ダイエットを本気で決行するためには、強い意思が欠かせない。そして、心を決めるきっかけは人それぞれだろう。アメリカで約100kgの大幅減量に成功したある女性は、ディズニーランドが契機だったという。

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ジャンクフード漬けで、体重は181kgに

米アリゾナ州スコッツデール出身のリア・ホープ・マンキューソ、35歳。彼女は忙しい日々にかまけて、ジャンクフードなどの不健康な食事を取ることが多かった。

彼女の典型的な朝食は、スターバックスコーヒーでのブルーベリーマフィンとデニッシュ。ドリンクには、キャラメルソースをかけた一番大きなサイズのキャラメルマキアートを注文していたという。さらに、ランチやディナーには、ファーストフード店でハンバーガーとフライドポテトを頼み、ブリトーなどの冷凍食品も頻繁に食べていた。

食べる量が増えるにつれ、当然ながら体重も増加。最も多いときで体重は181kgになり、やがて一歩一歩、体を動かすことすら重荷になり、食べたいものを買いに出かける時しか動かないような生活になっていった。

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夢の国で、「最も惨めな一日」を経験

そんなリアが体重の増加を痛感したのは、かわいい甥や妹など家族とともにディズニーランドに行った時のことだ。このお出かけを楽しみにしていたのに、「数時間後には片頭痛に見舞われ、足が痛くなり、背中も痛みだし、大量の汗をかいていた」そう。こまめに休憩を取っていたものの、結局、片頭痛のために椅子に座って一人で過ごすことになったという。

自分の体重が自分でコントロールできないほど増えてしまったことを、そのときに初めて自覚した彼女。「自分がこの体で乗り越えられると思っていたことが愚かだったと感じ、このままでいることはできないと悟った」と回顧している。

そしてディズニーランドの旅行から帰宅した彼女は、「地球上で最も幸せな場所での一日が、私にとって最も惨めな一日になるような人生を送りたくなかった」と思ったという。

1年かけて体重を半分以下に

体重を落とすという一大決心をしたリア。彼女が行ったのは、食べたものを書き留める「食事日記」をつける方法。これによって自分がいつ、何を食べているのか意識するようになったという。さらにマインドフルネスも行い、6週間後には摂取カロリーも一緒に記録していった。

また最初は1日10分が限界だったが、ウォーキングも取り入れ、少しずつウォーキングの時間を延ばしていった。やがて、水泳、筋トレ、ハイキングなども加え、現在の体重は84㎏と、以前の半分以下まで減らしていった。

「アイスやホイップクリーム、チョコレートなど甘いものが大好き」という彼女だが、今では、朝はスクランブルエッグやサワードウ・ブレッド、ランチはカッテージチーズやグラノーラ、ディナーはチキンや野菜などをチョイス。間食にはプロテインバーかシェイクを選んでいるそうだ。

以前は、大きくなりすぎた体のせいで、さまざまな制限がある暮らしを送っていたが、今では気分がよく健康的であると感じているという。もし今の彼女がディズニーランドに行ったら、きっと以前とはまったく違う1日を楽しめるはずだ。

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減量のビフォーアフター

@leahhopehealth I’m truly here to help so I’m going to try to simplify the process as much as possible! What I have done to lose weight: 1. I shifted my mindsets. This is the first time I went into weight loss with health as the main goal rather than just seeing the scale go down. I finally let go of the ALL OR NOTHING mentality. I didn’t go to extremes or give up for the day or week when I “messed up.” I chose SUSTAINABLE, healthy habits and started where I could in a way that felt do-able for me. I accepted that in order to make lasting change, I couldn’t go into this thinking of it as a temporary plan but rather a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. I also regularly choose GRACE OVER GUILT! Guilt keeps you in an unhealthy cycle, grace helps you let go and move forward. 2. I track my calories! For some people this is overwhelming. It can also be unhealthy for people who have spent their whole life obsessing over calories. I never looked at or cared about the calorie content in what I was eating. I had tried diets in the past, but spent most of my life not considering calories at all. I needed to do this for myself to educate myself on how many calories are actually in foods and what a healthy day of eating that fuels my body well looks like! I use the Cronometer app and weigh my food with a food scale to make sure I’m in a calorie deficit. 3. I move my body daily! Walking has been my constant throughout this process! I started with walking 10 consecutive minutes and also marching in place for a minute or two at a time throughout the day. I eventually started aiming for 10k steps a day and began some light strength training at home with body weight. This year I’ve strength trained with a trainer 3x a week while still getting my steps in most days through walking, hiking or jogging in place. I also play Pickleball and enjoy swimming! I typically exercise (this includes just walking) for 45+ minutes a day now. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate routine, movement is movement! This is what has been working for me! I think it’s important that everyone finds what works for them, fits into their life and brings them closer to the life they want to be living and the person they want to be! ☺️ #healthjourney #weightlossjourney #weightlossprogress #weightlosstransformation #weightlosstips #healthyfromtheinsideout #mindsetshifts #weightlossinspiratio ♬ it's been a year - Ashley Cooke

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@leahhopehealth Here’s to continuously working toward becoming the best version of ourselves! Not because we don’t love ourselves as we are now, but because we DO! 🥰 #healthjourney #weightloss #weightlossjourney #weightlosstransformation #changingmylife ♬ Love Of My Life - Metrow Ar

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@leahhopehealth The more time that goes by, the more it all seems so real. That I actually got healthier. That I actually lost a significant amount of weight. That I actually did the thing I’ve been writing on my New Year’s resolution list since I was a teen. That I actually changed my lifestyle. I’ve wanted to lose weight for as long as I can remember but I didn’t always have the goal of getting healthy. I spent so many years wanting to lose weight just to be smaller, just to fit in, just to be liked. And I wanted a quick fix to help me get there. I didn’t want to change the way I lived, just the way I looked. It wasn’t until I decided I truly wanted to transform my day to day life, and I really wanted to gain health, that I was able to make a lasting change. I had to accept that it would take effort for the rest of my life, not just for a season. But anything worth having does. Anything worth having will take an investment of your time, energy and effort. And my health, a FULL life, is absolutely worth that investment. The hard part is you don’t always know that it will be worth it. You have to trust the process. You have to show up even when the results aren’t showing up. If you can do that for yourself, you will change your life! These are the 3 main things I’ve done to achieve healthy (for me) weight loss! 1. I shifted my mindset. I went into this health journey trying to focus on gaining healthy habits more than focusing on losing weight. I aim for consistency in my habits over perfection of their execution. I accepted this as a lifestyle change rather than a temporary diet just to reach a goal. And I’ve learned that motivation is fleeting and we have to follow through whether we feel motivated to or not. 2. I track my calories to stay in a deficit. It is essential to consume less calories than you are burning in order to lose weight. Tracking is how I make sure I’m in a deficit. I also focus on eating mostly whole and minimally processed foods so that I can feel better and get healthier from the inside out! You can google “best BMR calculator” to find a pretty good estimate for where your calorie intake should be for weight loss. 3. I move my body intentionally everyday. Some of the activities I have incorporated on this journey are: marching or jogging in place, walking, hiking, pickleball, swimming and strength training. I’ve experimented to find forms of movement I enjoy and make sure I include things (like strength training) that I don’t always enjoy but I know are good for me! I started by aiming for 8k steps at the beginning and then switched to 10k. Now I just focus on making sure I have moved my body in a way that serves me well each day! Give yourself permission to start small! Focus on slowly adding habits into your life that feel sustainable rather than drastically changing everything at once! Sustainable changes will take you farther than fast and extreme changes will! #healthjourney #weightlossjourney #naturalweightloss #weightlosstransformation #weightlossprogress ♬ I Wanna Thank Me (feat. Niecy Nash) - Meghan Trainor