June 10, 2021
This lady’s amazing transformation will inspire you to start hitting the gym yourself. She lost over half her body weight – over 150 pounds! Here is Michaela Miller’s incredible weight loss story.
“I started at 300 pounds. I lost 150 pounds. I’ve maintained now for 3 years and it’s an amazing and freeing feeling,” Michaela said.
The amazing transformation began with learning self-discipline
For Michaela, this didn’t come without a lot of sacrifice and discipline. She had been working to lose weight for years, but hadn’t found the right combination of diet and exercise until recently.
“I’ve struggled with weight my whole life. You know, even as a small child, I remember always being bigger than my friends,” Michaela said. “I remember always being pushed to lose weight by friends, family, everyone in my life.”
Those comments eventually got to her, and she tried to lose weight multiple times. However, it seemed that the more she attempted to shed the extra weight, the more she gained. She learned that the desire to lose weight had to come from within, not from others.
Before beginning her exercise routine, however, she decided to go through with weight loss surgery to kickstart her amazing transformation. The surgeon removed a large portion of her stomach, which would limit the amount of food she could eat. The smaller stomach resembles the size of a banana, allowing you to feel full after eating less. Michaela says that her surgery motivated her to keep up her weight loss efforts.
“I went through with the (vertical sleeve) surgery and it was the best decision I ever made. There’s a lot of misconception surrounding weight loss surgery, that it’s the easy way out, it’s cheating…That is not what it is. It provides you a tool that you can use for the rest of your life if you choose to, if you use it properly.”
Post-surgery, the hard work begins
After her surgery and recovery, she decided to get serious about her weight loss journey. She wanted to feel good in her skin and increase her fitness levels. Michaela wanted to enjoy the exercise, though, so she worked on finding a routine she could stick to long-term.
“I got into weightlifting and obstacle course racing and fell in love with that,” she said. “That has kept me motivated along the way. Weightlifting has provided a lot of motivation because now that I’ve lost the weight, that goal is gone. I lost 150 pounds, then you get into maintenance and you need other goals to keep you going.”
So, she says that weightlifting gives her a new challenge, and she sets the bar higher each week. Michaela wants to keep increasing her strength and continue to push the limits with how much weight she can pick up.
For anyone out there who wants to have their own amazing transformation, Michaela offers some advice. “Find what you need that will work for you and just start chasing those dreams. Don’t put it off one day longer. The only thing I regret in this whole journey is that I didn’t do it sooner.”
“So, to anyone out there, I know how lost you feel. I know how scary it can feel – the hopelessness, the sadness, the weight, you feel trapped…I’m here to tell you it is possible. You can achieve your dreams. You can have the life that you want, but you have to start.”
After losing so much weight and going through such an amazing transformation, many new opportunities have become available to Michaela. This post from her Instagram will show you what’s possible when you strive to become your best self.
A message of gratitude is essential to this amazing transformation
“So grateful for this second chance at life I was given 4 years ago.
Getting active and hiking beautiful mountains is my favorite way to practice gratitude for this life. For this body.
This body that I took for granted for so long.
It is a crime to waste such a capable and strong body. And I felt that everyday. I felt my life wasting away until I had enough. And now there’s no going back. Not now that I’ve seen how sweet life can be when you’re able to view the world from the tops of mountains. Theres no going back after that. There’s no going back to only seeing the world on your couch through the television.
This life is a privilege. Having a body that functions properly is a privilege. Legs that hold you up and arms that support you are privileges! Your capable body is a privilege! Stop wasting it!
You don’t want to workout?
You don’t have the motivation?
I don’t either sometimes!
But I do it because I can! And that is a gift! Don’t squander that gift!
Don’t squander this life! It’s all we have.
All that life has to offer is in your grasp. But you have to want it. You have to work for it. And you have to start by being grateful for the body and the life you have.
Before pic: 300lbs barely made it through a 3 mile hike with 900 ft of gain.
After pic: 150lbs hiked 17+ miles with over 3400ft of gain.”
We hope that Michaela’s amazing transformation will help you see what’s possible when you take a chance on you. As long as you believe in yourself and stay dedicated to your goals, you can achieve anything!
If you’ve had a weight loss transformation and would like to share, we’d love to hear from you!
