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Katie Hall of New Castle has maintained a healthy lifestyle, even after giving birth to twins.//courtesy of Katie Hall |
“Istruggled with my weight my whole life from the teenage years on,” says Katie Hall, of New Castle. The working mom of twins says she once gained 140 pounds in six years, tipping the scales at nearly 300 pounds.
But repeated and radical attempts at weight loss—including surgery—resulted in modest losses, before she’d gain it back again. One stint found her hitting the gym three times a day and walking 11 miles each day to fit into her size 4 wedding dress.
It wasn’t until she started talking to a nutritionist, incorporating herbal shakes and regular exercise, that she felt like she was running the show.
Today, exercise is a regular part of her life, but education has armed her with a winning approach that she’s maintained for more than three years, even after the birth of her twins.
“I don’t have a desire to be skinny, I just want to be strong,” says Hall, who is a comfortable size 10 and prefers lifting weights to excessive cardio workouts. She says she hits the gym at least five days a week.
“It’s a stress reliever for me. I go in the morning and then on my lunch break sometimes. The biggest thing I tell people is don’t focus on the scale. Focus on how your clothes fit. You’d be surprised at the inches you’re losing.”
As for eating, her typical breakfast is an herbal shake, Greek yogurt or string cheese for a mid-morning snack, chicken and rice for lunch and a colorful dinner of proteins, carbohydrates and fats—all in moderation.
“You have to do this for you, not because somebody else wants you to do it,” says Hall. “Once you get into that space, that’s when you succeed.”
