Meet our next Wildflower Magazine babe...Katie

Hers is a story of strength, determination, dedication and sheer willpower that is not to be missed.

Read her journey here:

Hi! My name is Katie, nice to meet you!

My journey to doing a boudoir photoshoot is a little different from most. About 3 years ago I came to the realization that my life and career were finally in a place where I could take the time to start working on the lifestyle changes I needed to make in order to lose weight. At the time I was 24 and had been morbidly obese (and then some) my entire life. So I knew I was going to need to put a good amount of my time and energy into re-learning how to eat, find a way to be active that I enjoyed and actually start addressing my emotional and physical well being. Since then I’ve lost around 180lbs from my highest recorded weight.

(client photo submission)

Boudoir standing pose in rope on wooded road

It’s certainly not been an easy process, but I’m here for the journey. And the most difficult part is actually right now. I’ve lost as much as I realistically want to and am now working on what the rest of my life will look like with the goal of making everything sustainable and balanced. I am human though, just like everyone else, and it’s hard to break a lifetime of poor eating habits. When I make mistakes and fall back on old habits I always reflect and try to learn from the experience. And do see small improvements each time, so I know I will get to a healthy place eventually.

In January of 2024 I started going to the gym. The thought of going scared me terribly but it was something I really wanted to do. Just like everything I’ve done throughout this process I worked my way through baby steps. I started with just using the walking track. At the time I was walking 3-5 miles a day outside and it had gotten too cold and dark for me to want to walk outside anymore. So after work I’d go, listen to my podcasts or music and get my walking done there instead. However, I really wanted to start lifting and thought I’d really enjoy it, but was too scared to even go into the weight lifting area of the gym. Eventually, I learned of a small group class that you could pay to take called “strength and conditioning”. It was like personal training but in a small group setting of around 8-10 people. It was scary but I knew I would need help and could reasonably handle working in that smaller group setting rather than a large one.

Learning to move my body in this new way has certainly been one of the hardest things I’ve done as an adult, if not, my whole life. I had never done anything like this so there was almost no brain to body connection. It was quickly very apparent that extra help would be beneficial for me and I knew I wanted to focus solely on weight lifting. So when the class was going to take a 2 month break I decided to pursue working with a personal trainor. Since then I’ve unsurprisingly fallen in love with weight lifting. I recently got on the 500lb club board with a total of 630lbs lifted, making me the first female on the board to have lifted a total over 600lbs. I deadlifted 290lbs, squatted 225lbs and bench pressed 115lbs.

I have always told myself that if I lost the weight and put the work in to make it a lifestyle change, that I deserved to get the excess skin removed, regardless of the cost. Excess skin is unavoidable when you come from a weight well above 300lbs. I can tell that I have been blessed more than others that my skin has tightened as much as it has. However, I still have a lot, especially around the stomach where most of my weight was carried. This is where the boudoir photoshoot became something I wanted to do. My body has done incredible things and I felt I needed to honor it in a positive light for everything it’s done for me. It carried me at 360lbs, lost 180lbs, maintained a high level of muscle throughout that process, grew even more muscle, and started accomplishing amazing physical feats I had only ever dreamt about.

For those who are beginning or considering beginning the journey of making those lifestyle changes, or really any for that matter, there are a few big lessons I’ve learned along the way:

First and foremost - you will make mistakes. You are human. This is not easy, be kind to yourself. If you don’t meet a certain goal by a certain date, so what? You still can get there, there’s no rush in this process. Just keep trying.

Second - make changes in an easy manageable manner. Baby step this process. Too much at once won’t make this a lifestyle change. What’s one small goal or change you can reasonably make and achieve at this very moment in your life? Do that; they add up.

Third - while this is ultimately a personal journey, find those you can at least talk to throughout the process. I started this journey not really talking to anyone and it was rough. While it doesn’t physically make the process easier, the mental part of this journey is just as important and it helps to have someone to talk to about everything. Whether that be a friend, family member, partner or professional.

Lastly - If it gets to be too much, take a breath. What can you handle at this very moment? One of the pieces of advice I’ve really tried to take to heart throughout this process is - you cannot fail unless you give up. Progress isn’t linear, life still happens. Take a breather if you need to.

You’ve got this babe!

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An Incredible Health and Weight Loss Journey

Meet our next Wildflower Magazine babe...Katie

Hi! My name is Katie, nice to meet you!

(client photo submission)

You’ve got this babe!

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