Weight Loss Success: Caroline Jhingory Challenged Herself With Exercise And Lost 150 Pounds

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Name: Caroline Jhingory
Age: 31
Height: 5'2"
Before Weight: 300 pounds

How I Gained It: As a child and even now, people often ask, "How did your parents allow you to get that big?" But it wasn't my parents' fault -- they tried everything from putting me in dance and exercise classes, to stocking our cabinets with "healthy foods," to enrolling me in a pediatric medical weight loss program at the Children's National Medical Center. I resisted. In the middle of the night, I would get up while everyone was sleeping and binge on all the leftover food my mom made for dinner. I was also a bit of a food hustler at my Catholic grade school -- I would trade stickers and glow-in-the-dark pencils for my classmates' junk food. When I came home from school, I would pretend that I had forgotten my keys and was locked out because my elderly neighbors would feed me sandwiches and cake. Yes, I was just a kid and didn't have money or a job, but I made every effort I could to get the food I wanted.

I also had poor coping skills. Growing up, I had to deal with the tragic death of my two teenage cousins and the absence of my father after my parents' divorce, and my therapy of choice involved plenty of Hot Pockets and Hostess cupcakes. I was angry at both the world and God for these things, but I was the victim of my own punishment.

Breaking Point: There was no major incident that caused me to have an "Aha!" moment, but I remember one day when I was visiting home from college, and I just suddenly said to myself, "I've had enough!" I was sick of wearing girdles to fit into certain outfits and sick of being the girl that guys never acknowledged. I had not worn a bathing suit since I was nine years old, I was never able to ride a roller coaster because the safety bar did not fit over my stomach and I did not have my first boyfriend until graduate school. Being obese had caused me to miss out on enjoying simple things in life.

How I Lost It: At first I started doing moderate walking outside in areas that had lots of hills. Over time, my body started to crave more of a challenge, so I joined a gym and worked with a personal trainer for two months to provide guidance on how to use various machines around the gym. I began using machines like the elliptical trainer for 45 to 60 minutes, six days a week, while weight training every other day. These days, I do high-intensity, arm-swinging, high-incline, high-speed walking on the treadmill for an hour every day. But Rome was not built in a day; it took me years to get to this level of exercise intensity!

In addition to exercise, I began scouring the Internet for low-carb alternative recipes for many of the foods I love. Losing much of my weight and keeping it off has been the result of limiting my intake of white foods; I avoid or limit flour, sugar, dairy, bread, rice, pasta and potatoes.

I do my best to cook and eat my own food. Not eating out as much and acting as my own personal chef is the only way I can really know exactly what I'm eating. Often times, restaurant appetizers and entrees are loaded with high calorie sauces, marinades and preservatives that aren't always listed on menus.

It took me a year to lose the weight and another year to learn how to keep it off. And as I've gotten older, I've experienced plateaus and the dreaded metabolism slowdown. I deal with that by switching up my fitness routine and changing my eating habits. It works for me!

After Weight: 150 pounds

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Comments

[prfktstrngr527]

04:40 PM on 07/20/2012

Great job, Caroline.

[LeftRightCenter]

10:05 AM on 05/12/2012

caroline girl you are an inspiration! you look amazing!

[Lauren J]

02:26 PM on 05/08/2012

Great post and congrats to caroline. If I had known you when you began your journey to lose weight I would have recommended the diet solution program for you. It has helped me lose weight. Almost 40 pound in 2 months to be exact and I feel great. Any one looking to lose some weight and learn to eat right should check it out. well worth the price of admission.

http://greatestviews.com/the-diet-solution-program-does-it-really-work/

[emncaity]

02:10 PM on 05/08/2012

Tom, Anthony, Giuseppe too, et al. Amazing.

[emncaity]

02:08 PM on 05/08/2012

God-dang, Stevie (#34). And the rest.

I mean, all that stuff about being happy and naturally fat and "curvy" (bleah) and all that...make all the excuses you want, but weight matters. Boy, does it. And not just to appearance, but to health and longer life.

[reddirtg]

11:22 AM on 05/08/2012

Instead of suing Southwest Airlines, Kenlie Tiggeman should *read* AND *emulate* the awesome people & their stories on this webpage!

Kenlie Tiggeman, Southwest's 'Too Fat To Fly' Passenger, Sues Airline (VIDEO) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/04/kenlie-tiggeman-southwests_n_1476907.html

[Rochelle Powell]

02:17 AM on 05/08/2012

Incredible, your an inspiration!

[LadyGiGi 25]

04:20 PM on 05/07/2012

This is going to be me one day! I just know it! :)

[jessiernut]

12:57 PM on 05/08/2012

Start right now. Not tomorrow, not next week. RIGHT NOW! :-)

[crookedfinger]

03:25 PM on 05/07/2012

It makes me sad to see fat people who think they can't live their life and enjoy it while still being fat.

[urkiddinme]

04:45 PM on 05/07/2012

I've been fat. Was over 200 pounds for ten years. There is no comparing the way I enjoy life 70 pounds lighter to the way I felt then. Goodbye to insomnia, back aches, lack of energy, lack of focus, depression and shortness of breath. Hello to boundless energy, all kinds of new adventures and achievements, and a life with a purpose above and beyond FOOD and TV. "It is a shame for a man to grow old without seeing the beauty and strength of which his body is capable." Socrates, 400bc. Our bodies are amazing machines and deserve to be treated as such.

[crookedfinger]

05:08 PM on 05/07/2012

Hmm. Maybe I'm just lucky then, to be 300 lbs and not have such health issues. I used to be down on myself and think life would be so much easier if I lost some weight, but then I decided, no, I'm not going to wait to do anything I want to do just because I'm fat. So I DO do anything I want to. Art, working out, team sports, working, traveling, being happy...The only thing I haven't been able to do is running (which makes one of my knees angry).

I guess my point is to not wait until you've lost weight to live your life. If you have issues caused by weight, that sucks and you should address those, but don't put life and love on hold in the meantime.

[ebby811]

11:27 AM on 05/14/2012

Im morbidly obese for years and never had all those problems you had when fat lol I have zero. My only problem is the desire to fit size 4 clothes thats it. I met thin people with all the problems you had fat!! And much worse. weight is not always the cure all.

[Deadliftmcgee]

05:01 PM on 05/07/2012

Makes me sad to see fat people who seem to think they can't do anything to improve their condition and improve their overall well being and health.

[CarolineJhingory]

10:37 AM on 05/07/2012

@urkiddinme thanks so much!

[urkiddinme]

08:43 AM on 05/07/2012

LOVE your story, Caroline. It shows how important it is to recognize and be accountable for our past behaviors in order to change them...the folks who insist that they don't overeat, etc. and say it's not their fault that they're overweight are in denial. We are the ones holding the fork and everything that we choose to eat is in our control. BIG kudos to you also for breaking out of the box and trying new kinds of fitness challenges and sticking through them to make it happen. Best wishes going forward.