Mother of Three Sheds 185 Pounds After Realizing She Was Avoiding Taking Photos with Her Kids
Maggie Wells, a 34-year-old mother of three, always made sure she was the person behind the camera so that she did not have to pose in front.
She weighed over 300 pounds and found herself hiding in her own skin, standing on the sidelines watching her family live life.
Wells remembers waking up on New Year’s Day in 2018, with what she described as a “bone-chilling” thought.
Wells realized that because she was always hiding from the lens, her kids were not going to have any photos of her to look back on and remember their mom.
“I wasn’t afraid I was going to die because of my weight, but I was afraid that just if something happened, my kids would have no pictures to remember me,” Wells told “Good Morning America.”
“My son was 6 at the time and I think we had two pictures together.”
That very day, Wells started her weight loss journey by cutting out all sugar and reducing the amount of carbohydrates she consumed. Within the first month, Wells dropped 24 pounds.
One year later, Wells has lost 185 pounds and is inspiring other women worldwide to stop hiding and start living, too.
Wells has only recently started exercising. Through diet alone, she was able to drop 185 pounds.
As a mom who also works full time in real estate, Wells said she did not have the time or money to follow expensive, complicated eating plans. She followed a simple ketogenic way of eating, choosing fresh eggs, meats and vegetables, fats, and limited carbohydrates.
“I don’t have time to be making substitute breads and all of those things,” said Wells. “I found that this diet can be done by anybody on any budget.”
She also was not discouraged by the thought of how much weight she still had to lose or how much time it was going to take.
“I didn’t need to focus that I had to lose 200 pounds or even 20 pounds, I would just focus on 24 hours,” she said. “I would tell myself, ‘I only have to get through the next 24 hours. If I want (a specific food or drink) at this time tomorrow, I’ll allow myself to have it.’”
“That mindset is what still keeps me sticking to it,” Wells said.
Wells has started a Facebook group called “Get It, Girl,” as a way to document her own journey and inspire others.
“I feel like I’m 15 years younger,” Wells said. “I don’t know how to describe it other than I feel like a brand new person.”
“I have mental clarity and literally a whole new lease on life,” she said.
Now, her kids have some pretty incredible photos of their mom — photos that document their mother’s determination, strength, and ultimately, love for her children.
“I could have lived the rest of my life being a bystander,” Wells said, “and now I get to be a participant in my life and my children’s lives.”
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