by Caitlin H,
Sep 18, 2023
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Name: Hailey Nelson
Hometown: Hatfield, PA
Age: 32
Occupation: Financial Analyst
Meal Plan: Mediterranean
Favorite Meal: Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl
Start Date: mid-February
Starting weight: 211
Height: 5’5”
Pounds Lost: 30
Activity Level: Daily 30-minute strength training workouts and treadmill walks
When I get a craving, my go-to trick is: I love the 70-calorie Fiber One Brownies. They’re so good, and the perfect size!
Anything worth doing is worth doing with consistency, diligence, and patience. Just ask Hailey Nelson, a 32-year-old financial analyst who has shed 30 pounds since starting her weight loss journey with Diet-to-Go in February.
“I’ve lost about a pound a week since starting the program, so it’s obviously working,” Hailey said, adding that she appreciates the consistency. “It’s not as fast as I want, but I also know losing 60 pounds in five months isn’t realistic. It’s not a quick fix.”
And it’s Hailey’s commitment to reaching her ultimate goal of 150 pounds, something she knows will happen one small step at a time, that keeps her going. Hailey’s daily routine includes eating her Diet-to-Go breakfasts, lunches, and dinners and, if she has a craving, enjoying her Fiber One brownie in the evening.
“I’m in such a great routine. It’s easier every day,” Hailey said.
She also maintains a consistent fitness routine, which she started in February alongside her Diet-to-Go meal plan, that involves a simple strength-training routine during her lunch hour and a 2- to 3-mile walk on her treadmill in the evenings.
“It’s ingrained in me now,” Hailey said. “I even feel weird if I skip a day, but I don’t get in a funk. I just get right back into it.”
That mindset also carried into her vacations, where she found she could maintain her weight even if she didn’t lose any just by staying consistent every other day in her life.
Hailey’s hard work culminated in an incredible feel-good moment in July when she visited a friend she hadn’t seen for a few months.
“The minute I walked in, she said, “Oh my, have you lost weight?!’” Hailey said. “It was the very first thing she said to me. That made me feel really good and was so nice. It can be hard to notice yourself, so having someone else notice is really great.”
Hailey said Diet-to-Go has made it easy for her to keep going. She regularly uses the myDiettogo online portal to check the calorie counts of her weekly meals, change meal plans, substitute meals, and check delivery dates.
“Substituting is really easy, and I enjoy going through the substitution meals. I’ve found meals I’d never even had, which allowed me to try new things,” Hailey said. “I also log in to the portal and write down my calorie counts so I can add up calories to see if I have room for a brownie or something.”
Hailey said keeping track of the calories is also extremely helpful when facing the most significant challenge she has with her weight loss: getting together with friends or dining out with her fiance.
“My fiance sometimes wants to get takeout or go out to sushi on the weekends,” she said. “So, I let myself have a cheat meal over the weekend, and then recalculate which Diet-to-Go meals I am going to move or skip to accommodate for the calories I had in my cheat meal.”
The key, she said, is leniency.
“I want to be able to treat myself sometimes, but I don’t want to go overboard,” Hailey said. “If I start seeing I’m not making as much progress as usual, I back off altogether.”
Hailey said that as a DIY person, she appreciates that Diet-to-Go has all the tools she needs to keep herself on track.
“I appreciate Diet-to-Go because it really has got me to a point where I can maintain this daily lifestyle, and I haven’t given up yet,” she said. “I think that’s amazing.”
She said she hopes her success story inspires others to understand that losing weight — and keeping it off — is a marathon, not a sprint.
“I’m in it for the long term,” Hailey said. “Even if it takes me a whole nother year, I know that’s realistic. And that’s what I’d tell others: Stick with it for the long run. If you do, you’ll really see a difference.”
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Author: Caitlin H
Diet-to-Go Community Manager
Caitlin is the Diet-to-Go community manager and an avid runner. She is passionate about engaging with others online and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. She believes moderation is key, and people will have the most weight loss success if they engage in common-sense healthy eating and fitness.
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