'I lost 100lbs without surgery, fat jabs or fad diets by changing one thing'
Kristy had tried a number of approaches but nothing had ever worked
A woman who found herself seriously overweight after having five children lost 100lbs without surgery, jabs or a fad diet. Kristy McCammon says she was heavier than she’d ever been and desperately unhappy when she decided to finally lose weight properly.
Kristy, 52, said: “Food was my friend and comforter for as long as I can remember. I started hiding food at a young age and overeating on a regular basis. I was overweight in grade school and started dieting at 10 years old. In high school, I was also overweight but then lost some.
“My weight went up and down many times between my teens and my 40s. It also increased over the course of five pregnancies. When I was 45, my weight was increasing rapidly and my food intake was out of control and I knew I was desperate and ready for a permanent solution. I did not want to have surgery or shots - I wanted to lose the weight naturally through nutrition.”
Kristy, from San Antonio, Texas, said she had a blissfully happy home life with her husband, Shawn, who she’s been with since she was 15, and their five children now aged 23, 20, 17, 14, and 12, but she was struggling with food addiction.
She felt that she had no control over what she consumed, and her love of food had turned into an obsession. She tried many diet plans, read weight loss books and attempted exercise programmes, but nothing helped. A counsellor helped her put some “food boundaries” in place, where she realised she didn’t have to eat everything, all day long.
“Admitting that I had a sugar addiction was a big turning point for me,” Kristy says. “I prayed a desperate prayer and realised I had to eat to live, but I didn’t have to eat processed sugar and flour. That changed everything - food boundaries were exactly what I needed.
“I started eating with food boundaries and broke up with processed sugar and flour. I started eating three meals a day of real food: protein, vegetables, fruit, grains, and fats. I also started relying on God for strength because my willpower ends way too soon and I couldn’t do this on my own.”
Kristy lost 100 pounds. She said: “I have always been uncomfortable with my weight, even after losing 100 pounds, but I have learned that my identity is not in the number on the scale and I’ve learned to love myself regardless of that number. But I definitely love being smaller and healthier! The food freedom is way better than I ever expected. I surrendered and stopped fighting with food - moderation kept me stuck, but abstinence from sugar and flour set me free.
“My family could see my joy increase and I just had a lightness about me that extended far beyond the weight.”
Kristy now works as a weight loss coach and sugar addiction specialist, and published her book, Life Unbinged: Faith-Filled Freedom from Food Obsession, to help others break free of the cycle of yo-yo dieting.
“We all need support and that is what finally helped me - I needed to know there were others living the same journey and can help hold me accountable,” Kristy adds.
“Breaking up with processed sugar is not as hard as it sounds and it brings a freedom that is unbelievable. Now I get to help others walk the same journey and that means everything to me.”