How To Lose Weight Fast: Mom Reveals Way She Lost 60kg In 1 Year

A 41-year-old mother from Minnesota revealed that she lost more than 130 pounds in one year due to consistency, some group support and a concept called "habit stacking."

Sabrina Osland, of Chanhassen, started her weight loss journey after she was charged extra on a helicopter ride over a glacier with her son that was part of an Alaskan cruise, Today reported.

"If you were over a certain weight then you had to pay extra because apparently, it would be taking (a seat) away from somebody else. I don’t know how 20 or 50 pounds really counts for a person. But really it was one of the most devastating things," Osland told the outlet.

The business sales consultant's weight fluctuated throughout adulthood, but she started to gain weight again after she got married seven years ago.

The helicopter ride led Osland to start exercising for at least 30 minutes every day upon returning home. She set reminders on her phone and wrote a checklist of tasks to do every day, which included small changes such as drinking enough water, exercising and taking vitamins.

This "checks and balances" system would remind Osland about tasks if she failed to do them on time.

She later started walking for an hour or twice a day once her endurance improved. She then added strength training, but the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and she had to incorporate her new habits into her work-from-home life without a gym.

However, this presented Osland with an opportunity to change more things about her lifestyle as "all the excuses" she had before disappeared.

The mother started to change what she ate and switched her focus from "convenient" to "healthy" options. She began preparing fresh vegetables for snacks instead of potato chips and adding salads to dinner rather than pizza. The goal was to add protein and vegetables to the diet while attempting to take out as much of the carbs, Osland said.

Osland made these changes one at a time, and she would only add another until the last change became a habit. "It really was about taking those small steps," she explained.

This habit stacking "allowed her to develop healthy behaviors she can stick to easily," according to Today.

Aside from this, Osland started working out with a group called Alpha Strong after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions allowed her to return to the gym. The group supposedly helped Osland bolster her strength training regimen and added accountability for her as well.

"The community in and of itself has just been amazing," Osland said, adding, "The friendships in the community that we have developed … they hold you accountable. Developing that community and accountability has been huge.”

Additionally, Osland said that progress was more important for her than perfection and that there was no problem if her workout in some days was not the best or if she did not eat as many vegetables as she should have in others.

"It’s progress, not perfection. That’s my motto. If I’m not doing something 100% then I feel like I’m failing. And you just need to celebrate those successes along the way," Osland explained.

The mother, who has since gone down from 266 pounds to 135 pounds in a little over a year and is now in her maintenance stage, pointed out that "it's not just about what you physically look like, but how much it impacts everything as a whole."

"There is so much more that comes with leading a healthy lifestyle," Osland said.