Lindsey had gone on a trip to Las Vegas with her brother Kevin and his girlfriend Megan, and the three friends were disappointed with the photos from their trip [1]. It was at that moment that they realised they weren't happy with their health or their weight and they wanted to make a change — together.
Lindsey: Before and After
Pictured with her brother Kevin.
Since making that decision, the three opted to give Weight Watchers [2] a chance, and they haven't looked back since. At just 5'3", Lindsey had originally weighed over 200 pounds (14 stone), but since has lost almost 64 pounds (4 stone, 5 pounds) total [3], putting her body back in a healthy BMI range — and giving her the confidence boost of a lifetime. Here's how she did it and some things she learned along the way about losing weight with a team of friends and family.
POPSUGAR: What made you decide to start your weight-loss journey?
Lindsey Minnick: The moment for me was when we went to Vegas. The shorts that I had planned on wearing (my fat shorts) didn't even fit. I had to go buy new clothes because my fat clothes didn't even fit me anymore. When we got home, I weighed myself and I was 204.4 pounds (14 stone 6 pounds)! I just kept thinking, "How did I let myself tip 200 pounds?"
PS: What made you choose Weight Watchers?
LM: Honestly, [my brother's girlfriend] Megan motivated me to do Weight Watchers. Megan had been doing Weight Watchers from the beginning after returning from Vegas and was having success, much more then I was having just counting calories. All throughout college and pharmacy school, I would try to count calories and I would have some success, but then I would gain it all back when I stopped counting calories. I'd lose 20 or so pounds counting calories and then I'd put it all back on [4]. So I switched to Weight Watchers and didn't look back.
Weight Watchers has been different because I have literally changed my lifestyle. I no longer reach for chips, quick carbs, and pasta when I feel snacky. I stopped eating fried food because its SmartPoints count was just too high [5]. I also eat a ton more vegetables and fruits. Someone at work laughed at me because I was dipping my carrot sticks in salsa instead of tortilla chips. Don't get me wrong, I still eat pizza [6], but I plan it out with my SmartPoints instead of eating the whole thing now.
PS: What's your favourite way to work out?
LM: My favourite way to work out is classes. I get so much more motivated when I can go to a class and compete with other people. If there isn't a class available, I enjoy running outside, [which] gives me time to myself and makes me motivate myself on my own. It is even better when I have a race to motivate myself; I recently did my first triathlon [7] and came in fourth for the women and 13th overall!
"I have literally changed my lifestyle. I no longer reach for chips, quick carbs, and pasta."
I love to work out with my friends [8]. We have all [Lindsey, Kevin, and Megan] joined a local cycling place and go together on the same nights. I also just joined a gym with one of my friends. It's good to have people to work out with because you have an accountability partner.
PS: What's your weekly exercise schedule?
LM: I work out most days of the week [9]. Usually I go to a local cycling place three to four times a week. Other days I'll go for a run outside and come home and do a strength-training video. Usually I'll go to the gym and lift two to three times a week with a workout I've found through Pinterest.
PS: How do you keep workouts exciting?
LM: Aside from cycling or other classes at the gym, I almost never do the same workout twice, which keeps me motivated. It's easy to just print out a workout and take it to the gym.
PS: What was the first big difference, other than the number on the scale, that really made you feel proud and excited?
LM: One thing that was really cool for me was the confidence I gained [10]. When I used to see people running down the street in sports bras, I was so jealous. I kept thinking someday I'll be that girl who has the confidence to run in a sports bra . . . Now I run proudly in a sports bra and feel super confident doing it.
PS: How do you track your weight loss?
LM: I use the Weight Watchers app. I also took before photos in my underwear using another app when I started, and each time I hit a 10-pound mark, I took another. That way I could see my body changing in addition to the scale.
PS: What's a typical day of meals and snacks?
LM: Typically I meal prep on Sundays [12]. Then I just take a preprepared lunch of roasted veggies and protein with a "dessert" (usually either fat-free cottage cheese or yogurt and berries or a banana with powdered peanut butter) to work with me. Breakfast is a crap shoot of overnight oats, egg white wraps, or, if I have time, a meal-prepped breakfast hash with eggs.
PS: What's the range of calories you eat per day?
LM: I've tried to do the whole calorie counting thing [13] while doing Weight Watchers, but honestly, it's too much work to do both and Weight Watchers works by itself. I stick with my 30 allotted SmartPoints most days during the week. I'll use my weeklies on the weekend if we go out.
PS: What are the healthy staples that are always in your fridge?
LM: Oatmeal [14], bananas, kale for roasting, apples, fat-free [15] yogurt, fat-free cottage cheese, berries, and almond milk [16].
PS: How do you strategise for meals out?
LM: I save my weeklies and I'll look at the menu before I go. I have also learned throughout my journey to splurge when I feel the need, because if I don't, I will overeat other "healthy" things to compensate for my desire for an "unhealthy" food (usually this means pizza for me).
PS: Do you use a fitness tracker?
LM: I use an Apple Watch [17]. I freaking love it because it has shown me how much progress I have made with my running and cardiovascular fitness. My resting heart rate has decreased tremendously [18] during this time.
PS: What has it been like doing this with your brother and friend?
LM: It has made it work better. There is something to be said for the competition [19] that someone doing it with you brings to the journey. If I wanted to not work out and I saw Megan and Kevin working out, I was definitely hitting the gym even when I didn't want to. If I wanted to pig out and eat all the fried food and I saw my family making healthy choices, I was more likely to make healthy choices.
"I kept thinking someday I'll be that girl who has the confidence to run in a sports bra . . . Now I run proudly in a sports bra and feel super confident doing it."
PS: What was the biggest thing you learned on this journey?
LM: Is it cheesy for me to say that the real thing I learned is that I am stronger than I give myself credit for? I never would have thought that I would actually succeed as much as I have losing the weight. When I started this, my goal was to be a normal BMI for my height, which meant losing 64 pounds. This was freaking daunting for me and I never thought I would achieve this [20]. But I put my mind to it and had the best support system ever, and I did it.
PS: What role did Weight Watchers play in your journey? Would you recommend it?
LM: Weight Watchers has been the only tool that I used to lose the weight. I have and will continue to recommend it to others.
PS: What advice do you have for anyone starting out on a weight-loss journey?
LM: I've tried (and failed at) dieting many times, losing the same 20 or 30 pounds and then going back to the same way I was before. When you put your mind to it and really commit [21] to it, then you can succeed. Make sure others around you know what you are doing and then they will hold you accountable too.