A mother has shared her inspiring story of maintaining a remarkable 200-pound weight loss by implementing some straightforward lifestyle changes.
At her heaviest, Megan Christenson weighed approximately 350 pounds. She had struggled with her weight throughout her life, but noticed it became more unmanageable after having her children.
In 2021, the then-37-year-old from Windsor, Connecticut, shared her weight loss journey and how she initiated her transformation with TODAY.
Discussing how her weight affected her daily life, she stated: “Being a parent at 350 pounds, there’s so much that you can’t do, like climbing stairs or going for a walk or a trip to the amusement park.”
Her decision to pursue a healthier lifestyle was driven by the desire to be present for her children.
Regarding her dietary changes, she mentioned: “For the first six months, I focused 100% on nutrition, looking at the calories I was eating.
“The calories I was eating — it was a lot of processed foods. It was a lot of carbohydrates.”
She credited her initial weight loss of 100 pounds to changing her diet before turning her attention to exercise.
“After 6 months I had lost more than 100 pounds, I realized I needed to do something different to maintain that weight loss.
“All the research that I had done had suggested that people who successfully maintain their weight loss focus on strength training.
“So that was my next phase, I hired a coach and focused on strength training goals.”
She then enlisted the help of a fitness coach, who helped her set small, achievable goals that gradually improved her cardiovascular health and built her strength.
Eventually, she took up running and increased her endurance, allowing her to tackle longer distances.
She shared: “Running the 5K, the 10K, then running the half marathon and continuing to build on that strength.”
Over the course of 15 months, she shed a total of 200 pounds, reducing her weight from 351 pounds to 146. While the weight loss empowered her physically, the true rewards came from the activities she could now enjoy with her family.
She concluded: “Things like going on a vacation with my kids and going zip lining for the first time because I was finally under the weight limit or going roller skating with my son, focusing on those things and those milestones really helped keep the momentum going.”