Feeling Different
Kara started being bullied at school ever since she turned twelve. However, she had started feeling self-conscious and insecure about her appearance even before that.
Kara first realized she was larger and heavier than her classmates when she was still in kindergarten. "It was obvious I was bigger and it made me look older", she told Today. It wasn't until a few years later that she understood why that was.
Health Issues
By the time Kara turned eight, she was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, which — according to the doctors — was the main cause of her obesity.
Being diabetic meant she had to eat way fewer carbohydrates and more protein, but this was a lot to take in at such a young age. She struggled growing out of her old eating habits, and everything got worse when the bullying began...
The Bullying Began
The insults behind her back started during her early middle school years. Her classmates would always scream out "fat" under their breath each time they walked past her in the hallways.
She also found out that everyone would always call her "red cow" behind her back. "There were more things said behind my back ... than to my face", she recalled. Soon, the psychological scars from being mistreated at school started triggering unhealthy eating habits.
Unhealthy Eating Habits
As much as Kara struggled to avoid being bullied, her classmates wouldn't give her a break. In Kara's own words, her binge eating habits began as the bullying at school started getting worse.
"The bullying was just damaging my psyche, at this point, and creating this really unhealthy self-image and relationship to my body. That turned into my bad relationship with food”, Kara told Today.
3,500 Daily Calories
Her eating habits grew much worse during her last years of high school. She would eat over 3,500 calories each day (which is nearly twice the average), including ice cream and chips nearly on a daily basis.
It wasn't only a matter of body image, though. At one point, her doctor told her that not only did she risk diabetes, but hypertension and preeclampsia, too. But did she have what it took to change her eating habits?
Self-Harming
At one point, Kara grew totally obsessed about her body image and started compulsively losing weight. She lost 70 pounds in a matter of months, but that's when her self-harming began.
It wasn't long before her parents found about her self-inflicted injuries. She started going to therapy and was eventually diagnosed with depression and anxiety. However, just as she started taking antidepressants, she regained all the weight she had lost.
Married... With Children?
By the time she met her soon-to-be husband Nathan in 2013, Kate had reached her maximum weight ever. At age 19, she was already weighing 330 pounds and wore a dress size 32.
A few years later, the couple got married and decided they wanted to start a family of their own. Well aware of the fact that obesity could put her pregnancy at risk, Kara once again set out on losing weight. But did she?
Peak Weight
Just when she had begun her new diet, Kara found out she was pregnant to her first child. Far from her expectations, she had gained a bit more weight during the past few months.
As of August 2016, Kara was a couple of months pregnant and had reached 370 pounds. When she went to her first doctor's appointment, this is what they told her...
Risky Pregnancy
The doctors warned Kara that her pregnancy could be at risk if she didn't lose any weight. They also highlighted the fact that her obesity was seriously affecting her health, even regardless of the pregnancy.
"When I was pregnant I was visiting the doctor every month and then every week and I had to see it and address what was happening. That was when I thought ‘Oh my gosh I need help'", Kara recalled. But was the baby born healthy?
A Healthy Child
Kara gave birth to her son, Samuel, in March 2017. At that time, Kara was 23 years old and was weighing 368 pounds. Fortunately, despite the doctors' warnings, Samuel was born healthy.
However, even though nothing had gone wrong with her pregnancy, Kara was fully aware that it was now time for her to address her health issues. That's when one of her doctors suggested she look into gastric bypass surgery...
Gastric Bypass Surgery
Kara started reading about bypass surgery and began following other people on Facebook and Instagram who had already undergone the procedure. Reading through their testimonies gave her the courage to give surgery a shot.
While there were several risks to the surgery, she eventually understood that the pros greatly outnumbered the cons. Not only would she lose weight, but the surgery would also lower the risks of diabetes and high blood pressure. What was there to lose?
Surgery Is Not Magic
In January 2018, nearly a year after giving birth to Samuel, Kara gained courage and completed the surgery. This wasn't the end to all of her problems, though.
While she successfully lost quite a lot of weight after the surgery, she would now have to commit to a strict diet. The surgery had significantly reduced the size of her stomach, which meant she had to grow used to smaller portions of food. Of course, this is always easier said than done...
Drastic Weight Loss
Left with no choice but to commit to a strict diet, Kara cut off all the high-fat, sugary products she was so much used to. "Your body has changed and you have to adjust to that", she remembers.
But impossible was nothing for Kara. Having gone through surgery and having modified her eating habits, the 5-feet, 4-inches tall woman went from 370 to 163 pounds. As amazing as that was, keeping that weight would prove more challenging than she imagined...
Exercise Routine
Apart from sticking to her new diet, Kara's doctors told her that doing exercise would be key to prevent gaining her weight back. However, when she first tried exercising, she would feel exhausted after moving for merely 15 minutes.
"I even exercised twice a week for about 20 minutes each time, but because I'd then binge on big burrito bowls", she said. As the months went by, however, she successfully managed to boost her exercise routine and dial down her calorie intake. Before she knew it, she was going to the gym five times a week for one whole hour!
Rebuilding Her Self-Confidence
While Kara had successfully managed to address the physical aspect of her health, it was now time to face her anxiety and depression. After all, her psychological well-being was just as important as keeping her body fit.
"I am working on the mental aspect and that will help me keep going further. If you don’t deal with the mentality and the habits that got you there you won’t see results", she admitted. But look at her now!
Proud Of Her Achievements
As of today, not only has Kara lost 200 pounds, but she has also learned to feel proud of her body. She feels confident of what she's achieved and she gives advice to those who try to lose weight.
However, accepting her new body proved to be extremely challenging. Even though she now looks thinner, she still has excess skin from her former weight, making it hard for her to fully appreciate the extent of her body transformation.
Skin Removal Surgery
In this sense, Kara admitted that her excess skin not only gets in the way of her exercise regime, but it also holds her back and brings her old insecurities back. This is why she's considering skin removal surgery.
"It does sometimes make it hard for me to look past the obesity and it's harder to remain active because it bounces around and hurts my back and abdomen. I do try to use compression clothing to keep things in place, but it only helps a little bit", she explained.
Take Small Steps
Looking at Kara's before-and-after pictures is truly astonishing as it is motivating. She is proud of having managed to address her multiple health issues, and for those who wish to follow her steps, she has three pieces of advice to give.
To begin with, it's important to take small steps at a time. "Start small and make a plan. If you try to overhaul everything at once, it is overwhelming and people give up easily", she said. What's her second tip?
Seek Support
Second of all, Kara stresses the importance of finding support from family, friends, or even from other people who went through similar health issues. In this sense, reaching out to people who had already underwent gastric bypass surgery on Instagrm really helped her take a leap forward.
"People who don’t have weight loss surgery, they don’t know what you are dealing with. It is really nice to connect with these people", she claimed. Slide next to find out her third and last piece of advice.
Know Your Weak Spots
Last but not least, Kara stresses how important it is to be mindful. "You have to analyze your thought patterns and feelings.You have to be able to ask yourself why you are doing the things you are doing in the first place", she stated.
In other words, it's crucial to get to know yourself and to find your weak spots. It was only by doing so that Kara learned both to love her body and to stay healthy. If you don't believe me... then look at her now!