A New Mexico woman is feeling stronger than ever after embracing exercise and losing 125 pounds in just one year. The fitness fanatic now shuns soda — as she used to drink eight cans each day — and follows a more balanced diet to fuel her workouts and healthier lifestyle. She skipped the soda, and changed her life.
Vivian McCall weighed 273 pounds in September 2019, and knew something had to change when she struggled to get comfortable in an airplane seat during a trip to California, news agency South West News Service (SWNS) reports.
“I couldn’t fit in the seat… I knew I had to do something,” the 24-year-old explained.
McCall, a venture capitalist, said she turned to food for comfort following the death of her parents.
“I was grief-eating hardcore. I don’t even think I drank water,” the Ruidoso woman said. “I would skip breakfast every day and by lunch I’d be starving.”
Dining on a diet of fast food, McCall said she’d hit McDonald’s for lunch, ordering a Big ‘N Tasty hamburger with a large side of fries and a large Coke. For dinner, she’d eat an extra-large double-stuffed burrito, a taco and cinnamon balls from Taco Bell.
“For snacks, it’d be barbecue chips,” she continued. “I could eat a pint of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream very easily in one sitting.”
After deciding to make a change, McCall got serious about sticking to an exercise routine. “Now, I go to the gym six days a week with a rest day on Sunday,” she said. “I’m big into weightlifting and I do 30 minutes of cardio every day.”
“I also run three miles on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights outside the gym.”
McCall also switched it up in the kitchen by quitting soda and gluten, and now follows a fasting schedule for meals.
“I have eight hours of eating, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., followed by 16 hours of fasting,” she explained. “I work out every morning at the end of my fast.”
After her morning sweat, the gym-goer will drink a fruit smoothie with mixed berries, almond milk, and protein powder around 10 a.m. For lunch, she’ll have a small snack of meat, cheese, fruit and nuts with a protein bar. Later in the day, McCall will have a cheese stick or piece of jerky, and enjoy a steak or chicken with vegetables for dinner.
The hard work has paid off, and McCall made remarkable strides almost immediately on her journey to a healthier lifestyle.
“I lost about 40 pounds every three months for the first nine months,” she recalled.
Feeling healthy and well, McCall now has her sights set on running a half marathon in the future.
“I’m just trying to make myself better every day,” she said.
