As a contestant in The Club’s Second Chance Challenge last year, Mary Craven lost a hefty 33.2kg. Eight months later, she has continued to cut the kilos whilst her fitness and self confidence has grown. We’re also delighted to report that she has dropped a further 17kg since our last catch-up and she feels happier and more confident than ever.
At the beginning
Despite the fact that she had missed out on a place on series two of The Biggest Loser Couples, Mary was a little apprehensive once she had accepted a place on the Second Chance Challenge. The scale of the personal battle that lay ahead was enormous. After all, she was in her late 50s, she had been overweight all her life and the self-confessed compulsive eater knew that the only way that she could effectively lose weight and keep it off was to get her head in the right place first. Part of her also feared that she had left it too late to make changes for the better.
Mary’s first steps were to try to curb her constant grazing habits. She began each day with a Biggest Loser Club Meal Replacement Shake and she found these to be an effective way to control her calorie intake and a great way to kick-start her program. She quickly became a fan of The Club’s online diary and used it to keep a close eye on calories in and calories burned, and the delicate balance that would lead to either success or failure. Mary began to eat three main meals per day and healthier snacks; favourite foods became things like fat-free yoghurt and berries, salad and fish, and stir-frys with fish/chicken and rice.
Click to enlarge photos
Mary before
Mary boxing
Post workout
Mary after
Full of confidence
Working out with a PT
Mary’s weight-loss journey accelerated after her first session with a personal trainer (PT) during a trip to Canberra. She always doubted whether a PT could make any real difference to her weight loss and fitness, but she became convinced after just a few sessions. Mary is now a regular at her local gym and she works out twice a week with her PT. She also loves to swim laps in an outdoor pool and enjoys a short bask in the sun afterwards.
Mary is happy to say that she has now lost a total of 50kg, and would like to lose a further 15-20kg. Her two daughters are delighted and relieved that their mum chose better health for herself, plus their relationship is benefitting. Mary explains, “Our relationship has improved simply because we spend more time together. Losing weight has brought about a real freedom for me in so many ways and for them, too. They invite me out a lot more and I don’t make excuses to avoid everyday activities. I can go to the garden centre without worrying about whether I can walk or if I can fit in the car seat.”
As a Health Service Manager, Marys says, “Although people didn’t mock me to my face, my job is all about good health and I wasn’t exactly a picture of good health when I was carrying all that extra weight around. People do comment about my weight now, but only to compliment me and that feels great!”
Mary also says that losing weight has boosted her concentration and her application to work. “I feel freer because I don’t have that nagging feeling at the back of my mind that I should be doing something positive about my health,” says Mary.
Mary has tackled more than 50 years of unhealthy habits and has this advice, “Be aware that losing weight is hard and it is not going to be perfect from the word go. You’ll undergo huge changes so don’t be too hard on yourself when you have a hiccup.
“Just be patient because results take time to show, but every little step counts and you will start to feel so much happier about yourself. Don’t rely on compliments from others; let yourself feel great about what you are doing for you. It took a long time to put on the weight so expect it to take time to lose it.”
“This year, I feel so much more confident about life in general that I am going to do something that I have wanted to do for many years. I’m off to a country music festival – yee ha! I am really looking forward to it because I am not afraid to get out there and live life. I just hope the music is good!”