A WAITRESS lost a whopping eight stone with two simple tricks - after her "spirit was crushed" when a customer told her she'd "doubled in size".
Kaylin Gealy, 28, says she piled on pounds while working as a waitress at an Italian restaurant, where she'd get two free meals per day.
Kaylin went from 10.7 stone (150lbs) to almost 17 stone (237lbs) after indulging in rich pasta dishes daily.
The 28-year-old said she would take home "family-sized" dishes at the end of her shift and would eat them all by herself, accompanied by sides and desserts.
She hoped that being on her feet all day would help her to walk off the calories.
But Kaylin was reduced to tears when a customer turned round to her on shift one day in October 2019 and told her she had "doubled in size" - even going so far as to show her an image of herself from the year before.
Kaylin says she was left "shocked" by the comment and knew in that moment she need to make some changes.
The 28-year-old had also been told by her doctor she was obese.
She used the hurtful comment as ammunition to start her weight loss journey.
Kaylin switched to an office job to keep away from the temptation of free meals and vowed to make healthier food choices.
She also ditched fizzy drinks for water and started going for walks during her lunch breaks.
"I'd been working everyday at the restaurant so I was eating seven Italian dishes throughout the week," she said.
"Usually at lunch time I would have a sandwich or a burger but then at the end of the night I would also get a family-sized meal.
"The restaurant had dishes on the menu that were pasta-for-two and I would get the meal that was made for two people and I would bring it home and eat it all to myself.
"I might get a soup or a salad with it, extra garlic bread, and if there was a good cake in the dessert cooler then I might bring a cake home with me too.
"I wouldn't get home until 11pm so I was eating so much food right before bed - and it wasn't healthy food.
"I wasn't thinking about nutrition - I was just thinking about the fact that the food looked delicious and I just wanted all of it."
The lifestyle change resulted in Kaylin losing a whopping 8.2 stone (116lbs) in the space of two years - with five stone (70lbs) of the weight loss shed within the first 12 months.
Kaylin's weight dropped from 17 stone (237lbs) to 8.6 stone (121lbs) at her lowest.
Kaylin - who now works as an asset management specialist - now maintains her weight at around 9.2 stone (130lbs) and says she "feels like a whole new person".
Kaylin, from Greenville, South Carolina, recalled the hurtful incident that kicked off her journey: "One of my regulars who would come in everyday for lunch asked me if I was taking any medication.
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"I told her that I wasn't and she told me that I'd doubled in size from the year before.
"When she told me that she pulled up her phone and had a picture of me from the year before - she was trying to show me visual proof of how much weight I'd gained which wasn't very nice.
"That was the moment where it crushed my spirit and I decided to make a change.
"I was so sad. It felt like all of the music and all of the sounds around me stopped. I was very shocked.
"The next week I left my waitress job and got a job in an office setting because I knew that I needed to not be around food the whole day."
Kaylin overhauled her lifestyle and started calorie counting, made healthier food choices, swapped fizzy drinks for water and used her breaks in the office to go for a walk.
After shedding 100lbs, Kaylin dropped from a size 22 to a size six in jeans - from an 18 to a two in American sizing - and from a size XL to small in tops.
Kaylin said: "I feel like a whole new person.
"Instead of wanting to stay in and watch movies and eat takeaways, I'm always wanting to go explore.
"I love being active and it's amazing how much energy I have now - I didn't think it was possible.
Just do one little thing each week. Maybe the first week you stop eating the cookies and the next week you add in a walk
Kaylin Gealy
"It's also so much easier to shop. I enjoy shopping - I'm not scared about going to try things on and them not fitting.
"I can typically find more cute options as well. It's just easier to find clothes now."
Kaylin urges anyone else at the start of their weight loss journey to start with small swaps and stay consistent.
Kaylin said: "I would say just start with small changes and let them accumulate.
"Be as persistent as you can. You don't have to go in full force at the beginning. Every little change will add up to a big change.
"Just do one little thing each week. Maybe the first week you stop eating the cookies and the next week you add in a walk.
"Stay consistent - you can definitely do it."
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