Sarah Sweeney: My Weight Loss Journey

WHAT HELPED ME THROUGH My Weight Loss Journey

Sarah Sweeney, wife, mother, and full-time employee at United Way, shares how she manages staying focused on her health while managing a busy life.

In March of 2020, my husband took a photo of my daughter and I in matching dresses. I realized two things that day: first, my daughter will love me and look at me with the same smile no matter how much I weigh; secondly, it was time to start loving myself the way she loves me and invest time in getting healthier. I jumped headfirst into a weight loss journey that has taught me so much about myself. Although I still have weight I’d like to lose, I have started to love myself at every stage of this incredible journey. Here are the tools I used every day that helped me lose 50 pounds in a year.

MY FITNESS PAL APP – I learned that the first step to weight loss is tracking what goes into my body. I use the My Fitness Pal app to track my weight, water intake, and calorie count every day.

GARMIN CONNECT APP – Really, you can use any app that connects to a smartwatch. I wanted to make sure I tracked my workout activity, daily steps, stress levels, and heart rates and the Garmin app worked for me because I had a Garmin watch.

INSTAGRAM – Hear me out. I created a fitness-specific Instagram account and this pushed me over the edge with a weight loss plateau. I had the accountability of followers asking when my next video would be, and I had some comments like “I’ve lost weight because I watched your videos.” Creating a fitness journey Instagram account forced me to put myself out there in ways I never had before plus it made me love myself more because I was able to have fun while not taking myself too seriously.

INSIGHT TIMER APP – When the anxiety of not losing the weight "fast enough” takes over, I pull up the Insight Timer app and do a quick 20-minute guided meditation. Insight Timer is a great app for those who have trouble sleeping too because there are thousands of guided breathing exercises that help you fall asleep. BEACHBODY ON DEMAND – In 2020, all the gyms were closed and I was getting bored with just running outside, so I downloaded this paid subscription app ($99/year) and did tons of athome workouts. I will tell you that the hardest part is pressing play; getting the motivation to get up and workout when I could just binge Netflix was tough. But after a few workouts, I wanted to exercise more than I wanted to watch CSI.

LIGHTED RUNNING VEST – I trained for and ran a half marathon this year and I am an early riser. Most of my running is done in the dark so I wear a lighted vest that I got on Amazon. It’s rechargeable and makes me feel safe.

Before & after: lost 50 pounds within a year! For more tips, follow me on Instagram at @WillRunForBooks_.

GO GUARDED SELF DEFENSE RING – As a selfdefense instructor, I am not one to be unprepared, so I run with a Go Guarded knife ring.

Once I had someone tell me that they were jealous of my motivation, and I responded with the quote that I try to live by now: “I am not motivated, I am disciplined. Motivation will only carry you so far.” I had to learn discipline while managing a healthier lifestyle, but these apps and tools helped me stay disciplined. If a fitness journey is in your plan for 2022, I hope you will use some of these tools to be successful.