Close your eyes. Go back to the days of high school. Remember those days? For some of us, those were very happy memories. For others, very sad memories.
Were you ever bullied? I was. It was either my sophomore or junior year. One entire Math class, I was harassed by a kid younger than me who repeated told me how fat and ugly I was. I was so upset when I got home that my mom went to school to talk to the principal and I didn’t even care. Luckily, that child never said another word to me again. Others are not so lucky and get bullied by many people in high school.
Bullies are everywhere. Unfortunately.
Kathryn decided she was going to prove her bullies wrong and showed them by losing mega weight. She lost a little over 30 pounds and she gained a whole new healthy life!
I am so excited to share Kathryn’s story with you. It is a good one!
Tell us a little about yourself, your family, your job, etc…
My name is Kathryn Weiland and I am an 18 year old girl from Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I am a senior at Xavier High School and am going to continue my education next year at Kirkwood Community College, followed by Iowa State University. I have one sister, Anna, who is a year and three days older than me and is my best friend. My parents, Gina and Tom, have been married for 30 years and are the two hardest workers I know.
How long did it take you to get to your ideal weight? Are you there now?
About one year. I would still like to tone up.
I have lost 31 pounds total and I currently weigh 122 lbs at 5’1″. Unfortunately, I still struggle very badly with self image/self-esteem issues.
What was your motivation to lose weight?
As we all know, high school is hard enough as it is. For me, I was constantly bullied about my weight.
What made you decide to start your weight loss journey?
I was bullied about my weight so bad that when I was a sophomore in high school it got to the point that I wouldn’t even get out of my seat in class to go to the bathroom because I was too scared I was going to bring attention to myself, which would end up in people looking at my weight.
There were days I would call my mom to go home from school because “I didn’t feel good”, but in reality I was just too insecure to walk the halls. There was one time at a football game, the quarterback at my school yelled at me in front of the whole student section and called me a “pudding cup” because I was so jiggly. I ran out of the football game crying, and that was the day that I decided I would prove everyone wrong.
What kept you on track losing weight?
I started eating healthy and exercising. For quite sometime no one knew that I was working so hard to get the weight off.
I came back to school my senior year after summer break and I was 32 pounds lighter then I had been the past year. Listening to all my classmates, who had once called me fat, ask me for weight loss advice encouraged me to never give up!
Tell us about a typical day in terms of eating and exercise.
I am a very picky eater.
A typical breakfast for me would be brown rice with a scrambled egg in it and a cup of coffee. I drink a lot of water throughout the day. For lunch, I usually have an apple and grilled chicken. For a snack, I eat either nuts, cheese, or a piece of fruit. For dinner, I either have chicken again, grill a steak, or have some whole grain pasta and, once again, a piece of fruit. I also drink a lot of green tea.
What is the biggest difference you have noticed because of your weight loss?
Self Confidence -All around health benefits – Weight loss comments from everyone I know – More Energy – Better sleep – Less depression issues
What advice can you give to others struggling to lose weight?
Try your hardest and don’t ever give up. Eat healthy and exercise and if your body needs to lose weight, it will.
How do you keep the weight off in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle?
Eat healthy healthy healthy! I never eat anything WHITE!!! Pasta, bread, rice etc. ALWAYS whole grain, NOT whole wheat.
Give us a quote or a motto that you have used to keep you focused.
Sweat like a pig to look like a fox.
A fox you are, Kathryn! I am totally inspired by your story and wish there was some way I could stop bullies in schools but unfortunately, there will always be bullies. However, I think sometimes bullies make us stronger – If we don’t let what they say effect us in the negative way.
Use their words to motivate you to do something about your weight. I love it when she said the very people who bullied her asked her for weight loss advice. Ha! Love it!
Were you ever bullied in school? What can we do, if anything, to help stop them?
About Jennifer Swafford
