A gaming addict has revealed how she shed almost 84lbs (six stone) in just a year after swapping her sessions playing Call of Duty for a new hobby – weightlifting.
Kaitlyn van Brunschot, 26, a software engineer from Phoenix, Arizona, used to fill her spare time playing on her Xbox with friends, consuming junk food and soda to keep herself satisfied.
The unhealthy lifestyle saw Kaitlyn pile on the pounds, and at 228lbs (16st 4lb) and a size 16 (UK size 20), she found herself avoiding social events as she hated dressing up or revealing her body.
After she divorced her ex-husband in 2016, Kaitlyn decided to use her spare time lifting weights instead of playing video games, and soon fell in love with her new hobby as she watched the weight melt away.
For the first six months, Kaitlyn still ate junk food, but she eventually transformed her diet too, opting for fresh, whole foods.
Now Kaitlyn is 148lbs (10st 8lb) and a size 6 (UK size 10).
She used to fill her spare time playing Call of Duty on her Xbox with friends, consuming junk food and soda to keep herself satisfied (seen left in 2016 and right now)
‘Typical gamer’ Kaitlyn says she constantly snacked on unhealthy food while playing video games on the sofa, before her marriage breakdown inspired a lifestyle change
‘I was just your typical gamer, I would geek out and snack all the time. It was a lot of mindless eating, and eating really bad junk food and soda, that really lead me to gain weight,’ she said.
‘I never truly felt that attractive when I was heavier. It’s funny because I look back at old photos and I don’t think now that I was unattractive, I looked fine. I just think I was much harder on myself back then.
‘I would literally not hang out with people because the thought of having to get dressed up to go out with people would be too much for me to handle.
‘There was no way I was wearing a swimsuit in front of people back then. I remember trying so hard to appear smaller than I was. I always had negative thoughts about my body and how I looked too, which really wears your confidence down a lot.’
Kaitlyn van Brunschot, 26, a software engineer from Phoenix, Arizona, has revealed how she shed almost 84lbs (six stone) in just a year after swapping Call of Duty for weightlifting (seen left now, and right in 2016)
Talking about what triggered her transformation, she said: ‘I went through a really difficult breakup in summer 2016.
‘I married my first boyfriend and a lot of things just weren’t there that needed to be there. So when I split up with him found myself with a lot of free time and little to no idea of who I was as a person.
‘After my divorce I turned to weightlifting to fill my time and keep my mind off of things. I fell absolutely in love with weightlifting and how it made me feel. I had tried cardio regimes before and never really enjoyed them the same way that I enjoyed weightlifting.
‘It fills me with energy and makes me excited about what my body can do. Once I began to celebrate the things my body can do instead of ruminating over what it can’t do, that’s when the excess weight really melted off of me.
After she divorced her ex-husband in 2016, Kaitlyn decided to use her spare time to take up weightlifting, and soon fell in love with her new hobby as she watched the weight melt away (left before and right after)
Kaitlyn says that the first few months of her weight loss regime were the most difficult as she would only go to the gym late at night to avoid other gym-goers out of embarrassment.
However, she soon got over her fears and realised how weight lifting encouraged her to take care of herself.
‘Weight lifting has helped me realise the importance of taking care of myself. Losing weight itself was really just a side effect of me wanting to be healthier and feel better. I know now that it’s not good for your body to just eat junk food all day,’ Kaitlyn explained.
Kaitlyn says that the first few months of her weight loss regime were the most difficult as she would only go to the gym late at night to avoid other gym-goers out of embarrassment (seen before her weight loss)
For the first six months, Kaitlyn still ate junk food, but she eventually swapped this for fresh, whole foods
She added: ‘I can’t believe how much food I used to eat, it was normal for me to eat until I was sickeningly full every meal. I would eat until I was sick almost every day. I think eating was a means for me to ignore all the things in my life that I felt like I had no control over.
‘When I was heavier I always felt judged and isolated. I realise now that I was the one who isolated myself because I just wasn’t really a happy person. I complained a lot and had really fallen into a victim mentality.
‘Now I know that I alone have the power to change what I put out to the world. If I put out happiness and joy and am nice to people, then I meet other people like that.’
‘I remember trying so hard to appear smaller than I was. I always had negative thoughts about my body and how I looked too, which really wears your confidence down a lot,’ she said (seen left before and right after)
Kaitlyn tries to work out daily, fuelling her body with fresh foods but she doesn’t deny herself the occasional treat every once in a while
She admitted: ‘The first few months were hardest for me. Having that lifestyle change is always a learning process and can be difficult to maintain at times.
‘I used to work out late at night, like nine or 10pm, because I was too embarrassed to go weightlifting in the free weight area with all these very fit people.
‘It was hard to get over that initial embarrassment or fear of trying new things, but once I got over it, it began to get a lot easier.’
Kaitlyn tries to work out daily, fuelling her body with fresh foods but she doesn’t deny herself the occasional treat every once in a while.
After feeling self conscious when she first started her regime, she soon got over her fears and realised how weight lifting encouraged her to take care of herself
She feels like a whole new person and tries to work out every day, as well as eating healthily
‘Being realistic is helpful. Don’t try to change your diet and your exercise regime at the same time,’ she advised.
‘I would recommend either starting some physical activity that you love, or changing your eating patterns, but not both at the same time. And one hundred percent to be gentle with yourself.
‘It’s a learning process; it doesn’t happen overnight. Have faith in yourself too. You’ve probably done a lot of great things in your life, you’re probably a hard worker, and just believing that you can do something is the first step in actually doing that thing.
‘It makes me feel so loved when my friends ask me for advice, and I am so happy that I can help any of them in any small way.’
‘Being realistic is helpful. Don’t try to change your diet and your exercise regime at the same time,’ she said of her transformation
Kaitlyn loves weightlifting and is finally confident after previously avoiding social events