Wake-up call prompts mom of 3 to lose more than 100 pounds

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Elizabeth Raney had a wake-up call while on maternity leave with her youngest child that kicked off a 100-pound weight loss.

"I had the whole summer off with my kids and it just kind of hit me that I wasn't able to run around and play with them," said Raney, mom of a 5-year-old, 2-year-old and 1-year-old. "I had no energy and it got to the point where I wasn't giving my kids what they needed."

That realization prompted Raney, who weighed nearly 300 pounds, to start making healthier choices right away.

She resisted doing yet another fad diet and instead made small but impactful changes to her diet that led to big results.

"I started by not restricting anything but just having smaller amounts of food or choosing healthier options," said Raney, of Missouri. "If I wanted a soda I'd have Coke Zero, and now I don't drink soda at all."

"I tried to have things that are better options so I wasn't restricting and then bingeing," she said.

Raney, who described herself as "overweight since middle school," said she had to focus as much on her mindset as she did about what she chose to eat.

"It was definitely a mindset change because I've always overeaten and just thought that I was hungry all the time," she said ."I had to ask myself, 'Are you bored and that's why you want to eat? Or are you hungry? Have you eaten recently?'"

"I also had to change my mindset from just thinking that I needed to lose weight or be skinny to I needed to care for my body and care for myself," Raney added. "That I needed to be healthy."

The 25-year-old full-time bank employee went from eating fast food with her kids frequently to meal prepping and serving her kids the same healthy meals she prepared herself.

"If we want spaghetti for dinner I'll use veggie noodles," said Raney. "The kids can't tell and it's better for them."

Since starting her weight loss journey around one year ago, Raney has lost just over 100 pounds.

"I'm definitely more confident and I just make healthier choices," she said of her new lease on life. "And now I can go outside and play with my kids. My son has said to me, 'Mommy now you can climb on this with me.'"

Raney started documenting her weight loss on Instagram for accountability, and now shares her workouts with her followers too.

She exercises in the morning before her kids wake up or at night once her kids are asleep. She and her husband take turns watching the kids while the other works out, and if Raney is not able to go to the gym, she will do a no-equipment needed workout at home.

She wants other moms especially to know that they have to take time to take care of themselves.

"If you want to give your kids the life that they want, you have to be healthy too," Raney said. "Know it's not going to be easy but if you keep going you can get there.

Raney describes herself as a "lazy meal prepper." Here is how she makes sure she has healthy food options every week with minimal effort.

"Every Sunday I meal prep for myself and my husband for the week. I just cook some vegetables, prep some salads and make a protein like chicken. Then every day for lunch I have a salad with a protein or other vegetables with a protein. It's thrown together but always good."

Editor's note: This was originally published on Jan. 23, 2020.