I lost over 200 lbs. there was no magic pill, these were my exact diet swaps

A once-XXXXXL mom who had to have a double mastectomy to reduce her risk of cancer lost over 200 lbs.so she could have breast reconstruction surgery.Tori Phillips, 39, long used food as comfort due to a tough upbringing and already weighed about 180 lbs.

by the time she was 11.Over the years she tried diets and exercise programs, but she would always put the weight on again.But a health scare in her late 30s was the push she needed to throw herself into losing weight, and she’s halved her body weight following a gastric sleeve, dieting, and surgery to remove excess skin.Phillips’ difficult childhood left her using food as a coping mechanism from a young age.She would sneak treats into the bathroom and gobble them when nobody was watching.“I think my weight was noticeable from as young as seven,” she said.

“I was gifted a Barbie exercise video tape for my eighth birthday!At school she was the largest in her class and got no interest from boys.By 18, she weight 350 lbs.The worse her mental health got, the more she would rely on food to comfort her — and her diet featured huge portions of pizza, burritos and “whole pints of ice cream.”At 21 she was 420 lbs.

and a size XXXXXL — her heaviest weight — but she couldn’t keep it off whenever she lost weight.“I would overexercise and under-eat.I once even blacked out in a grocery store.

And I never maintained the weight loss,” she said.But in 2014, Phillips learned she has the BRCA1 gene, putting her at risk of breast cancer.Due to the nature and family history of breast cancer, doctors told her she would need a double mastectomy before her 39th birthday.In the meantime, she met her husband and welcomed her daughter Caitlin, now 3.

But she knew as soon as she gave birth that she couldn’t put off her weight loss any more — because doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to have reconstructive surgery after her double mastectomy if she didn’t slim down.In February 2022, she decided to pursue...