I Lost 120 Pounds and These 5 Major Habits Help Me Stay in the Best Shape of My Life

Meredith Hutson is a TikTok influencer with over 674,000 followers who goes by the handle @_getfitwithmer. She has built a following for her incredible weight loss journey story, going from 256 pounds to 136 pounds in two years. She shares all the diet, fitness, and mental health tips that have been instrumental along the way. Here is what motivated Meredith to change her life once and for all, and a few of the things she did to lose 120 pounds naturally.

1. Meredith Hutson Was Motivated to Lose Weight After She Got Engaged

Meredith’s weight loss journey started shortly after getting engaged in August 2019. According to the influencer she went shopping for a wedding gown but couldn’t find one that fit her. So, she decided to lose weight.

Related: 12 Ways to Turn Your Dadbod Into a Fit Bod

2. She Lost 120 Pounds in Two Years

Prior to her wedding in November 2020 she lost a whopping 50 pounds – in just 15 months. After her wedding she lost another 70 pounds. She maintains she did this with a few simple changes: She started tracking her macros and calories and also weight and strength training.

3. She Wants People to Know That She Understands the Struggle

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“Before you give up or just accept the fact you will struggle with your weight forever..I need you to first know I felt that exact same way. I never thought I’d have the discipline, the knowledge or the confidence to stay true to my goals. I never could stay with it in the past and nothing ever seemed to work so why did I think this time would be different?” she writes in one of her viral posts.

Related: I'm a Weight Loss Coach and Here Are 4 Ways You Can Lose 10 Pounds in 30 Days

4. Change “Isn’t Fun” But “You Can Accomplish Anything,” She Says

“I spent years of my life in that mindset and instead of making a change I continued to stay in the same place, doing the same things that only made things harder on me. 🥺 Change isn’t fun and just like anything in life it’s an adjustment but I can promise you this you CAN accomplish anything you set your heart & mind on,” she says.

5. People Always Ask About Her Diet

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One of the things she had to change is her diet. “Meredith, what did you eat to lose 120 pounds? What was it that you were eating?” her followers always ask.

6. She Eats Ground Beef, Black Beans, and Cheese Daily

“Listen, would you eat what I would eat?” she responded. “Because right now I'm eating ground beef.” She revealed that she consumes a high protein meal every single day, consisting of eight ounces of ground beef, one-half can of black beans, and some shredded cheese.

7. She Says Consistency Is Key

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She wasn’t quite as confident that her followers would be fans. “Would you eat that?” she asked. “Like I'm actually really curious. “Not only am I eating this, but I've eaten this every single day for like a good solid two weeks. I like it, but it isn't extravagant by any means.”

8. How Protein and Meal Planning Help You Lose Weight

According to clinical trials, consuming more protein than the recommended dietary allowance not only reduces body weight (BW), but also enhances body composition by decreasing fat mass while preserving fat-free mass (FFM) in both low-calorie and standard-calorie diets. Meal planning is also a great research-backed weight loss hack. One, one study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found meal planning was associated with a healthier diet and less obesity.

9. These Other Healthy Habits Also Helped Her Lose Weight

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Other healthy habits she has incorporated? She went from “eating fast food” to cooking at home, from “sleeping in late” to waking up early, and from watching tv to moving her body, she revealed in another video. She also reads more, goes on adventures on the weekends instead of drinking, and practices positive affirmation.

Related: I’m a Celebrity Trainer and These 8 At-Home Exercises That Will Get You Fit Without a Gym

10. An RDN Weighs In

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We asked The Diet Diva, Tara Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD/N, ACSM-CPT, a Board Certified Sports Dietitian, to weigh in on her tactics. “I love that she didn’t let the ‘I couldn’t stick with it in the past and nothing works’ mantra get her down and she tried again and was successful this time,” she says. “It sounds like she really took control of her not so healthy habits and decided to make a huge change in many areas of her life.” She also agrees that finding healthy meals you like and sticking to them as long as you want is a great idea, and is totally supportive of black beans, cheese, and ground beef. “Black beans are one of the healthiest foods around: Fiber, protein, high antioxidants, high in B Vitamins,” she says. “Cheese of course has calcium and protein. Ground beef is really nutrient dense and hopefully she was choosing the lean beef and draining any extra fat.”

💪🔥Body Booster: Finding protein-rich meals you love will help you lose weight while feeling satisfied, according to research.

Weight loss can be a tricky equation. However, there are many people online sharing their success stories who have shared the healthy habits responsible for dropping weight. Online fitness coach Alexandra, who goes by the handle @alexx.fitt, revealed in a viral video that after struggling to lose weight for years she lost a whopping 40 pounds in five months.

1. She Started to Make Healthier Choices Every Single Day

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“Here's how long it's going to take you to lose weight. I lost 40 pounds and here's what I did and how long it took me,” she says in the video, revealing that her weight loss journey first started in 2020. “I think around that time for a whole year I did every single diet, every single workout, every single meal plan, and nothing worked. Nothing would actually help me lose weight.” However, in January 2021, she learned the secret to losing weight fast. “Instead of following a freaking diet, I basically started to make healthier choices every single day,” she said in the video. It “all started with walking and a schedule,” she continued. “I made a plan of what time I'm going to eat and what I will be eating. I stuck to that schedule,” she added.

Related: 10 Foods That Grow Muscle Fast

2. She Saw Results Within the First Month

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There is scientific evidence supporting the benefits of meal planning. Studies the more meals you eat prepared away from home, the higher your risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and early death. And, one study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found meal planning was associated with a healthier diet and less obesity. Then, from January 2021 on “I literally walked every single day for six months straight,” she said. “There were like two days that I missed. Maybe it took me about five, six months to lose 35, 40ish pounds, but I saw results within the first month.”

3. She Lost 50 Pounds in 6 Months

In a recent Instagram video, she got specific about her steps (and also revealed that she lost 50 pounds in six months). “Hear me out walking seriously changes your life, I was able to lose 50lbs in less than 6 months by walking 10k steps a day!” she captioned the post. A 2018 study published in the journal Obesity found a link between walking 10,000 steps a day and weight loss and weight management. Other studies published by the Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) in JAMA Neurology and in JAMA Internal Medicine also linked walking 10,000 steps a day to less dementia and less cardiovascular disease overall, with less heart disease, less heart failure and fewer strokes.

Related: 15-Minute Fat-Burning Workout to Tone Your Entire Body You Can Do Anywhere

4. Exercise Shouldn't Feel Like Punishment

Something else that was helpful for Alex was shifting her mindset. She explains that prior to losing weight, she viewed running as “a form of punishment,” but now she feels like exercise is something she is “so grateful for,” she wrote in another TikTok. “I'm grateful I get to go on a run and move my body, and I do that kind of stuff because it genuinely makes me feel good. I don't do it as a form of punishment. I'm like, I'm going to feel so good after I run. It's going to clear my mind,” she added.

Related: I Lost 160 Pounds and Here's 4 Ways I Took the Weight Off

5. Exercise Make Her Feel Good

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“I wake up anxious sometimes. So going on a run or even doing a morning workout, I'm like, oh my goodness, this helps me so much. So that's the kind of mindset shift you got to have when you're trying to lose weight. It's a lifestyle. You're doing this stuff because it feels good for you, not because you have to.” Alex is spot on about using exercise to quell anxiety. The American Psychological Association dubs it a “healthy stress reliever,” and several studies back up the claim.

💪🔥Body Booster: Walking 10,000 steps a day is not only an effective workout for weight loss, it can improve your cardiovascular health and ward off cancer, according to research.

At the age of 19, Jarred Curcio, Owner at TRUE Fitness & Focus, stood at 5 '8' and weighed nearly 300 lbs. “I was extremely overweight,” he tells The Body Network. However, by his 21st birthday, he was a natural bodybuilding champion competing at 175lbs. Fifteen years later, he has “stayed consistent at 200lbs - mostly muscle mass. I have a 6-pack, I squat 550 lbs, and can deadlift 600 lbs.” Here is exactly how he transformed his life and got started on his health journey, which resulted in a 125-pound weight loss – and how he has maintained it throughout the years.

Weight Loss Transformed His Life

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Jarred explains that physical fitness has been a huge part of his life since his weight loss journey. “I can honestly say I never missed a workout in that time,” he tells us. He uses the principles he learned in the gym – discipline, consistency, resilience, doing the hard things, “even when you don’t want to – and applies them to other areas of his life, including his career and relationships. “This has allowed me to be successful in every area of my life,” he says. “I graduated college summa cum laude and completed Penn State Law School toward the top of my class. I have had a very fruitful and rewarding career in sales leadership since 2013. And I am married to my high school sweetheart of 19 years – who also had a weight loss journey of her own at the same time. Our relationship could not be stronger!”

Related: Fitness Expert's $5 a Day Meal Plan for Fat Loss

He Believes Mental and Physical Health Go Hand-in-Hand

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Jarred believes that mental and physical health go hand-in-hand. “I am a believer that there is an opportunity to get the average person to a state of mental fitness or mental performance,” he says. “This would mean not simply eliminating anxiety or depression, but building skills and abilities to help committed individuals thrive on a day-to-day basis.” His own weight loss journey was the primer for this belief and lifestyle shift.

Now, He Wants to Help Others

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This is why he is embarking on a career to help others. “I have developed my philosophy and programming continuously over the past 15 years. Now, I feel I have enough of a grasp to provide immense value to others and help them accomplish the same successes that I have,” he says. “I am a believer that learning discipline offers the greatest freedom possible as it instills a sense of agency in a person. I have developed a system for building habits and cultivating discipline that includes physical workouts, but goes far beyond that. My system includes mindfulness practices like meditation and stoic habits like demonstrating gratitude.”

His Top 5 Exercises

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Jarred’s top 5 exercises are deadlift, squat, kettlebell swings, pullups, and military press. “These exercises are big compound movements that require the use of major muscle groups. These are basic yet critical movements that help build significant muscle and strength, if performed properly,” he says. “The more body parts you move, the more calories you burn. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. The more weight you move, the more calories you burn. So these exercises will not only make you more muscular and stronger, but they will also burn fat and improve athletic capacity across a range of activities or sports.”

Related: I Lost 60 Pounds With Help From Yoga and These Other Workouts

Here Is His Daily Diet

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“I eat an animal based diet, which means I prioritize animal proteins (beef, chicken, eggs, etc.) as a primary factor in my meals,” Jarred explains. The next highest priority in his diet is eating natural healthy fats, “most of which also come from animals, including butter, milk, and Greek or Icelandic yogurt,” he says. “I feel carbs are important but can be easily overeaten. When it comes to carbs, I mostly stick to fruit (almost any fruit will do), white rice, and potatoes.” He also eats vegetables, “but quite sparingly,” he says. “I keep my vegetable consumption to about twice per week,” he also avoids most processed foods, seed oils, and refined sugars. “Whole, organic foods are always going to be the best options.” He warns that “sugar is snuck into so much of the food we eat that we have to be on the lookout.”

His #1 Tip

Jarred Curcio

“My #1 tip is to find a realistic process (diet and exercise) that works for you, but should also challenge you. No change comes without discomfort,” says Jarred. “Once you find the plan, STICK TO IT NO MATTER WHAT! No excuse should be enough to break from the plan. If you do that, the results are guaranteed. “Once you get the results, you'll never want to go back.”

One Fitness Myth, Busted

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The biggest fitness myth, according to Jarred? “You cannot spot reduce,’' he says. “For example, some people think if you do a bunch of sit ups, you will get 6-pack abs. But abs are revealed when you lose fat. Losing fat comes from a calorie deficit, and diet is CRITICAL to that. So sit ups can burn calories, and can strengthen ab muscles, but will not get you a 6-pack on their own.”

He Takes Supplements

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Here is Jarred’s list of supplements:

Multivitamin - The classic all-in-one supplement

Omega-3 - Critical for heart health

Desiccated Beef Liver - Alpha shit

ZMA - Zinc and Magnesium before bed for great sleep and recovery

Glutamine - Amino Acid found in red meat. Outstanding for post workout recovery.

Creatine - Super amino acid that helps grow muscle and helps with brain health

BCAAs - Branched chain amino acids are critical to recovery.

Alpha-Jym - Great testosterone booster w/ ashwagandha & fenugreek

Tribulus - Testosterone booster

DHEA - Testosterone booster

Longjack (Tongat Ali) - Testosterone booster and sexual health

Turmeric - Anti-inflammatory

Vitamin B - Metabolism & Energy

Vitamin D - All around immunity and bone health

Spirulina - Blue green algae with tons of micronutrients and health benefits

CLA - Helps with metabolism and body composition (non-stimulant fat burning)

Zinc - Immune support

Glucosamine - Joint health

Potassium - Water regulation

Taurine - Nervous system function

Biotin - Hair, nails, skin

DIM - Balances estrogen naturally

Here Is How He Measures Progress

Jarred Curcio

Jarred measures his progress by how he feels in the day, his “energy levels, mental clarity, how my body moves at the gym, how I look in the mirror, and how I fit in my clothes,” he says. When he feels bad about his body he takes action and checks his diet to see if he has been taking in more calories lately than typical and adjusts accordingly.

Related: She Dropped 60 Pounds in 3 Months, Here’s How

His Final Piece of Advice? Know Your Why

Jarred Curcio

His final piece of advice? “Know your ‘WHY,’” he says. “If you know WHY you are starting, it's the key to staying consistent and disciplined.” If you need motivation, remind yourself of your goals, and “visualize and manifest” them. “The way you do one thing is the way you do everything. If your body isn't physically healthy, you can't expect your mind to be healthy. If your mind isn't healthy, you make worse decisions. Worst decisions lead to a worse quality of life. A healthy body is the foundation for a happy life.”

💪🔥Body Booster: Ask yourself: Why do you want to get into shape? By understanding the Why, you are more likely to stay motivated on your health journey.