7 Women Share The One Thing That Finally Helped Them Lose Weight

              
By Brittany Anas, Prevention

When you're on your fourth grilled chicken salad of the week and the scale hasn't budged in ages, it can feel like your weight loss plan is conspiring against you—and that's incredibly frustrating.

[post_ads]But instead of giving up altogether or trying every piece of weight loss advice you've ever heard, you might just need to make one small change to get your momentum going again. "Often, when you pick just one realistic, targeted change, like taking 10,000 steps a day, it gives you a focus so that losing weight doesn't seem so overwhelming," says Jackie Newgent, RD, a culinary nutritionist and author of The All-Natural Diabetes Cookbook. "You're more apt to stay motivated to reach weight management goals, too."

   

These women have been there, done that, and they're relaying the single change that finally helped them lose weight. So go ahead, hoist yourself up by your sports bra and snap into a new habit.

              

"I started a barre program."

 

Katie
Age: 29

Weight Lost: 43 pounds

When Katie became disenchanted with big, chain gyms, a friend suggested that she give Pulse Barre a try. The boutique studio in Mechanicsville, Virginia, teaches low-impact, high-intensity workouts, blending movements borrowed from ballet, Pilates, and yoga. "From the second I walked in, I felt welcomed," she says. "I never felt judged. Everyone was just there working on their own goals and supporting one another." Today, Katie is 5 months into her weight loss journey, with a goal of losing 80 to 100 more pounds. She shows up to the 1-hour barre classes 4 days a week, and sticks around for a 1-hour yoga class 1 night per week. Moves like "seated chair," which works her core and thighs, are making her feel stronger than ever. 

          

              

"I started eating less carbs."

 

Anna
Age: 21
Weight Lost: 82 pounds

When she first set out to lose weight, Anna tried diets limiting calorie intake, but her weight wasn't budging. Determined to get her cholesterol and blood pressure down, she started the low-carb Atkins diet and has faithfully followed the program. "I didn't cheat at all, not even on holidays," she says. After 7 months, Anna reached her weight loss goal and transitioned into maintenance mode. 

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Her cravings for pasta and rice have gone away entirely, and she doesn't miss putting sugar in her coffee. Instead, she sates her sweet tooth and carb cravings with the brand's shakes or pizza. A hard-boiled egg is her go-to snack, and many of her meals include salads or baked fish. 

               

"I started journaling everything."

 

Cristal
Age: 37
Weight Lost: 15 pounds

A nutritionist suggested Cristal maintain a "body log journal" to keep track of workouts, meals, water intake, sleep, and how she's feeling each day. The idea: Pick up on patterns to help decipher what's working and what's not and respond accordingly. Cristal started using Fitbook, which has a prompt for all of the factors that she wanted to log. She says that writing everything down has helped her pinpoint unhealthy habits and conquer them one at a time. 

"I love the idea of setting smaller goals each week because you can slowly build to bigger, more challenging goals." Some of her specific micro-goals include getting 7 1/2 hours of sleep four times a week, and reaching 10,000 steps at least 5 days a week. Today, she's lost a total of 15 pounds, and she shed 5% of her body fat in 12 weeks. "My mantra has become 'gratitude changes everything,'" Cristal says. "Journaling has helped me see that. Turns out that when you love and appreciate your body, it loves you back."

             

              

"I started betting on my weight loss."

 

Molly
Age: 23
Weight Lost: 95 pounds

Molly lost her first 40 pounds by using a website called DietBet, which lets users wager on their weight loss. The concept: Put money in the online pot, and those who meet their goal get their cash back, plus some. If you don't hit the goal, you're out the money. "It really helped me stay accountable," she says. Over the course of 2 years, she lost 95 pounds.

               

               

"I committed to working out four times a week."

 

Jessica
Age: 20
Weight lost: 32 pounds

Establishing a workout habit was the breakthrough Jessica needed to lose weight. Over the course of 8 months, she lost 32 pounds by working out at least four times a week. "It was honestly really difficult, but once I realized how great I started to feel, I didn't want to stop working out," she says. Those exercise endorphins were just the motivation she needed. 

[post_ads]She mostly does cardio, running on the treadmill or around a track, or hopping on the elliptical during her sweat sessions. She also includes interval training to change up her heart rate while running. Once the weight starting coming off, Jessica began incorporating more strength training through Body Pump classes to get full-body, muscle-toning workouts. Her gym routine has spurred other healthy habits, too. She drinks about a gallon of water every day, started sipping protein shakes with whey protein, and added more fruits and veggies to her diet.

           

                

"I got off the elliptical."

 

Renee
Age: 40
Weight lost: 41 pounds

Going to the gym wasn't a problem for Renee. She'd been a member for years, showing up Monday through Friday for 45-minute sessions on the elliptical machine. Renee's weight loss breakthrough came when she stepped outside of her comfort zone and joined a 12-week challenge at Gold's Gym. During the friendly competition, she lost 41 pounds and more than 10% of her body fat. On top of that, she was the overall winner for women in all age groups in the nationwide challenge. 

During the 12 weeks, she was at the gym twice a day, Monday through Friday, to do workouts that lasted between an hour and 90 minutes each. "I pushed myself to do activities I didn't like—running, strength training, trying new classes." Renee learned to love a high-intensity interval training course and started running 3 miles on the treadmill to prove to herself she could do it. She also started working with a trainer to do interval training, switching between cardio and weights. Now she's training to become a coach at her local gym to help others achieve their fitness goals. "It was amazing how fast 12 weeks flew, but the results were even more astonishing," says Renee.

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"I started listening to my body."

 

Kyra 
Age: 35
Weight lost: 25 pounds

Kyra used to weigh and measure her food using an online tracker, but eventually that started to stress her out. "The number one thing that helped me lose weight and keep it off for good was really just listening to my body," says Kyra. Prior to this realization, she'd deprived herself of carbs, even healthy ones. "I would train really hard and have protein afterward, even though my body was begging for carbs," she says. But that ultimately backfired: "I'd find myself three cookies in at the Whole Foods bakery," she recalls. When she stopped shunning carbs and began loosening up and listening to her body's cues, she was able to really achieve her weight loss goals.

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