Meet Kim Carter Martinez. By day, she works for a labor union in San Francisco. On weekends, you’ll often find her participating in runs or bike rides. Kim stays fit, eats well and makes healthy choices, including everything in moderation. What isn’t immediately obvious from this description is that she is literally half the woman she used to be. Here she is in a recent photo:
Kim has lost nearly 170 pounds over two years by making big changes to her lifestyle that have led to, she hopes, long-term healthy habits. And over the past three years, she’s chronicled every step of her journey through thousands of Instagram posts.
This is Kim in 2013. To hear her tell it, she has struggled with weight her whole life. She was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, which her mother eventually died from when Kim was still in high school. “I just kind of used food as a comfort,” she says. At her heaviest, Kim weighed 344 pounds.
Kim was also diagnosed with arthritis in her knee, which required total knee replacement surgery. Because of her weight at the time, her doctor refused to perform the procedure unless she lost at least 50 pounds. “That was the turning point,” she explains. “That’s when I knew I had to make a change.”
Kim wasn’t necessarily looking for MyFitnessPal, but she did notice that some of her connections in the diabetes community were hashtagging the app on their Instagram posts. It seemed like a good tool for her to carefully track and manage food intake and exercise. She didn’t yet have the confidence to join a gym, but she did follow along with Richard Simmons videos in her garage.
She did the hardest work with her diet. “I gave up Starbucks,” she says. “That was like an extra 300-400 calories per day. I gave up snacking. I started cooking my own food and stopped eating out three meals a day. I taught myself how to meal prep. Now I have it down to a 45-minute science.”
By May of 2014, Kim had lost the 50 pounds her doctor had asked for, and she got the knee replacement surgery. But she wasn’t done at 280. Far from it: “I wanted to continue losing weight and get healthier.”
At her heaviest, Kim couldn’t fathom joining a gym. But by now, she felt much more inspired. “A lot of it was the confidence in thinking I couldn’t do it, then trying it and surprising myself,” she says. Here she is at her local crossfit gym, dominating a kettle bell.
Kim stuck with her meal-planning, too. To date, she eats the same meal almost every day: Greek yogurt for breakfast; ground turkey and broccoli for lunch; chicken breast, green beans and squash or sweet potato for dinner. For dessert, she enjoys with powdered peanut butter mixed with frozen blueberries. When she goes out to eat, she makes smart decisions, too.
Gradually, Kim’s hard work paid off and she found she could accomplish things she had only dreamed of. She’s biked 35-mile competitive rides. She’s run a handful of foot races, including San Francisco’s famed Bay to Breakers. “For years, I couldn’t go for a walk in my neighborhood,” she says. “I can’t even describe the sense of accomplishment I have in doing these things that I couldn’t do for [the first] 38 years of my life.”
Today, Kim weighs 175 and is trying to maintain what she calls her “happy” size. “The changes I’ve made have saved my life,” she says. “They’re tools I know I’ll use for the rest of my life.” Here she is last year at her 40th birthday, compared with her 35th.
Kim hopes that by being so open on Instagram and documenting her journey every step of the way, she’ll inspire others who are struggling with their weight and perhaps encourage them to be brave and open in the same way she has been. “I’d be open about my journey again,” she explains. “The support and love I’ve gotten along the way have really helped me.”
Do you or a loved one have a personal Success Story you’d like to share? Let us know on our Facebook page, hit us up on Twitter or tag #MyFitnessPal on your Instagram posts. We’d love to feature it in a future blog post!
Virginia Menzie says: 
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