Weight Loss Success Story–Margie at the Biggest Loser Resort

Hello! How’s it going?

This morning was kinda random and I forgot my water bottle (never happens). So when I got back in my car after my run I was happy to find the gallon of water I had left there from my last road trip to Paso Robles.

Hydration. Nailed it.

I also nailed a new hummustard salad dressing recipe! It has all my favorite things hummus, Sriracha and nope. that’s pretty much my only favorite things right now.

Weight Loss Success Story

Recently I had the opportunity to talk with Margie Krueger who started her weight loss journey at 400 pounds and has been working her way down down down to a weight loss success story! Margie is losing weight the the Biggest Loser Resort at Fitness Ridge, a company rep hooked me up with her to discuss her journey.

Here is Margie “Before”

 

Krueger won the Biggest Loser’s Second Chance Contest on Facebook and the prize is a six month stay to their Utah resort. Margie was 400 pounds at her highest weight but started to get healthy in 2006 and lost 200 pounds! Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to keep the weight off and is now using this opportunity as a second chance to change her life for good.

Margie and I talked on the phone for over an hour about weight loss, running, food and the Biggest Loser Resort (she was there when we chatted). I kinda think we’re friends now and I’m rooting for her! Here is some of the best parts of our conversation:

RER: What made you want to go the ranch for 6 months? That’s a lot of time to be away from family and friends!

Krueger: I turned 58 a week ago. I could have gone home. The Ridge has been amazing with this, letting me be the driver of this journey. They would have let me go home, but it’s hard when you’re doing this to go and come back. I just felt like it was good for me to stay.

I was to a point in my life with the health stuff where I was going to die. In the beginning it wasn’t a decision. And if it was, I chose life. The cardiologist said if I didn’t get it under control I would die.

RER: You mentioned losing weight and gaining it back. How is it different this time?

Krueger: I was dying, there was no other choice. It’s hard work here but I feel like I’m much smarter about this. I’m so excited and passionate about it! This is a new beginning for me.

RER: What about the emotional part of weight loss. Have you went to therapy at all? (I shared some of my thoughts and story about therapy and didn’t ask it this abrupt, but this post isn’t about me.)

Krueger: I try to tell people I want it all. This time around I have dealt more with the emotional side of the weight loss journey. I am still working on a lot of stuff, but I am more aware.

It is about more than the scale – it’s about the stuff in our head and our heart that is holding us back like a prisoner. I have been really open to all the questions and all the answers.

(The ranch provides therapists and life coaches to attendees to see as needed. I really like that.)

Krueger: When I was clean eating I would really love to restrict my food. I think it was about control. Basically it’s an eating disorder. Here I am 58 and working with the staff on this. Restricting – who can live like that? Nobody can. That’s partially why I lost weight but gained it back. I feel relieved there is an answer.

RER: We’ve all seen the show The Biggest Loser with the big scale – but how often do you weigh in at the resort?

Krueger: The Ridge is about a healthy lifestyle. It’s not about, ‘let’s see how much weight you can drop fast’. There are exercise sessions and educational classes.

At first I wanted to weigh in every week, but it got to be too much pressure. My trainer said we could do something else so I didn’t weigh in for five weeks.

I heard that you were running?! How’s that going?

I did my first 5K and I’m so proud of myself. There was a group of people who did it, about 20 of us and it was everyone’s first 5K!

How’d it go?

Krueger: I actually got a ribbon for my age group! There could have been only 3 in my group – I know know, I don’t even care!

My goal was to walk away from it saying, “I want more”.  I just wanted to be vertical! I did it in about 44 minutes.

RER: Now, I am super curious about the food! What do you eat at the Ridge?

Krueger: We eat about 1500 calories a day – three meals and two snacks. There is a salad bar at every meal with a lot of different fixings. There is balsamic vinegar at the salad bar. They also have 50 calorie dressings, but they bring those separate.

You get your salad, but the rest is served. There are people who are gluten-free, vegetarians, have allergies. The menu board lists the menu with the calories. If there is something you don’t like there is always tuna or chicken salad you can have instead.

For breakfast there are five things you can choose from – egg scramble with toast, a smoothie with chocolate and a protein choice. They also have oatmeal or granola with a protein. And fruit!

At lunch there is always a soup and the soup is amazing! The entrees for lunch are a lot of different things like Chinese Chicken Salad to Chicken Alfredo. The biggest meal is lunch.

They offer dessert after dinner, but I’m not a dessert girl. I would rather have more meat and potatoes. Usually if I don’t have dessert I’ll have a piece of fruit. But my favorite is a chocolate covered banana. The food is amazing and you’re never hungry!

The snacks are always a protein and a carb. It’s things like celery with peanut butter, and apple with string cheese, hard boiled egg with something else.

There is a recharge time and they offer a smoothie or fruit too. It’s really nice because you have down time to just connect with other people.

RER: Any advice or last words you want to pass on to my readers trying to lose weight?

Krueger:  I love this advice I got from the life coach – It’s simple, but it isn’t easy. I remember that when it gets hard.

Margie is sharing her journey on her Facebook page if you want to stay posted on her awesome progress!

Question: Can we get a big Congratulations for Margie’s journey so far and some encouraging words for her?! She rocks!!