At the age of 22, Laura Micetich weighed 300lbs and was facing multiple health difficulties. She was living a life of excess, eating unhealthily and not working out. Laura was struggling with hyperthyroidism, high blood pressure and prediabetes. She realised that without a radical change in diet and lifestyle, her youth would be lost and she would be facing a short and difficult life.
"My whole life, I’d been chubby," she writes on her website. "I'd struggled with my weight, with my body not letting me do the things I loved, with loving food, with the potential of health issues. At 22 years old, my weight had become a serious health issue. Not only was I struggling with my thyroid, but I could see myself heading toward more health issues in the future."
Laura knew that she had to make a change and, in Spring 2014, after graduating from college, she decided to take control of things. She considered having weight loss surgery and began losing the weight required in order to get down to a safe weight to do so. However, once she began her new lifestyle, something changed within her:
"What initially began because of consideration for weight loss surgery (I knew I'd need to be in a safe BMI range for the procedure and that I'd have to change my lifestyle drastically following the surgery) quickly grew into an intense love of health, fitness and nutrition."
Laura began to realise that the best route to getting healthy - for her at least - was by working out and eating well:
"I started by going to the gym, lifting weights and eating a clean diet tailored to my body's needs. It only took a few weeks for me to realize that I didn't need to go under the knife. I needed to get under the bar.
"In the first year, I shed more than 100 pounds without surgery and significantly changed my unhealthy habits.
"I am now health issue free and my life has changed for the better with the simple realization that what we want and what we do are completely in our own control."
As a result of her lifestyle change, Laura looks completely unrecognisable from the woman she was.
However, while her change may look impressive now, she admits that she was nervous about the process when it began. Speaking about the initial steps she took in order to get healthy, Laura says that it was her relationship with food that had to change. "I just adjusted my diet," she said. "I ate lots of clean foods and removed all starches and processed sugars."
"I stopped eating out. I stopped getting takeout. I stopped buying junk at the grocery store. I stopped having alcoholic drinks with friends. I stopped binging on crap. That was it.
"I didn’t under eat or starve myself. Instead, I ate a ton of food but changed what I was eating: Five or six meals 8 to 10 oz of protein (mostly raw, sashimi grade tuna from the fish market down the street - conveniently, one of my favorite foods) with large servings of green vegetables. I drank lots of water.
Once she got used to the change in diet, Laura then tailored her foods to suit her workout regime: "Down the road, when I was sure I was committed to changing my lifestyle, I adjusted my food intake to fit my specific needs."
Laura's transformation is awe-inspiring and incredible. And, through her honesty and openness, she shows that it can be achieved by anyone who puts their mind to it.