really awful boyfriend. But he never complained about my weight, I’ll give him that. He was naturally a slim guy with an active job that kept him fit.
I could go bite for bite with him but barely moved my body so of course the scale kept climbing and so did my clothing size until one day, about 5 years ago, I went to an event that had a professional photographer that snapped a few shots of me not paying attention. I wasn’t posing for the photograph or making a cute face, I was just there… and that was the moment I realized I was fat.
Where does your motivation come from?
My motivation came from not wanting to be the fat girl at every party. I didn’t want to be known for my weight. I wanted people to see me as a person, not my size. I heard rumors that people treated skinnier people completely differently and I wanted to experience that.
I started a crazy ass diet called HCG which is effective, a very strict low-calorie diet and the pounds started falling off. I did two rounds of HCG and lost 60 lbs. I gained 30 back. I was smaller but still unhappy. Then I left my fiance and started getting back on track.
After meeting my current boyfriend I joined roller derby and started lifting weights. He taught me how to make my way to a gym and together we have lost a combined 115 lbs! We work together on creating a healthy diet, keep each other on track at the gym and are each other’s greatest cheerleader.
I’m at a healthy 145 lbs today and have a goal of losing at least another 10 lbs.
What does your daily diet look like?
My current diet is all over the place but mostly I count calories. I aim for between 1200 – 1500 calories per day and it changes every day. Lots of salads, chicken breast, quest bars and lean ground beef, though! Also, coffee… because coffee is delicious. But I always leave room to simply enjoy life. I work out extra hard on weeks where I know we’re going to a party or if I want to check out a new awesome restaurant. It’s all about balance.
What workout routine has worked best for you?
Weight lifting has done a lot for me and my body. Weight loss happens in the kitchen but shape happens in the gym. I lift weights about 3-4 times per week and play roller derby 3x per week. Currently working through the Strong Curves routine and loving it! New challenges every 4 weeks.
Roller derby has changed my life completely. It is easily the best workout I get all week and so much fun! It’s my cardio, it’s leg day and it’s a night out with my friends. But the more I weight train, the better I get on my skates.
How has your life changed since the transformation?
Everything has changed. My friends, my love life, my lifestyle in general. I am happier, more active and am having so much fun! I honestly feel like I wasted my 20s by being fat. Who knew how much better life could be when you actually fit?
Any noticeable difference in the quality of your life?
Shopping is easier, people are nicer to me, I sell more beer… it’s pretty shocking how different people treat you when you’re no longer fat. I used to have to work very hard to get people to notice me, like me and buy from me but now, people instantly like me. Everything is suddenly so much easier.
Favorite Quote:
“Though she be but little, she is fierce!”
― William Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Her blog she wrote while losing my first 60 lbs about 5 years ago
http://www.sillybitchtherapy.blogspot.in/