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BIG CUTBACK
I gave up my 5-times-a-day McDonald’s habit and lost 120 lbs – now I’ve dropped 10 lbs more removing extra skin
She spent up to $500 a month on takeout deliveries
A SECRET eater who scoffed five McDonald's meals a day is unrecognizable after losing 120 pounds and having a $22,000 operation to remove her sagging skin.
Jillian Champ, 24, from Roanoke, Virginia, developed a binge eating disorder at 15 and would devour multiple fast-food breakfasts, a box of doughnuts, and takeout nearly every day for years.
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By the time she was 20, she had doubled in size, weighing 280 pounds and wearing a size XXXXL.
She spent up to $500 a month on DoorDash deliveries and hid empty wrappers from her fiancé, Houmin Khanehzarrin, 25, out of shame.
As her weight continued to rise, she became less confident and avoided having her picture taken.
But one night, reality set in when she saw her stomach in the mirror, and she vowed to lose weight.
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UNHEALTHY HABITS
Jillian explained that she had a bad relationship with food when she was growing up and thought she was fat, even when she wasn't.
"When I developed the binge eating disorder, I literally couldn't stop eating," she said.
"I felt terrible about it and I hated being obese, but I didn't know how to stop."
Jillian would consume up to 5,000 calories a day, often opting for McDonald's or two main meals from IHOP.
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"I couldn't stand for longer than 30 minutes when I was at my heaviest, and I was so overweight I could barely move," she said.
"I had back problems and constant foot pain. I would even dread getting up off the couch just to go to the toilet."
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HITTING ROCK BOTTOM
A trip to the bathroom in November 2021 changed everything for Jillian.
"I went to the restroom in the night and saw my stomach hanging over my shirt," she recalled.
"I thought, 'Oh my God, I can't believe I've done this to myself.'
"I had tried off and on to lose weight, but I couldn't stick to it. I told myself then I'd give weight loss one more try."
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TRANSFORMATION
Jillian overhauled her diet after learning that the key to losing weight was eating fewer calories than she burned.
She found ways to make healthier versions of her favorite foods and prepared meals that were low in calories but high in protein to keep herself feeling full.
In the first two weeks, she lost 13 pounds, and within a year she had shed 100 pounds.
"The first four months was an extremely hard adjustment, I remember sitting and crying," she said. "But I just kept going."
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As she became more mobile, she began introducing exercises such as aqua aerobics and mountain hiking into her daily routines, which helped her lose another 20 pounds.
By June 2023, Jillian was down to 160 pounds and was wearing a size small, but she didn't feel confident because of the excess skin she was left with.
"I still had a hanging stomach and arms, so I felt like I looked like a deflated version of myself," she explained.
With the help of her father, David Champ, 56, and her fiancé, she saved enough money to have 10 pounds of loose skin removed in a $22,000 surgery.
Jillian's diet before and after her weight loss
Jillian lost a total of 120 pounds by overhauling her diet and working out. She shed another 10 pounds after undergoing surgery to remove her excess skin following her weight loss.
Diet before:
Breakfast - 5 breakfast sandwiches from McDonald's, 5 hash browns, 1 large caramel coffee
Lunch - 5-6 doughnuts
Dinner - 20 piece chicken nuggets, large fry, large Coke
Snacks - cupcakes
Drinks - sugary coffees, sodas, juice
Diet after:
Breakfast - large iced coffee with soy milk, cinnamon, and sugar-free syrup
Lunch - salad with chicken, strawberries, nuts, and sugar-free salad dressing. Greek yogurt, and a Coke Zero
Dinner - low-calorie, high-volume meals such as chicken or shrimp tacos
Snacks - sugar-free pudding, non-fat Greek yogurt, or fruit.
Drinks - sugar-free sodas, sugar-free teas, sugar-free lattes.
Jillian has maintained her weight loss and is happier than ever at 147 pounds.
Now she is "always snapping new pictures" of herself because her confidence is sky-high, and she even works as a weight consultant to help others feel the same.
"Starting my weight loss journey, I knew I was getting married, and I didn't want to look back on my wedding photos and hate them," she said.
"I might lose a bit more weight before the wedding in September 2024, but I'm pretty satisfied with where I am now.
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"Now, I look in the mirror and I smile and think nice things about myself.
"I'll never go back to the way I was before."
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