Healthy attitude helps Kelly to lose 55lb
Kelly Cabral started piling on the pounds in her late teens.
By the time she was 22, she knew she was overweight, but was too scared to find out just how much.
“I’d been overweight since about the age of 18, when I graduated from high school,” she said. “In high school, you had to do gym and we were active all the time. Because I wasn’t in high school, I stopped working out. I got comfortable.
“One day, I built up the courage to get on the scale and that’s when I saw that I weighed 205lb. It was a mental touch — enough’s enough. I had no kids, I was single. I’d always been a confident girl, so I didn’t know how I got to that point. Literally, the next day I got on a treadmill and worked out.”
She changed her eating habits, kept up with her exercise and joined a weight loss programme at her former job, Digicel.
Within four months she was 55lb lighter.
Her “biggest help” came from certified fitness trainer Betty Doyling, who writes a health column for The Royal Gazette. Ms Doyling worked with the Digicel staff involved in the programme to make sure they stayed on track.
Said Ms Cabral: “I was able to lose the weight through intense training and a change of diet — although I hate to use that word. Mine was a lifestyle change, full of long-term goals. It’s only achieved by thinking of a better, healthier future for yourself and your loved ones.”
She kept the weight off for nearly two years — and then she got pregnant. Her daughter, Joia, is now almost two.
“I always said I wouldn’t get pregnant and lose all I’d worked for,” said Ms Cabral, who is now 26. “Once I had her, I knew I had to work to get the weight off. At six weeks, I would put her in her stroller and walk with her, I made sure I drank water and ate properly and did what I had to do.
“I gained 50lbs back when I got pregnant. It took about eight months to get back down.”
Her weight now sits around 140lbs.
“I’ve motivated a lot of my friends, especially those who have children,” Ms Cabral said. “But it’s all about balance — in your nutrition, your relationships, your finance. You have to find balance within yourself.
“I don’t work out as often as I used to before I had a child. Now [I plan] my workout schedule around her. If she sleeps til 7am, I can get up at 5.30am or I can exercise at lunchtime or in the evenings — I find lunch works for me.”
Kelly Cabral lost her weight through a change in lifestyle. Below are some of her tips to stay in shape:
• Don’t restrict the food you eat.
“I truly believe you can’t restrict yourself from things you really enjoy, especially eating-wise.
“If you can do clean eating from Monday until Friday and then you have a doughnut with coffee on Saturday, you’ll be fine. The thing to remember is not to eat like that every day.”
• Plan your meals.
“Prepping helps. You should prepare your meals the day before — your snacks, your breakfast, your lunch, your dinner. It helps you better than if you go out at the last minute while starving, and purchase something that isn’t as good.”
• Your employer can help.
“If businesses are able to encourage employees to have a challenge every so often, or put out a healthy newsletter, it would keep people on-board with their fitness. Argus has its THRIVE programme. It’s an online tool where you can do challenges and send friends challenges and nutrition facts about foods. It keeps everyone in tune. Some people get to a certain point with their fitness and stop, but this has given me encouragement to keep going.”
• Cook for yourself.
“Growing up in a Portuguese home, it wasn’t easy. I had fresh bread, a cooked meal every night, dessert. [To get fit] I had to cook my own meals. I’d basically look on as my family ate their sumptuous meals and I’d have my own meats and vegetables. Now I can have Sunday lunch at my mom’s house and enjoy everything she makes.”
• Pay for gym classes in advance.
“I signed up for a Zumba challenge with Jennifer Ward at Alchemy Fitness. I found that if you purchase a package of ten classes, because you’ve paid for it, you don’t want to waste, so that should motivate you to keep going.”
