For this woman, losing half her weight meant shifting this one mindset

weightlosshero/Instagram

One woman is inspiring the world after she went from a size 24 to a size 2.

Christine Carter’s weight-loss secret? Her mindset.

Carter decided she needed to change the way she thought about food and take away its power over her. As she shared on Instagram:

“I used to live for the next meal. Like…literally eating lunch I was thinking about what I would eat for dinner. I have learned to enjoy NEW things about food. I’ve learned to love cooking and am finding new ways everyday to make low sugar/carb meals that taste great but don’t keep me from my goals.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVH-gAnDHkZ/?taken-by=weightlosshero

Instead of relying on food, Carter now plays the piano and exercises to feel good.

“Cause I learned the hard way that while bad food feels good now…it doesn’t make you feel good in the end,” she wrote on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRlVQvLDq-w/?taken-by=weightlosshero

Carter’s Instagram page, @weightlosshero, has 279,000 followers who get inspiration from her transformation photos, motivational videos and the details she shares about her journey.

She explained on Instagram that it all started with stress, which drove her to smoke two packs of cigarettes each day.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVpzxucjqJM/?taken-by=weightlosshero

Then, when she quit, she found herself heading to the kitchen often, turning to food and dealing with a binge eating disorder.

RELATED: Couple Shares Weight-Loss Tips After Shedding Nearly 300 Pounds

“Eating my feelings seemed to be the only way to cope. I was in need of a breakthrough,” she said.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWn2AzBjiYf/?taken-by=weightlosshero

Weight Loss Began With Surgery

Carter certainly found her breakthrough.

After undergoing a gastric sleeve procedure, she lost 150 pounds in about a year and a half. After she lost her initial 60 pounds, Carter started gaining back the weight.

Once she changed her mindset, she said she stopped eating junk food and started working with a personal trainer — and she never missed a workout.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSfSFsIjsvL/?utm_source=ig_embed

The Moment Of Change

She told TODAY that she realized she needed to get healthy in July 2014.

She was attending a family reunion when her uncle walked right by her — he didn’t recognize her because she was so heavy. At the time, she says she was 275 pounds and felt like she had hit “rock bottom.”

“Portion control was my problem, I would eat three times the amount of food I should,” Carter told TODAY. “I was on 10 medications and was constantly in the doctor’s office. I felt horrible — I could barely move or go up a flight of stairs, and I was only 26!”

Since her gastric sleeve procedure, Carter has had a surgery to remove excess skin and a breast lift/implant.

From a medical perspective, she’s now taking no medications instead of 10, and she has conquered her depression.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWtYg3_juXS/?taken-by=weightlosshero

Still, she continues to have pride in the stretch marks that remain. Carter tells people worried about stretch marks that losing the weight is absolutely worth it.

“DON’T be afraid of loose skin!! Or stretch marks. Or scars. Our scars are what makes us beautiful and terribly unique,” she wrote on Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Baw7jrVDPv7/

RELATED: Woman’s Weight Loss Completely Changed Her Face

The number one question she gets? How to start getting healthy and stay motivated.

“My tip? Write down how you will FEEL when you reach your goal,” she said. “How will your life be different? And every time you feel like eating bad or not working out-physically pull at your list and ask yourself…is it worth the risk to not have the kind of life you want?”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT_37Qhju4H/?taken-by=weightlosshero

[h/t: PopSugar]

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About the Author
Haley Otman
Haley Otman is a news and features writer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she roots for the University of Michigan Wolverines. A former broadcast news producer, Haley has 10 years of writing experience and has worked in both journalism and public relations.

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