201 Weight Loss Transformational Stories That Have Changed People’s Lives

Kathleen Golding: Lost 178 Lbs.

Growing up, Kathleen Golding had always been overweight. By 21, she had turned to food as a “coping mechanism” while wrestling with anxiety and depression.

“I was stuck in a constant cycle of daily binging,” the New Bern, North Carolina resident, whose highest weight was 331 lbs., tells FIERCE. “I was eating fast food for every meal and enormous quantities each time.”

She finally decided to make a change and turned to gastric bypass surgery, which she underwent in June 2016.

“For some reason, weight loss surgery is seen as ‘cheating’ or being weak, but for me, I found strength in being able to say ‘I can’t do this on my own. I want to be healthy, but I need help,'” says Golding, now 26.

After the surgery, the weight began to “melt off,” says Golding, who eventually dropped 178 lbs. by making healthy dietary changes and exercising.

Now, Golding says she is finally at peace with her body. “I have some loose skin and it definitely has its imperfections, but I worked hard for this body,” says Golding, who also documented her weight loss journey on Instagram. “I spent so much time hating it but I’ve realized that this is the only body I’ve got and I’m going to take care of it.”