by Julie Holsapple

I think my story starts with this: I am not special, and I haven’t done anything special. Losing 96 pounds was work and I have more work to do. I have not had any kind of surgery and do not take any kind of weight loss pills. What I have done is I lowered my calorie intake and started exercising and greatly increased my water consumption.

I struggle every day,with my weight loss. What prompted my change was my sister.

In January of 2015 I was at Central Baptist Hospital in Lexington waiting for my sister to get out of surgery and, from which she never truly recovered.

Once she was out of surgery the doctor stood in front of my whole family and informed us that we were all heading down the same road as her. I decided that day I wasn’t going any fartherdown that road.

I had already installed the “myfitnesspal” app on my phone; I got very serious about not going over my calorie count and learning about serving sizes and how to eat correctly.

I learned that going to bed hungry will not kill you. I never tried to stop eating sweets or carbs because I knew if I gave up on all of that, I wouldn’t stick with this.

I wanted to do this the healthy way. I think that any kind of “fad diet” or quick fix is a mistake and will never work. It has to be a lifestyle change.

I still eat anything that I want, just in moderation. I think the secret to my success is I haven’t given up. If I had a bad day and ate stuff I knew I shouldn’t I just got back up the next day started all over and tried to do better. I have been using “myfitnesspal” for 325 days in a row. I have only gone over on my calorie count about six times. Also, I drink at least 120 ounces of water per day.

I workout every day in some form or fashion. When I started exercising, walking one mile was all I could do. Now I’m running/walking three miles. I am also doing Zumba at the Wellness Center, and just trying to live a healthier life.

I did the Foothills 5K with a decent time, but it will be much better next year. I know that I can’t change anyone’s life with my story but I can tell you that if you want it bad enough, it’s possible. I have more weight to lose. My story is not over. I am not skinny yet, but its coming.

Julie Holsapple

For more information please contact April Speck, Clinton County Healthy Hometown Coordinator at 606-387-2051 or april.speck@clinton.kyschools.us

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Healthy Hometown is working toward a “healthy” Clinton County.