Name: Toni Brown
Occupation: Contract Instructional Designer with Anchor Pointe Learning
Family:
Husband: Steve Brown (married 15 years next September)
Daughter: Cecile Brown (13 years old) 7th grader at Dickerson Middle School
Step kids: Joey Brown (24 years old) lives in DC, Danny Brown (22 years old) Senior at Georgia Southern University, Sydney Brown (20 years old) Junior at School of Visual Arts in NYC.
Lived in East Cobb since: September 2003
Subdivision: Riverside at Mulberry Farms
Age: 53
Height: 5’0”
Former Weight: 148.8 pounds
Current Weight: 118.8 pounds
Weight Lost: 30 pounds
How long did it take you to lose the weight?: 6 months
Why You Lost Weight: At first I wanted to lose weight to get ready for my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah. I wanted to look thinner in photographs. Then I realized that I needed to lose the weight for me and my health. I want to be around to see my step kids and daughter grow up, get married, and have kids of their own.
Can you share your biggest challenge?: My biggest challenge with weight loss was that I was diagnosed with a hypothyroid which means my metabolism is basically on the floor. I literally have to work harder to lose weight. It also didn’t help that I am also going through menopause. However, I was able to get past those two hurdles and lose the weight is a short period of time.
How Did You Lose It?: I did a combination of working out at Women’s Premier Fitness and Weight Watchers. I really enjoy taking a spin class called RPM three times a week at WPF. I also work out with a personal trainer, Emily Day, once a week. I joined Weight Watchers in March 2017. What I love about this program is that I am able to live on the foods I eat and not feel deprived while still losing weight. I learned to be more mindful of portions and what I ate; often asking myself is this worth the points?
Favorite Healthy Foods: My favorite go to sandwich is peanut butter toast with bananas. I love Sara Lee Delight Whole Grain bread- (2SPS), 1 tbsp Jif Naturals (3SPs) and sliced bananas (0SPs). I have also embraced eating more fish. I recently made an Sweet Spicy Salmon with Asian Broccoli slaw (2SPs).
What Keeps You Motivated: Being able to wear anything in my closet. At my heaviest, I was only able to wear two outfits out of my closet and now I can wear everything in there. My favorite thing to do while I was losing the weight was to “shop my closet.” Basically, I would try on my smaller clothes which at first didn’t fit, then fit snug, and then fit perfectly.
How Has Your Life Changed?: I have become more confident in my new body. This month (March) I will have kept off the weight for 6 months.
Lesson Learned: The biggest lesson I learned is that “you can’t outrun a bad diet.” Truly a combination of mindful eating along with cardio and strength training workout is the best way to lose weight. I also learned that you don’t need to deprive yourself in order to lose the weight. I still eat pizza, desserts, and drink wine yet can still lose and now maintain my weight.
This article originally appeared in the March issue of the EAST COBBER magazine, on pages 47. Click here to view the digital edition.
