ideal weight: three women with inspiring weight-loss stories [3]

CATINA BRADLEY 32, Grad student
How she did it: A purpose-driven diet
Height 5'6"
Before: 180
After: 130
Weight lost: 50 pounds

Catina's Story

Between working 50-hour weeks and taking two or three classes per semester for more than three years, Ph.D. candidate Catina Bradley had a full plate. 'I would get home late at night and just eat," she says. "But I wasn't paying attention to the fact that I was eating a whole pizza by myself."

After too many of those late-night sessions and not enough physical activity, Catina found she couldn't fit into most of the clothes she owned anymore. Then her doctor called her attention to another, more serious problem: In addition to all the weight she'd gained, Catina had a family history of diabetes and hypertension.

In 2003, aided by a friend who was losing weight for her wedding, she created her own low-carb diet and learned to decrease her portion sizes. She swapped pasta and bread for one salad a day with chicken or deli meat, opted for grilled meat with a green vegetable for dinner, and snacked on leftovers, cereal or small bags of chips. One of her toughest challenges: Giving up her four-cans-of-soda-a-day habit to incorporate more fruit juices and water into her diet.

Fifty pounds lighter almost three years later, Catina now has a school schedule that allows for more time to grocery-shop and plan her meals. She enjoys shopping for new clothes, but most important, she feels empowered: "It wasn't really about the weight loss alone," she says. "I wanted to be healthier. You see heavy people who are at the point where weight loss is a matter of life and death. I wanted to make this change before that happened."

Expert Advice

KEEPING CATINA ON THE RIGHT PATH

"Catina's looking at her diet reasonably, and that's a good thing," says Brown-Riggs. A lot of people think that they have to boot certain foods from their fridge entirely, but that's not the way to maintain weight loss, she says. Some tips for Catina as she continues to manage her brand-new lifestyle:

Learn portion control. Figure out what a serving size is for your favorite foods (whether it's french fries or fruit) and stick to it. Another tip: Try eating out of smaller plates.

Watch your sodium intake, Dell meats (which a lot of people think are healthy) and fried foods can actually be very high in sodium. "Instead, get fresh turkey or low-fat cold cuts at the dell," Brown-Riggs says. And make fried foods the exception--not the rule.

Do low-impact exercises regularly, Boyce's top choice: aquatic exercises because they are easy on the joints. Getting outside for some power walking and putting in time on an elliptical trainer are also great ways for Catina to get moving without aggravating an old knee injury she has. "Just stay away from any exercise involving bouncing or jumping," Boyce adds.

Drink water. It should be your primary beverage, says Brown-Riggs. Even juices should always be in limited quantity because they're high in calories. Just four ounces of juice can add up to 60 calories!
COPYRIGHT 2006 Time, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2006 Gale Group
Essence, May, 2006 by Jayme S. Ganey