A college student revealed how she shed 100 pounds after she nearly died from a blood clot.
Lori Odegaard, 24, from North Dakota, said she first decided it was time to change her lifestyle in the fall of 2016, after she noticed she could hardly walk up a flight of stairs.
The incident prompted Lori to take a close look at her weight, and she was shocked to discover that she tipped the scales at 297lbs.
Determined to turn her life around, the student began dieting and exercising, and ended up losing 40 pounds, but her weight loss journey was cut short when she began showing signs of polycystic ovarian syndrome — a hormonal disorder causing enlarged ovaries with small cysts on the outer edges.
Discouraged, Lori stopped maintaining her healthy lifestyle. However, after almost losing her life due to a blood clot in her uterus, she was inspired to turn things around once again.
She has now lost 100 pounds in total and is training to run a half-marathon.
A college student revealed how she shed 100 pounds after she nearly died from a blood clot. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
Lori Odegaard, 24, from North Dakota, decided it was time to change her lifestyle in 2016, after she had trouble walking up stairs. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
She began dieting and exercising, and lost 40 pounds, but her weight loss journey was cut short when she began showing signs of polycystic ovarian syndrome. She is pictured as a child
It all started while Lori, who is a student at North Dakota State University, was visiting her family for Thanksgiving break.
She said she became alarmed after she climbed 10 stairs and couldn’t catch her breath.
‘I couldn’t catch my breath back again and it was very alarming to me because I was like, “There’s no way I should be struggling to get air,”‘ she recalled during a recent interview with the Today show.
‘That was a bit of a red flag for me and it was at that point that I was like this has just gotten out of hand. I’ve got to do something.’
She started by cutting her portions in half and walking 30 minutes a day. But when she went back to college, she admitted it was difficult for her to keep up the diet.
She explained: ‘It was really hard because my friends would eat whatever they wanted and I really had to stay on track.
‘I would try to eat a salad with every meal. I thought that cutting out bread and starches and junk food … [would work].’
Lori stopped maintaining her healthy lifestyle. However, after almost dying due to a blood clot in her uterus, she was inspired to turn things around once again. She is pictured as a teen
She has now lost 100 pounds in total and is training to run a half-marathon. She opened up about her journey during a recent interview with The Today Show
It all started when Lori, who is a student at North Dakota State University, climbed 10 stairs and couldn’t catch her breath. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
She started by cutting her portions in half and walking 30 minutes a day – and she lost 40 pounds. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
After making those changes, Lori lost 40 pounds. But when she went through some health issues, she stopped focusing on losing weight.
Besides showing early signs of polycystic ovarian syndrome, doctors also thought Lori had fibroids — noncancerous growths in the uterus — or endometriosis — a disorder in which tissue that normally lines the uterus grows outside the uterus.
It turns out, it wasn’t any of those things. She underwent emergency surgery, and they then discovered she actually had a blood clot ‘the size of a baseball’ that was decaying in her uterus.
After the procedure, Lori realized she needed to get back in shape.
‘I had been complacent and plateaued for eight months,’ she said. ‘After that surgery, I started feeling good again.’
Lori started counting her calories, and that changed everything for her. The method allowed her to eat healthy but still treat herself once in a while.
‘That has been the most successful thing I have come upon in my weight-loss journey because it has taught me a good relationship with eating food,’ she told the outlet.
When she went through some health issues, she stopped focusing on losing weight. She then got surgery due to a blood clot. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
After the procedure, Lori realized she needed to get back in shape. She has now lost 100 pounds in total. She is pictured after her weight loss
She credits calorie counting as one of the main things that contributed to her weight loss. She is pictured before (left) and after (right) her weight loss
‘I can eat wholesome foods and when I’m out and about I can go to Starbucks and get coffee. It’s allowing balance and really eating in moderation.’
Lori said she makes little changes in what she eats — like ground turkey instead of ground beef or sugar-free condiments instead of regular ones — and it makes all the difference.
She also continued to do cardio, and recently began weight training. She has since lost another 60 pounds, totaling 100 pounds since she started in 2016.
‘When I started four years ago I set the goal … to lose 100 pounds,’ she told the outlet.
‘Now that I’ve hit this I’m like, “Wow, I can do anything I set my mind to and it doesn’t matter how long it takes.”‘
Before, Lori said she was ashamed to take pictures of herself, but now, she is proud to show off her body online and compare it to the way she used to look.
‘When I first started I was so embarrassed of myself. But now looking back I wish I would have taken more,’ she said.
‘When I was feeling down I would take a picture and put them side-by-side and remind myself, “This is how far you’ve gotten. Look how much you’ve done already.”‘
Lori is ‘really happy where she’s at’ now, and is currently training to run a half-marathon.
She encouraged others who are trying to lose weight to be kind to themselves, no matter what the results are.
She concluded: ‘It’s really hard no matter how much you lose and it takes a lot of strength and determination. Just don’t be too hard on yourself.’
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