A teacher who was struggling with weight issues had wanted to go under the knife to literally cut out the pounds. Then, things took a turn when she found out how she could lose weight naturally, allowing her to shed over 100 pounds (approx. 45 kg).
At first glance at Laura Micetich, a 26-year-old teacher from Jackson, Tennessee, one might not realize that she weighed 314 pounds (approx. 142 kg) at just 22 years old.
“I had finished college, I was going into my teaching degree [and] I stepped on a scale and I was over 300 pounds,” Micetich told ABC News
At a young age, the excess weight that Micetich carried had caused her to have high blood pressure and hypothyroidism. She also avoided participating in fun activities due to her weight.
“I used to skip things as silly as waterslides because of the number of stairs,” she told US Weekly. “I was on a dangerous path.”
But everything changed after she lost 129 pounds (approx. 59 kg) without going for weight loss surgery
On her Facebook page, Micetich wrote how she took charge of her weight by exercising, “Out of desperation, I found my greatest passion: fitness and health.”
She wrote, “In Spring 2014, after graduating college, I decided to take charge of my life and make a change. After trying and failing to get a handle on my health numerous times, my weight had become a serious enough concern that I began researching what weight loss surgery would entail, I realized I’d need to be in a safe BMI range for the procedure and that I’d have to change my lifestyle drastically following the surgery”
“What initially began as an attempt to implement those necessary changes quickly grew into an intense love of health, fitness and nutrition. I started going to the gym, lifting weights and eating a clean diet tailored to my body’s needs.”
After working out for only a few weeks, Micetich realized that she didn’t have to go for any surgery.
Instead, “I needed to get under the bar,” and now she hits the gym six times a week
“Sometimes I’m there for an hour and a half, sometimes I’m there for three,” she told US Weekly.
“I spent the last year lifting heavy and managed to get my squat and deadlift to three plates”
Micetich also started documenting her weight loss journey on her Instagram page.
“Instagram gave me this place where I could post my pictures and be accountable to myself but also I was accountable to that 12-year-old who didn’t feel good about her body and suddenly could feel good about her body just by an adult telling her everything was okay,” she told ABC News
If anyone wants to lose weight, Micetich has a message: “It’s about proving to yourself that you want that change enough to wait for it and work for it and when it gets there, then you appreciate it.”
Credit: NTD