My name is Victoria Brady (@vickinosecrets), and I am 33. I’m located in Atlanta, Georgia, where I work as a marketing consultant and web designer, as well as an ACE-certified personal trainer. I have PCOS, so I started eating a low-carb, high-protein diet and walking and doing YouTube workouts to lose weight and manage PCOS symptoms.
I struggled with my weight my entire life. (I was actually born 10 pounds, 11 ounces, so I like to say I got a head start!). Coming from a family that loves to cook and eat, I wasn’t taught the importance of eating healthy, practicing portion control, or being active. As a result, by the time I graduated high school, I weighed 250 pounds.
I was diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and had issues with insulin resistance while I was in college. Since there is no cure for the hormone disorder, doctors always stated that I needed to lose weight (along with maintaining a healthy diet) in order to manage the symptoms of the condition. I would try all kinds of crash diets over the years, but nothing ever stuck until after I had my sons.
I decided, at the start of 2017, I would lose the excess weight. However, I kept falling off the wagon.
My habits wouldn’t stick due to lack of time working a full-time job and being a mom to two boys under the age of 2. And for the first six months of the year, I treated every week as a new week to start over. At 29, my weight had hit 275 pounds.
It was not until June of that year that it hit me that I really needed to make a permanent change. I knew I had to change if I wanted my boys to pick up healthier habits. I did not want them to endure the issues I did growing up medically overweight.
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Through trial and error, I eventually found a regimen that worked for me.
Since I have insulin resistance, I decided to follow a low-carb, high-protein diet. I cut out white carbs (sugar, bread, pasta, rice), fried foods, alcohol, beef, and pork from my diet. I also started to consume a gallon of water every day.
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Here’s what I eat in a day now.
- Breakfast: Egg white scramble with chicken or turkey sausage, spinach, onions, and a piece of grapefruit on the side
- Lunch: Turkey burger on a multi-grain or whole-wheat bun and steamed broccoli
- Snacks: Apple and peanut butter and a handful of almonds
- Dinner: Grilled salmon with steamed cabbage and carrots
- Dessert: A few dark chocolate strawberries
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I started walking a mile a day the first month of my journey. I averaged five to six miles a week.
As I became more comfortable with physical activity, I started going to the gym and following workout videos on YouTube. I began attending group fitness classes and even worked with a trainer for a month to learn about strength training and building muscle while I lost the weight. (It was important to me that I did not have a lot of loose skin after the weight loss).
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As I continued on my journey, I fell in love with fitness and knew I wanted to help others achieve their weight-loss and fitness goals. In 2019 I became a certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise (ACE). Currently, I provide online personal training and coaching, as well as host live workout sessions, and I exercise five to six days a week.
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These three changes made the biggest difference in my weight-loss results.
- I found healthy alternatives to my favorite junk foods. Instead of forgoing my favorite junk foods like pizza or wings, I would find healthy versions to cook. This allowed me to feel like I was still eating my favorite foods.
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- I focused on short-term goals instead of long-term goals. It was important for me to stay consistent, and I knew if I focused on the end goal of losing 130 pounds, I would give up. So instead, I set a monthly goal of losing 10 pounds, which made the process feel easier, and my end goal more attainable. It also did not bind me to a specific deadline or timeline to lose the weight.
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- I really increased my daily water intake. Before losing weight, I was a lover of all juices and could not go a day without drinking some type of juice or soda. Drinking a gallon of water really helped me to stay away from the juices and minimize how much I ate. (Now I can barely stand the taste of juice!)
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I lost a total of 130 pounds, and it took me a little over a year to lose the weight.
I want other women to know that you should never compare where you are in your journey to where someone else is in theirs. I had to learn that what worked for one person may or may not work for someone else, and that is okay. The most important part of being successful in this journey for me was finding a regimen that was sustainable for my lifestyle.
This journey has given me so much more than a new body—it has given me confidence to go after opportunities I would have once avoided or never thought I could do because of my weight. Nothing is impossible unless I make it impossible. And while there will be days I’m discouraged, I am not defeated until I stop trying.
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