This woman lost 77 pounds just by changing a few habits

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Michaela Martin was on a flight from Auckland, New Zealand, to Queensland, Australia, when a flight attendant loudly informed her that she needed to use a seat belt extender because of her size. She also recommended that Martin book two seats in the future.

Martin was humiliated by what happened on the plane. Growing up, she was bullied about her weight and, at her heaviest, weighed in at 282 pounds. But the experience on the plane, coupled with the birth of her daughter, inspired her to make some changes and finally lose the weight.

Martin recalled the humiliating airplane incident in an Instagram post.

“I thought maybe if I covered my body, people wouldn’t see what was blatantly obvious,” she wrote.

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Once she was ready to make those changes, however, Martin started small. She banned junk food and soda from her diet. For exercise, she began by walking 30 to 40 minutes, four times per week.

“It wasn’t until I had my first child that I realised I needed to love myself on the inside before I can start working on the outside,” Martin told the Daily Mail.

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She began losing weight four years ago and, during that time, she gave birth to two more children. Although the weight fluctuations that came with pregnancy were a challenge, she recommitted herself to getting in shape once and for all after the birth of her youngest child in March 2017.

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With a starting weight of 247 in August 2017, she’s now down to 205 pounds, and hopes to one day reach her goal weight of 176. To that end, she’s increased her exercise and added in weight lifting. She also further refined her diet and now focuses on eating lots of vegetables.

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Martin documents her weight loss journey on Instagram, where this before and after shot from April 4 shows how far she’s come:

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Martin says that a shift in perspective and self-acceptance were essential to her ability to accomplish her goals.

“It’s really empowering to know that I am so confident and content with myself right now that the opinions of others do not affect me,” she told Today. “A positive mindset has kept me going even when I was going through tough times.”

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Congratulations to Martin on her inspiring weight loss, and best of luck on her continued journey! 

Need a little more inspiration to hit the gym or step away from the cookies? Check out these other incredible weight-loss transformations.

This bride-to-be was determined to look her best on her big day. She lost almost 80 pounds, and shared her journey on Instagram.

“13 weeks until I go from bridesmaid to bride,” she captioned the photo below, showing off her new physique.

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Instagrammer skinnie._.minnie shed nearly 90 pounds — and looks absolutely fabulous in her after shot below.

“Fattening food satisfies you for MINUTES,” she captioned her post. “Feeling good about yourself lasts FOREVER.”

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Getting healthy and losing weight is difficult, but it’s nice to know you’re not alone — and these amazing transformations show that with a lot of hard work, you really can change your body.

RELATED: Here are some quick weight loss tips backed by science:

 

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About the Author
Kate Streit
Kate Streit lives in Chicago. She enjoys stand-up comedy, mystery novels, memoirs, summer and pumpkin spice anything.

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