I’m a Mother and These Simple Habits Helped Me Lose 130 Pounds

Do you want to lose weight and change your life for the better? Minnesota mom Sabrina Osland struggled with her health most of her life. However, going on a family vacation sparked a change, motivating her to adopt a healthy lifestyle by habit stacking, changing her approach to eating, and incorporating exercise into her life. Here is her story.

She Topped the Scales at 266 Pounds

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“I'm Sabrina Osland and I struggled with weight all of my life. In 2014, I got married and focused on my relationship, my job, and my teenage son. Everyone else came first and I put myself on the back railroad and my heaviest, I weighed 266 pounds,” she tells Today in a segment.

Something Happened on Vacation That Sparked Change

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However, she hit “a breaking point when I was made to register as extra weight during a helicopter ride in Alaska with my son,” she says. “I was filled with sham, and for me, it was the last straw. So after my trip, I decided it was time for a change.”

She Started Walking

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She then discussed a few simple changes she made to jump-start her weight loss. “First, I started by carving out 30 minutes of my day to take a walk,” she says.

And, She Switched Up Her Diet

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“Then I switched up my diet,” she says. She replaced her usual pizza dinner with “healthier options” like chicken and a salad, she says.

She Also Joined a Strength Training Group

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She also added other exercises to her routine. “Eventually, I joined a strength training group, and their support has truly made a huge impact on my weight loss journey,” she says.

She Lost Over 100 Pounds in a Little Over a Year

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“In a little more than a year, I've lost more than 100 pounds, and I'm not looking back,” she explains. “It still hasn't resonated quite yet that I'm not that person,” she says about her 130-pound weight loss. “I still will do double takes whenever I'm looking or walking by a mirror. Like, wait, who, who is this person?”

She Focused on Three Pillars

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She explains that she focused on three different pillars. “How I moved my body, water, and what I was putting into my body,” she says.

She Started Eating Off a Salad Plate

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“One of the first simple things that I did was just to start eating off of like a salad plate,” she reveals. “So oftentimes you're trying to control your portion sizes, but then you have this ginormous plate and you feel like you're not satisfied,” she says. “Just starting eating off of a smaller plate naturally helped control my portion size, but then also made me feel full at the same time.”

She Practiced Habit Stacking

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She also practiced habit stacking. “I would focus on one thing that I wanted to do, a behavior I wanted to change, and then focus on that for a week. And then I would continue to build off of that.” For example she would focus on moving her body 30 minutes every day. “Then once I was able to do that for 30 minutes every day, I would add on another new habit, 15 minutes and add on until it becomes a habit.”

She Slowed Down Her Eating

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She also stopped eating super fast. She did this by putting my fork down in between bites. “Like, my food isn't going anywhere, so why am I in a hurry to eat it? So just taking that simple step and putting it down, um, really just helped the whole transformation,” she explained.

She Got Motivation From Her Strength Training Group

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And, she joined a group strength training program. “They've been super incredible in my transformation, not only from an accountability standpoint, but just from a motivation standpoint as well too. We're all in the gym and when you have everyone working together for a common goal, just that environment and that energy that it creates, there's a little competitiveness,” she says, adding that it not only helps motivate but inspires.

Her Son Is Also a “Huge Motivation”

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Her 19-year-old son is “a huge motivation” to her as well. “As I was starting to change my behaviors, I realized that as I was looking back at him, he had incorporated a lot of the bad habits that I had done, whether it was eating straight from the bag,” she says. “And so it was super important for me to be able to set him up for success. And so I wanted to go back and change my habits so that I can help him as well and just have him be successful in the future.”

Finally, She Makes Health and Wellness Fun

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She also recommends making health and wellness fun. “If you're not doing something that's fun, you're not gonna stick with it,” she says. She recommends “different activities, whether it's walking 10,000 steps a day or getting in and doing a group fitness class.” Just “different things to really keep yourself motivated and have fun while you're doing it. And enjoy the time with your family as well,” she says.

Aim for 10,000 Steps a Day

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How much should you walk to lose weight? A 2018 study published in the journal Obesity found a link between 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.

Strength Training Has Lots of Scientific Backing

There is a lot of science backing up strength training for weight loss. According to the Mayo Clinic, strength and weight training help reduce body fat, preserve and increase lean muscle mass, and burn calories more efficiently. Strength training may also help you:

• Develop strong bones
• Manage your weight
• Enhance your quality of life
• Manage chronic conditions
• Sharpen your thinking skills.

And if you enjoyed this article, take advantage of these 15 Quick Ways to Lose Body Fat Percentage in a Week.

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.