Etna Green Woman Loses Nearly 150 Pounds
July 29, 2017 at 3:24 a.m.
Etna Green Woman Loses Nearly 150 Pounds
By David [email protected]
She’s lost nearly 150 pounds since 2014 thanks in part to bariatric surgery, but mostly to exercising with fitness trainer Jason Spindler at Workout Anytime over the past year.
When she started her journey to losing weight and trimming up, Losee weighed 398.9 pounds. At her last weigh-in, she was down to 252.4 pounds.
“I started the journey in July 2014, (that’s) when I met with my bariatric center up in Goshen. And that’s when the whole thing started,” Losee said Thursday. “I remember I was sitting at Culver’s, eating dinner, and I looked at my husband and said, ‘I really wish I could eat like that and lose weight.’ And he said, ‘Why don’t you talk to your dad about the surgery?’”
Losee’s dad already had bariatric surgery. She asked him about a seminar and then went to one. “And that’s where it all started,” she said.
She had her surgery on Nov. 11, 2015.
“So what they did is they cut my intestines, and then they rerouted it and made my stomach a really small pouch, and then rerouted the intestine up and reconnected where they cut down to the lower intestine. So I malabsorb it. Like where most of the calories and stuff are absorbed, that’s all bypassed now, so I can only eat very little bits at a time,” Losee explained.
She said she lost a good amount of weight in the first six to eight months after the surgery, but then her scales didn’t move much more after that.
While she always knew she needed to hit the gym to maintain her weight loss and lose more, she didn’t start working out with Spindler until May 2016.
“I had a good amount of weight come off (after the surgery). I was still kind of learning what I can eat, what I can’t eat, what I can do, what I can’t do. And then it just really slowed down and it was like ‘I’ve got to do something.’ You have to work out in order to lose the weight. So I kind of went from there and that’s when I started here (at Workout Anytime),” Losee said.
Recalling his first meeting with Losee, Spindler said, “I knew physically wise she was really capable of doing a bunch of stuff once we got there. Everyone kind of starts off slow, but she didn’t have anything really holding her back per se, so we just kind of dove into it really.”
At the start, he said she couldn’t do a lot of squats or this and that. Within a month, however, she was improving.
“Now she can do squats for 30 minutes if she wanted to. If I was that evil to make her do that. But now (she) can run over a mile,” Spindler said.
Losee said she’s never been able to run over a mile in her entire life without stopping. Back in February, she hit a goal when she ran a 5K in under 45 minutes. As she crossed the finishing line, she was bawling.
“I’ve always wanted to do that, but I’ve never been able to do it, and I cried crossing that finish line,” she said.
Losee, who celebrated her 28th birthday Thursday, can now finish a 5K in about 41 minutes. She ran her first mile in June during the Mentone Egg Festival 5K, not too far from her home in Etna Green.
Diet also has been a big part of Losee’s weight loss. Spindler said Losee’s diet is a lot different because of her bariatric surgery. “I try to get on her and tell her to eat the healthy stuff,” he said.
Losee said if she quit eating pizza, her numbers would probably be a lot better.
“I get on her a bunch about it, but at the same time her diet is a lot different than most people. So it’s a little different situation with that. But I do try to encourage the healthy eating the best I can,”?Spindler said.
A dietician through the bariatric center helps Losee with her eating habits.
Spindler said other people can lose the weight like Losee with or without the surgery.
“With her right now, it’s turning the fat into muscle and losing that body fat percentage. That’s been the biggest thing,” he said.
She said while her scale isn’t moving, her body fat percentage is dropping. It’s fallen from 56.8 percent body fat to 37.6 percent at her most recent weigh-in.
Working out has also helped Losee with the loose skin she’s had from the weight loss.
“I don’t think I have as much loose skin as I would have if I didn’t work out like in toning and all that stuff. I’m going to have some (because) when you lose a significant amount of weight, you’re going to have it either way, but I think I have less than what I could have,” she said.
Spindler continues to push Losee in the gym every day, and that will never get any easier for her.
“I definitely switch it up, depending on the fitness levels. But if we went back and did a workout from the first month, she’d be like, ‘Is that it? Why am I paying for this?’” he said.
Losee’s ultimate goal is to get down to 198 pounds just so she can say she lost 200 pounds.
“But I’m happy. I just want to keep toning up. I’m happy with where I’m at. I’m not too worried about the number on the scale anymore compared to where my body fat percentage is, and what I can do over where the number on the scale is, because when I tell people what I weigh, they say, ‘No, you don’t,” she said.
Training with Spindler, Losee said she’s cried a few times and thrown up once, but “that’s because he pushes me and knows where I can go.”
Her advice to others wanting to lose weight is to keep up with it and make it fun.
“I love to dance. I do a lot of my cardio through dance and I love to dance and swim. Make it fun stuff to where you don’t feel like you’re working out,” she said. “And (have) a good trainer.”
Spindler agreed, saying, “Keeping it fun is definitely (important).”
Losee said, “I just want people to know what I did is not the easy way and it takes continued work and dedication to get to where you want to be. The surgery didn’t fix everything for me; if it did I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t work out the way I do because you can gain every single pound back you lost, absolutely. It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
She’s lost nearly 150 pounds since 2014 thanks in part to bariatric surgery, but mostly to exercising with fitness trainer Jason Spindler at Workout Anytime over the past year.
When she started her journey to losing weight and trimming up, Losee weighed 398.9 pounds. At her last weigh-in, she was down to 252.4 pounds.
“I started the journey in July 2014, (that’s) when I met with my bariatric center up in Goshen. And that’s when the whole thing started,” Losee said Thursday. “I remember I was sitting at Culver’s, eating dinner, and I looked at my husband and said, ‘I really wish I could eat like that and lose weight.’ And he said, ‘Why don’t you talk to your dad about the surgery?’”
Losee’s dad already had bariatric surgery. She asked him about a seminar and then went to one. “And that’s where it all started,” she said.
She had her surgery on Nov. 11, 2015.
“So what they did is they cut my intestines, and then they rerouted it and made my stomach a really small pouch, and then rerouted the intestine up and reconnected where they cut down to the lower intestine. So I malabsorb it. Like where most of the calories and stuff are absorbed, that’s all bypassed now, so I can only eat very little bits at a time,” Losee explained.
She said she lost a good amount of weight in the first six to eight months after the surgery, but then her scales didn’t move much more after that.
While she always knew she needed to hit the gym to maintain her weight loss and lose more, she didn’t start working out with Spindler until May 2016.
“I had a good amount of weight come off (after the surgery). I was still kind of learning what I can eat, what I can’t eat, what I can do, what I can’t do. And then it just really slowed down and it was like ‘I’ve got to do something.’ You have to work out in order to lose the weight. So I kind of went from there and that’s when I started here (at Workout Anytime),” Losee said.
Recalling his first meeting with Losee, Spindler said, “I knew physically wise she was really capable of doing a bunch of stuff once we got there. Everyone kind of starts off slow, but she didn’t have anything really holding her back per se, so we just kind of dove into it really.”
At the start, he said she couldn’t do a lot of squats or this and that. Within a month, however, she was improving.
“Now she can do squats for 30 minutes if she wanted to. If I was that evil to make her do that. But now (she) can run over a mile,” Spindler said.
Losee said she’s never been able to run over a mile in her entire life without stopping. Back in February, she hit a goal when she ran a 5K in under 45 minutes. As she crossed the finishing line, she was bawling.
“I’ve always wanted to do that, but I’ve never been able to do it, and I cried crossing that finish line,” she said.
Losee, who celebrated her 28th birthday Thursday, can now finish a 5K in about 41 minutes. She ran her first mile in June during the Mentone Egg Festival 5K, not too far from her home in Etna Green.
Diet also has been a big part of Losee’s weight loss. Spindler said Losee’s diet is a lot different because of her bariatric surgery. “I try to get on her and tell her to eat the healthy stuff,” he said.
Losee said if she quit eating pizza, her numbers would probably be a lot better.
“I get on her a bunch about it, but at the same time her diet is a lot different than most people. So it’s a little different situation with that. But I do try to encourage the healthy eating the best I can,”?Spindler said.
A dietician through the bariatric center helps Losee with her eating habits.
Spindler said other people can lose the weight like Losee with or without the surgery.
“With her right now, it’s turning the fat into muscle and losing that body fat percentage. That’s been the biggest thing,” he said.
She said while her scale isn’t moving, her body fat percentage is dropping. It’s fallen from 56.8 percent body fat to 37.6 percent at her most recent weigh-in.
Working out has also helped Losee with the loose skin she’s had from the weight loss.
“I don’t think I have as much loose skin as I would have if I didn’t work out like in toning and all that stuff. I’m going to have some (because) when you lose a significant amount of weight, you’re going to have it either way, but I think I have less than what I could have,” she said.
Spindler continues to push Losee in the gym every day, and that will never get any easier for her.
“I definitely switch it up, depending on the fitness levels. But if we went back and did a workout from the first month, she’d be like, ‘Is that it? Why am I paying for this?’” he said.
Losee’s ultimate goal is to get down to 198 pounds just so she can say she lost 200 pounds.
“But I’m happy. I just want to keep toning up. I’m happy with where I’m at. I’m not too worried about the number on the scale anymore compared to where my body fat percentage is, and what I can do over where the number on the scale is, because when I tell people what I weigh, they say, ‘No, you don’t,” she said.
Training with Spindler, Losee said she’s cried a few times and thrown up once, but “that’s because he pushes me and knows where I can go.”
Her advice to others wanting to lose weight is to keep up with it and make it fun.
“I love to dance. I do a lot of my cardio through dance and I love to dance and swim. Make it fun stuff to where you don’t feel like you’re working out,” she said. “And (have) a good trainer.”
Spindler agreed, saying, “Keeping it fun is definitely (important).”
Losee said, “I just want people to know what I did is not the easy way and it takes continued work and dedication to get to where you want to be. The surgery didn’t fix everything for me; if it did I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t work out the way I do because you can gain every single pound back you lost, absolutely. It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.”
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