After Misty Mitchell suffered from a herniated disc in her lower back, her health fell apart. The American mum’s weight jumped to almost 300 pounds, and she sometimes drank half a litre of vodka in a day, the Daily Mail reports. But Mitchell amazingly turned everything around by cutting alcohol out of her diet, losing 137 pounds and looking two decades younger as a result.
Mitchell’s injury first cost her a job and later her family’s home before she had back surgery in August 2014. But she wrote that she ‘wallowed’ for months. ‘I was eating all day, then drinking by night, then because I was hungover I was eating badly,’ she told the Daily Mail. ‘On my worst days I probably drank around half a litre of vodka, which equates to an additional 1,000 empty calories on top of my poor diet.’
For reference, a half litre of spirit equals 20 units of alchol. The NHS defines moderate drinking for women as 14 units per week, with several drink-free days each week. Having more than six units in a single session qualifies as binge drinking according to Drinkware.
Luckily, Mitchell realised her habits put her on the wrong track. ‘On February 19, 2015, I stepped on the scale and weighed almost 300 pounds, was most likely an alcoholic, and I smoked,’ she says on her website. ‘I didn’t like where my life was going and I was sick of being unhappy so I decided I to change everything.’ She swapped hamburgers and fries for fish and veggies, as well as picking up weight-lifting and yoga. The new routine made a world of a difference.
‘No one believes me when I tell them I’m 36, which is great because I looked middle-aged less than two years ago,’ Mitchell told the Daily Mail. ‘I feel like I’ve lost 20 years off my age and I certainly look that way too.’
Mitchell’s since started a weight loss company called Mind Your Macros, and she’s not slowing down anytime soon. She recently shared on Instagram that she’s no longer afraid to travel or fly, and her family’s planning their first ever holiday this year.
source : goodhousekeeping.co.uk