Childhood abuse led 1 woman to binge eat. Walking and small diet changes helped her lose 180 pounds

For more than four years of her childhood, Alexis McCoy, 26, was neglected, starved and abused. “My parents divorced when I was six years old, and I ended up living with my birth mother. Unfortunately, she’s a heroin addict, and my siblings and I went without a lot. Most of the time, I didn’t know when I was going to eat or where my next meal would come from,” she says.

After four years, her father got custody of her and her siblings. “Even though I didn’t have to worry about food anymore, something in my mind never clicked. I would eat until I was physically ill. I was eating the food off my sister’s plates. I was stealing snacks from the pantry in the middle of the night. My mind was telling me I had to eat because I didn’t know if I would get food again,” she says.

By the age of 23 she weighed 388 pounds and one day discovered she couldn’t tie her shoes anymore. “I couldn’t live this way anymore. I made the decision to lose weight that day,” she says.

Her weight was causing other issues as well. She was on the verge of being prediabetic and having high blood pressure. She had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Her joints ached, and she had arthritis in her back and shoulder that was so bad she sometimes could barely get out of bed. Plantar fasciitis made walking painful. She struggled with mental health issues. She couldn’t even shower thoroughly: “That really puts into perspective how large I got.”

She committed to lifestyle changes that helped her lose 180 pounds. Here’s what worked for her.

She revamped her diet: More protein, fewer calories and refined carbs 

McCoy was a binge eater who estimates she was eating 4,000 calories a day. “I was eating out all the time — processed and fried foods. Being from the South, I love sweet tea and fried chicken. And if my husband brought home a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, I’d eat six right before bed,” she says. “I was in too much pain to get out and exercise, but I knew if I could get the binging controlled and cut my calories back, I could start exercising.” 

She ate fewer calories, so she was in a calorie deficit. “For the first three months, it was difficult. My husband, Michael, helped keep me accountable,” she says.

She struggled with changes to her routine, like not stopping at McDonald’s on her way to work for a sweet tea and a biscuit. “The act of driving past is so much harder than people think it is. Food truly is an addiction,” she says. 

Here are some of the changes she made:

• She replaced simple carbs with complex carbs like those in sweet potatoes, whole-wheat bread and whole grains.
• She cut out sugar and replaced it with artificial sweeteners.
• She no longer fries food.
• If she has seconds with a meal, she reaches for the vegetables, which she’s starting to acquire a taste for. “My father calls vegetables ‘rabbit food,’ and we never ate them growing up,” she says.
• She switched to unsweetened tea, and she’s noticed that her taste buds have changed, so sweet tea tastes overly sweet now.
• She drinks about a gallon of water a day.
• She switched from cow’s milk to almond milk since she found that cow’s milk made her feel bloated.
• She gets 150 to 200 grams of protein a day and chooses low-sugar options with at least 30 grams of protein.
• She doesn’t eat for at least two hours before bedtime.

 In a typical day, she might eat:

• Breakfast: A protein shake.
• Lunch: A sandwich on whole-wheat sandwich thins, with light mayo, loaded with deli meat. “I found the more meat I ate, the less hungry I was,” she said.
• Dinner: Meat and a vegetable, such as chicken and green beans.
• Snacks: Sugar-free Jello or Snack Pack pudding with Cool Whip.

She started walking, then added strength training and running

After McCoy lost about 40 pounds, she began exercising. “My husband and I started walking down the dirt road where we live,” she said. At first, it took her more than 30 minutes to walk a mile. But they kept at it, and after she lost another 30 or 40 pounds, she started going to a gym in the mornings before heading to work as a certified nurse assistant (CNA).

“At first, I was really afraid to step foot in a gym,” she says. But she walked for 35 minutes a day on the treadmill. About a year and a half ago, she added in some strength training with every workout. She also started running, and her mile time has dropped to 15 minutes.

She has a lot of extra skin around her belly and thighs, so she wears compression garments when she runs. “My skin has bounced back better than I thought, but at some point, I plan on getting it removed,” she says.

She found strategies to deal with setbacks and temptations

McCoy admits that she had lapses in her binge eating. “We would decide to get pizza on a Saturday, and I would eat a whole one,” she says. “At first, I would beat myself up about it. But after a while, the next day, I would say, ‘Alexis, you can’t do that again,’ and I would get back on my plan. For every downfall, I tried twice as hard the next day.”

She also learned that when she completely cut certain foods out, she wanted to eat them more. “I’ve started to reintroduce some of the foods I like, at what I call ‘normal-person’ portions. Instead of eating an entire pack of Oreos, I’ll eat three,” she says.

She has strategies she employs when she anticipates she might overeat. She drinks a protein shake beforehand when she goes to a birthday party or a function. That way, it’s easier to stick with one piece of cake. In a restaurant, she’ll divide her meal into two servings and take one home. 

She relies on her support system

She points to her husband as her biggest supporter, and she’s also connected with the Start TODAY Facebook group. She watches the TODAY show with her clients every day, and she’s seen Stephanie Mansour’s segments and followed Al Roker’s weight loss.

“Once I joined, I started to see how positive it was. The amount of support in that group is amazing. Everybody is there for each other, and everyone is so kind and helpful,” she says. “I love being able to share my story with other people. I’ve probably helped 20 or 30 women who have sent me messages asking what I did. I just gave them the rundown of my story — how I’ve tweaked the calories and what my exercise routine is. And they’ve been so stuck, so they’re so thankful. I want everybody to feel as good as they possibly can. Everyone deserves to feel good and to be comfortable in their own skin.”

How her health and her life have changed for the better

McCoy has lost 180 pounds and would like to lose another 50. Here are some of the non-scale victories she’s seen:

• Her blood levels are normal, and she’s no longer insulin resistant. “To see the numbers side-by-side is insane,” she says.
• Her symptoms of PCOS are just about gone.
• She no longer takes medication for mental health issues such as bipolar depression, social anxiety and generalized anxiety: “I’m not depressed. I look forward to things now — I’m a glass-half-full kind of girl. I used to be negative, upset and angry because I was miserable with myself. I feel amazing now.”
• She’s an inch taller, since she’s no longer hunched over from the excess weight.
• She’s lost seven inches from her waist.
• Her pants size has dropped from 28 wide to 14, and in shirts, she’s gone from a 4X to a large: “It’s crazy not to have to shop in a plus-size section anymore. There are endless possibilities and prints and patterns.”
• She can keep up with her two dogs when they go to the beach near their home in North Carolina.
• She has the energy to play with her three young nephews: “I’m the aunt who’s jumping on the trampoline with them now."
• She’s pain-free. She no longer has lower back pain, and her plantar fasciitis hasn’t flared up in over a year.
• Her acne has cleared up.
• Her hair and nails are growing faster.
• And, she’s overcome the challenge that started it all — she can put her shoes on again.