Saturday Success Story

Today's Success Story comes from a high-profile actress in Chicago, Illinois: Lindsay Goldapp. Check out those photos! Lindsay is chic!

Was there a point where you realized, “I’m really going to do it this time”? How motivating was that? Had you tried before and not succeeded?

Well, my weight loss came in shifts. At first I lost 25, and then I plateaued for a while. But then I got motivated to lose the last 15 a few months later. But I remember it very vividly- I was always fairly thin, but then I went to college and packed on the pounds. I am an actress, and one of the first roles that I auditioned for in college I lost because the director said my hips were too big. That's a direct quote. And it destroyed me. But I realized that I have an ingenue look, and in the acting biz I have to have the body to match the look. So I got very motivated very quickly.

How did you begin? What is different now? What are you excited about?

I began with 3 things 1) running 5 days a week 2) 20 minutes of pilate/yoga 6 days a week and 3) restricting myself to a 1,200 calorie/per day diet. And the weight fell off. But that was years ago, and now that I know much more about weight loss I know that it's not just about restricting calories but upping fiber intake and limiting processed foods to aid in digestion. Basically, weight loss is a lot easier than I made it the first time.

Is there anything—especially early on when it gets tough—is there anything that motivated you? What kept you going when you thought about just throwing in the towel?

This is going to sound really petty, but I always used to listen to my ipod and imagine myself at a big event like going back to my 10-year high school reunion and wowing them. Not that I was big in high school; however, it is very hard to stay a thin woman as you get older. This is always something that I will strive for. My 10-year-reunion is a great date to use to motivate myself to stay thin. Also, I would imagine myself on Broadway. I think you should use whatever is important to you to stay motivated. Pick a big event, like a wedding that you have to attend, and set that as your goal date so that you can imagine yourself walking in and everyone being stunned at how thin and beautiful you are.

How did you integrate new choices into your lifestyle?

Well, my husband and I traditionally eat all natural, so we try to stick to that, but every once in a while we fall off the wagon and integrate some processed foods. And we just try to control ourselves and not binge. We try to keep "bad" foods out of the house. You can't tempt yourself. You're not a super-human. Get them out of the house!

Let’s talk about food. What would you say were your biggest problem areas as far as eating? Was it what you were eating, how much, when, etc.? Tell us a little bit about that. And eating-wise, what changes did you make early on? What did you find easy to stick with?

As most people, I eat emotionally- I binge when I'm happy, sad, anxious, etc. I would say my biggest temptations are any type of noddle entree. Seriously, eating a whole box of macaroni and cheese is not difficult for me. But anywho, one good tool I like to use for emotional eating is this: keep a journal, but this is different from your typical "food journal." Instead, when you eat, you write down how you were FEELING when you ate. You journal the emotion you felt when you ate. Results are interesting. Then, you make a list of things that you enjoy doing that could be alternatives to eating, like- e-mail a family member, call a friend, sing, read an inspiring quote, etc. And you keep this list around your house so that you are inspired to do these things when you feel the urge to emotionally eat. This is a great tool. No one is fat on accident- we eat emotionally.

Would you take us through a typical weekday now, and tell us how that goes, as far as exercise and eating?

Though I fluctuate on how committed I am, what is ideal for me is exercising 5 days a week. I like to do 20 minutes balls-out cardio (it's not about how LONG you exercise, but how HARD you exercise) and then 40 minutes of weight-training. I finish that up with 15 minutes of yoga/pilates. Just over an hour- no big whoop! If I'm in a hurry I skip the weights and just do the cardio and yoga- a quick 35 minute work-out. As far as eating, I like to stick to Breakfast: coffee with soymilk and splenda/sugar mix (very healthy alternative to an artificial sweetener), a piece of fruit, or Fiber One cereal with Soymilk and raisins. I also like to sprinkle flax seed on my cereal because it adds some fiber. For lunch- a veg likebroccoli or asparagus, rice, and chicken. Or sometimes I do a homemade veg-based soup. For a snack I'll do raisins or a piece of fruit. For dinner I like to do a piece of fish with rice or whole-grain noodles, and a veg. But this is what is ideal for me- obviously I don't eat like this all the time. But if I start to feel as though I'm gaining weigh or my metabolism is slipping, I'll go back to this eating pattern. It feels good for me. Eating bad feels bad, and I hate doing it, ultimately.

What part of your body do you absolutely love, and why?

Hmmm...excellent question. I love my belly I guess. Pilates and yoga give you rockin' abs, and I love mine. (*Note to Readers--no matter how much Pilates or yoga you do, you will never see those rockin' abs if they're buried under inches of body fat. Don't even try to kid yourself. :) The combo of diet and exercise will kick those abs into visible shape.)

What were your particular difficulties, and how did you overcome them?

I just love eating. I also love drinking. For the drinking, I switched over to rum and diet Coke with a squeeze of lime. This has zero carbs and very few calories. I had to stop the sugary drinks.

What is the one habit you swear by?

Not using a scale- scales are stupid and your weight can fluctuate from water. Just use the same pair of pants to always judge weight gain and loss.

Statistics
Starting Weight: 147
Current Weight: 110
Height: 5'4"

Lindsay, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. You are truly amazing, refreshingly clear-headed, and incredibly inspiring. I really appreciate and admire women who take control of their weight and learn how to make their bodies function for them, instead of working against the natural signs their bodies are sending them.