A stay-at-home mother who weighed over 200 pounds has revealed how she lost 100 pounds in a year by eating fewer calories than her body burns each day and ramping up her fitness routine.
Before she lost the weight, Georgia Malbrough, 26, from Houma, Louisiana, struggled to find a healthy relationship with food. She found playing with her three young children exhausting, and she knew she needed to take control of her health.
‘I finally realized that in order to enjoy my life as a mom and to really be there for my children, I needed to find balance and somehow prioritize my own health while being a parent,’ she told Women’s Health.
Before and after: Georgia Malbrough, 26, from Houma, Louisiana, lost over 100 pounds in just 13 months
Weight-loss journey: The mother of three started following the CICO (calories in, calories out) weight loss plan in June 2018
Malbrough had tried fad diets in the past, but she was never able to maintain her weight loss for long. After years of yo-yo dieting, she decided in June 2018 that she was ready to commit to a new way of life.
Instead of trying yet another weight loss plan, she researched how the body burns fat and how the metabolism works.
‘The simple fact I discovered was that weight loss and fat loss generally come down to calories in versus calories out,’ she explained. ‘A lot of people refer to this as the CICO diet, though it’s not a diet at all — it’s just a basic way of thinking about weight loss.’
Malbrough told The Times of Houma/Thibodaux that she used a basal metabolic rate (BMR) calculator to determine how many calories she could consume to lose weight while walking three miles, three days a week.
The and now: Malbrough weighed 190 pounds six months into her weight-loss journey (left). She now weighs 128 pounds (right)
Plan: Malbrough tracks her calories to ensure she’s eating less than her body burns each day
The later got a Fitbit to calculate how many calories she was burning during her workouts and at rest.
‘I think the first time I ever did that and calculated it, I had burned about 2,100 calories,’ she recalled, ‘and my mind was blown that I could eat 1,700 calories because in the past, I would eat around 1,200.’
From then on, Malbrough focused on eating fewer calories than her body was burning each day by tracking what she ate. She told Women’s Health that recording her calories also showed her how much she was overeating and helped stop her from doing so.
She credits the lifestyle change with allowing her to eat her favorite foods in moderation without eliminating them from her life.
New woman: Malbrough said recording her calories showed her how much she was overeating and helped stop her from doing so
Diet: Malbrough favors meals with protein, healthy carbs, and plenty of vegetables
On a typical day, she will have black coffee and either a protein shake or scrambled eggs for breakfast. Lunch is ground meat with taco season added to a Birds Eye Southwest Protein Bowl, which she tops with shredded Mexican cheese and sour cream.
For snacks, she opts for low-calories options such as grapes, an apple, and cucumbers dipped in salsa.
One of her go-to dinners is smothered chicken thighs with Lima beans, white rice, and steamed broccoli. Her last meal of the day is dessert: Greek yogurt mixed with a chocolate pudding pack and strawberries.
Malbrough said she also has started drinking more water, insisting that it was ‘a game-changer’ for her because she didn’t realize how dehydrated she was most of the time.
Keeping hydrated: When she would hit a plateau, she would drink more water and ‘see a difference overnight’
Amazing progress: Malbrough is pictured at 175 pounds six months into her routine (left) and 128 pounds now (right_
Feeling strong: Malbrough’s workouts have progressed along with her weight loss, and she now hits the gym six times a week with a focus on building strength
She explained that when she would hit a plateau, she would drink more water and ‘see a difference overnight.’ She will also drink water to help curb cravings.
In addition to changing how she ate, she also adjusted how she thought about eating, choosing to view food as ‘fuel’ for her body rather than an emotional crutch.
She has lost more than 100 pounds in 13 months and has maintained her weight of 128 pounds for six months, so far.
Malbrough’s workouts have progressed along with her weight loss, and she now hits the gym six times a week with a focus on building strength.
The mom shares her incredible before-and-after photos on her Instagram page, which has more than 22,000 followers.
‘100lbs, 1 year, and countless lessons learned,’ she captioned one post in May.