How I Finally Lost Weight, and How You Can Too -Bridgette Raes

Before and after my 15lb. weight loss.

This is the story of how I finally lost weight, along with an invitation and opportunity available so you too can finally lose the weight you’ve been trying to get rid of as well, should that be something that you’re interested in, of course.

I believe so strongly in how I lost weight that this offer to you comes with a special exclusive offer available only to my network.

You can scroll down for more details on this offer but, first, I want to tell you my story of weight gain and how I overcame it as it will be important in helping you understand just how much this program changed my body and my life, and, most importantly how it can change yours.

Over the course of four years I managed to gain 40 lbs. According to my doctor, it had been a steady 10lb. gain per year since my wedding day in 2007. I went from being a super skinny size 4 to a voluptuous size 12 in what felt like the blink of an eye, even though it wasn’t.

Admittedly, the first ten lbs. were what I referred to as “happy fat”as I settled in to marriage and comfort. Without a doubt, I happily ate my way to that gain and, will be honest, enjoyed every luscious bite that got me there. Being so slender the day I got married, I could spare those first 10 lbs.. Yet, as I went into my second year of marriage, I noticed the next ten started to creep up and that none of my clothes fit any longer. It was then that I decided to get some control, something I thought would be easy.

Given my experience in the past, whenever I decided to put the brakes on weight gain, all it took was a commitment to the gym and cutting back on particular foods, like carbs. Yet, to my dismay, this time, it didn’t work and, instead of losing, I gained 10 more lbs.. Having been a thin, athletic kid and as an adult having been able to reign in my weight with little effort, I found myself in uncharted territory. Around this time, I also turned 35, an age where, I had been warned about for years, most metabolisms take a nosedive.

Slender on my wedding day. Probably the thinnest I’ve ever been.

As I continued to gain weight, I did everything on the planet to stop it. I tried things like putting in enough miles on the treadmill to get me to the moon, doing Bikram yoga (90 minutes of yoga done in a 105 degree studio) religiously and, fad dangerous diets aside, I gave up things like carbs, calorie counted, consulted nutritionists, cried to personal trainers and tried being a vegan. There wasn’t one stone that went unturned.

I gained another ten lbs.

Me at around my heaviest weight.

It was then that I began to worry that something was medically wrong with me. I started with my gynecologist who tested my thyroid and also confirmed that I wasn’t experiencing perimenopause. My next trip was to an endocrinologist who diagnosed me as insulin resistant, tested my blood and put me on a very strict no carb diet. At my three month follow up visit back to see him, after following his diet recommendations and getting my blood results back, it turned that I actually wasn’t insulin resistant and that my total weight loss (after not allowing a carbohydrate to enter my body for months) was 5lbs. With my 20th class reunion coming up at the end of the year, and feeling out of options, my endocrinologist gave me a prescription for diet pills. I never filled the prescription and reluctantly decided to just accept my new body size.

At a wedding with my sister and cousins. I relied heavily on knits.

I want to be clear with you, the whole time I was gaining it was never about the size I had become that worried me. Despite the 40 lb. weight gain, I was a a healthy size 12. I wasn’t obese and, according to medical charts, was only slightly dipping into what’s considered overweight for my tall 5’7″ frame. Yes, as a normal woman, I didn’t love being the size I had become and I certainly didn’t enjoy how I was beginning to look in photos, however, being an advocate for body acceptance and actually authoring a book about choosing clothing for the body you have, I felt like I would have been a tremendous hypocrite if I obsessed too strongly over the size I was currently wearing. Add to the fact, I am a master at how to make women look proportioned and slimmer in their clothing. Nobody realized how large I had gotten because I was able to dress myself with all my tricks.

However, what did have me panicked was the lack of control I felt over this rapid and consistent weight gain. It seemed that no matter what I did I couldn’t stabilize my body. I worried that if this trend continuedI would eventually wind up being unhealthily obese, no matter how hard I tried to gain control.

Meanwhile as I was learning how to lug around all the extra weight and getting used to people calling me a “big girl”, I would see updates on Facebook from my friend Anna Larsen who kept talking about the amazing weight loss and health strides her bootcamp participants were making in her fitness program, Your Body Better. Curious, I checked in with her about her program to find out more, despite the fact that I had all but abandoned any chance that I would ever be able to lose weight again or at least become more fit and healthy. Anna invited me to participate in her program. With a new bootcamp starting in a few days I had to make a quick decision as to whether or not I was going to join in. There wasn’t time for thinking, I just did it. However, with my agreement to do this, I also declared that this would be my last attempt to lose the weight I had gained, and if it didn’t work I’d never try again. Surely, I’d focus on my health by eating right and exercising, but not weight loss.

Anna and her bootcamp are stationed in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and I’m in Brooklyn. While it seems like a geographically undesirable situation, the good news was that I could participate in her program virtually. In fact, I didn’t even need a gym membership, just a few hand weights and exercise cords.

I skeptically got started.

For an incredibly reasonable cost, what Anna offers through her program is pretty extensive, even virtually. Not only did I get a meal plan, but I also got daily workouts sent to me. Every evening I emailed my food journal for the day and every morning I emailed Anna my weight and body fat percentage. Monthly, I sent her measurements. Anna was there every step of the way, changing things if necessary, encouraging me and helping me learn how to lose weight and get strong and fit. Despite the fact that Anna and I are practically on opposite sides of the country, I always felt like she was right there.

At my 20th high school reunion, 15 lbs. lighter.

I started this program in early August and by my 20th class reunion in October I had lost 15 lbs., 3% of my body fat and, get this, 32″ off my body! To my class reunion I managed to be able to be able to wear the same dress that I had worn to my wedding’s rehearsal dinner; a dress that had been hanging in my closet for 5 years. Yes, I filled it out more than I did the first time I wore it, but it still looked great!

To date, I have lost 20lbs. I took a few months off over the holidays and am now back in bootcamp mode to see how much stronger and fitter I can get. I’d love for you to join me!

Your Body Better 6-Week Rapid Fat Loss Program, exclusive to Bridgette Raes’ network for only $99!

Because I believe in Anna Larsen’s Your Body Better bootcamp program, I have made it possible for you to do her 6-Week Rapid Fat Loss program for only $99 (originally $225)

Now, I’m not going to lie, the workouts are challenging. I was so sore for the first week of my bootcamp that I thought I was going to die. However, it was well worth it! You’ll also have to get used to eating more frequently, using weights (don’t worry, you won’t bulk up) and pushing yourself. But, trust me, you won’t regret it for a second. If you’re like me and you haven’t been able to figure out how to finally get int0 shape, despite numerous attempts at it, then this is your answer. TRUST ME! And, for $99 how can you pass it up? This fitness program starts April 15th and spots are limited, so be sure to sign up today!

For more information and to sign up for this 6-Week Rapid Fat Loss program, click here…and then go bikini shopping! The password to access more information when you click the link is ‘sweaty.’ In order to take advantage of this program, you must be a fan of my Facebook Page as well as a subscriber to my weekly newsletter, which you can register for at bridgetteraes.com.

Best of luck to you!