There’s no quick fix for losing weight, that’s what one middle school teacher found out after losing 120 pounds in three years. At her heaviest, Tracy Wygal weighed 295 pounds. She went to doctors searching for weight-loss pills and was frustrated when they would hand her a 1600-calorie-a-day diet and told her to start exercising. As her weight crept up further, Wygal decided to take control of her life. She started by keeping track of her daily calorie intake in a food diary and soon realized that she was eating more calories than she thought. She started exercising and grew to love her workouts at the gym.
Over the next three years, she lost 120 pounds and dropped seven dress sizes. Wygal, who’s 5 feet 10 inches tall, says the fear of gaining weight motivates her to stick to her diet and exercise regimen because she never wants to look like she did at 295 pounds.
Now comfortable with her weight, which she says fluctuates between 170 and 180 pounds, Wygal works out at least five to six days a week. She says the key to losing weight and keeping it off is being honest about what you eat, writing it down and staying consistent.