I Lost 75 Pounds By Walking, Swimming, and Mounjaro

Sharon Schwartz, 61, struggled with obesity her entire life, with her weight yo-yoing between 154-175 lbs. After being diagnosed with prediabetes in 2022 and topping the scales at 200 pounds, the nurse anesthetist took charge of her life and changed one thing – everything. With the help of Mounjaro and an overhaul of her diet and exercise routine, she dropped down to 112 pounds. "I was bullied and fat-shamed for many years. I even lost the job of my dreams because I was short and curly-haired and heavy - the man interviewing me told me this,” she tells Body Network. Here is her story and everything she did to lose weight.

Mounjaro Changed Her Life

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After struggling to lose weight on her own for many years, Sharon sought the help of medical professionals and started taking Mounjaro. “This is the kind of care that obese people like me have dreamed of and have fought for. Before, the last time I tried to lose weight, I was running 7 miles/day, and I realize now that I ran to prove to myself I was still worthy.”

Walking

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Walking is Sharon’s go-to form of fitness. “I enjoy sightseeing while exercising. Love getting steps in!” she says. She also enjoys walking in the sand because it “builds muscle” and is a “great excuse to be at the beach!”

RELATED: 20 Things You Need to Know About Ozempic and Weight Loss

Swimming

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Another workout that helped Sharon lose weight was swimming. “Your whole body gets a workout!” she says. She also treads water with ankle fins, providing “great resistance for glutes and thighs.”

Lifting Heavy Ropes

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Sharon also says that “lifting heavy ropes” is an effective workout and has helped her get in shape. “It is great for shoulders,” she says.

Here Is What She Eats in a Day

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Sharon, a pescatarian, aims for 20 grams of carbs per meal. “Breakfast is usually Kodiak Cakes pancake and a hard-boiled egg. I add peanut butter to the pancake,” she says. Lunch is a low-carb wrap with cheese or tuna salad and sliced veggies. “Nuts are often my go-to snack,” she adds. For dinner, she has a low-carb homemade pizza, a piece of fish, baked tofu, Impossible Burger, tofu fried riced cauliflower, or salad. And, for dessert, she eats an Atkins bar. “Double chocolate brownie is my favorite!” she exclaims.

She also drinks a Fairlife low-carb protein shake in between breakfast and lunch. “Meeting my daily protein needs of 60gms/day is difficult otherwise,” she says. Every once in a while, she has a very small piece of homemade sourdough bread. “Baking is my hobby and a great way to meet people and make new friends!” She has eliminated white bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes from her diet. “No empty calories or high-carb desserts. No food without a purpose (mindless snacking),” she adds.

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Weight Loss Buddies

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One of Sharon’s biggest tips is to find a weight-loss buddy. “Do it with a friend,” she says. “Hold each other accountable. Find a friend or colleague and ask them to join you.”

Ask for Outside Help

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Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help. “I used Hello Alpha's program for nutritional and emotional encouragement,” she says. “Get help from a nutritionist and a women's health practice like Hello Alpha for shots. They stop constantly thinking about food. Set short, easily reachable goals.”

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Reward Yourself

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She also recommends rewarding yourself for reaching your goals with clothing instead of food. “To reach a big goal, treat yourself to a spa day, massage, or makeover. Something you wouldn't ordinarily do,” she suggests.

She Hopes Weight Loss Injections Will Become More Common

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Sharon is a big fan of weight loss injections. “Weight loss injections are becoming more accepted for conditions other than obesity. It is my hope that insurance companies will see them more as a gold standard rather than as an outlier and improve coverage of them!” she says.

Related: Andrea Simulus Flaunts Chiseled Abs and Reveals Secret to “Stop Hating Crunches”

Now, She’s Working As a Model

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Sharon feels like the healthiest version of herself. “It’s so common for obese folks to feel that we are not good enough, not pretty enough, not enough. Now, 6 months later, my life has changed. I'm more confident with myself and working as a model!" she tells us.

💪🔥Body Booster: Incorporate walking into your daily routine by exploring new neighborhoods or hitting the beach for an enjoyable yet effective workout that builds muscle. And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss 20 Incredible Ozempic Success Stories of All Time.

You don’t need to spend a lot of money on a fancy gym membership or a personal trainer if you want to get into shape and lose weight. According to one weight loss warrior, all you really need is a pair of good walking shoes. Carlo, a home assistant expert and social media influencer, lost a whopping 50 pounds in 8 months with the help of daily walks. In a viral video he explains exactly how he did it. “I lost around 50 pounds basically walking an hour every day. I decided to make a video showing the progress so I could look back at it and keep myself both motivated and accountable,” he writes in the caption.

He Wants to Help Inspire Others with His Story

Carlo explains that he took a break from social media, “a step back and I started focusing on my health. I was about 250 pounds at the beginning of this year. And I've always enjoyed watching these transformation videos of people who, you know, they've done things, they've done some weight loss. I find it very inspiring. So I've had some success with my journey. So I thought I'd make this video just to add my voice to the mix out there,” he says.

He Tipped the Scales at 250

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He explains that he started his weight loss journey in January, 2020, tipping the scales at 250 pounds. “This was by far the highest I've been. I've always struggled with weight loss. I've definitely lost some weight here and there. It's always been like, sort of attached to something else. So the kids had sports, and maybe during their practices, I would walk and I would begin to lose some weight. I'd find some success, but when the season ended and the practices stopped, I would stop and the weight would come back.

He Set a Goal to Walk 3 Miles Every Day

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“This time around, I decided to do walking again. So I definitely wanted my journey to be something that I could do for the long haul. Something that I could sustain, just keep moving the whole time. So I tried to walk every single day, three miles. It was basically the goal I had,” he says.

He Was Inspired by Someone Who Did a 5K Daily

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He says that he was “inspired” by someone he saw on Twitter “who was doing a 5K every day for a hundred days,” he says. “I said, you know what, I'm gonna try to do this. I'm gonna try to walk, not really run, but just walk 5K every day for a hundred days and see where it gets me.”

It Took Him an Hour to Walk 3 Miles or 7,000 Steps

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He explains that some days he walks at a slower pace, especially when he doesn’t feel like walking. “I don't wanna do this, but I'm gonna get it done. So even if you just walk at a slow pace, it's better than not doing it at all.” He ends up walking three miles in an hour, or 7,000 steps.

It Wasn’t “Too Taxing” On His Body

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“It was something that wasn't too taxing on my body. I did it every single day, getting to about 115 straight days.” He says the weight loss started, and “progressively came down every day.”

He Started Working Out with a Trainer

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He also started working out with a personal trainer and strength coach. “I wanted to walk, but I also wanted to do some strength and try to up my metabolism, up the muscle growth, in addition to cardio, just to lose weight,” he says. He learned how to do body weight exercises, like pushups, sit-ups, “just normal calisthenic things.” However, “the anchor to everything was the walking.”

He Walks No Matter What

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He reiterates that even when he gets home late, he makes sure to walk. “I'm gonna put that time in. I'm gonna trust that process, and I'm gonna just keep working at this.”

He Also Logged His Food

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Walking also helped him with his eating. “If you walk every day, then maybe you snack a little less. I was logging all my food.” He says that the daily habit helped him “stay on that right path.”

He Lost 55 Pounds in 7 Months

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Over 7 months he went from 250 down to 195, losing “a good 55 pounds with maybe one to two days a week of strength training, and then seven days a week of walking, just walking every single day.”

After 8 Months, His Weight Stabilized at 205

Now his weight has stabilized at 205. “It's a good 50 pound loss for me, which is great. My energy is super high. My cardiovascular is a lot better. I can run more. I've started jump roping. That's a new thing that I've added to my workout routine.”

He Hopes His Story Will Help Others

“I just wanted to share this story with others. I'm just a normal dude. I'm 47, so creeping up on 50, just trying to get back in shape, trying to change the chemistry of my body, the composition of my body to lead a healthier lifestyle, which I think is good for everyone.” And if you enjoyed this article, don't miss 12-3-30 Walking Method: 20 Proven Tips to Lose Weight Faster.

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.