A BRIDE who dreaded picking out her wedding dress for her size 18 frame is now virtually unrecognisable after dropping eight stone in just one year.
Kylie Mulcahy, 30,from Wollongong, south of Sydney, weighed almost 19st (120kg) in January 2017, and was a size 16-18.
She weighed almost 19st (120kg) in January 2017 (seen at her heaviest left), but dropped almost half her body weight in under a yearCredit: Kylie Mulcahy
However, by the time she was being zipped into her wedding dress she weighed just 10st (65kg).
“I remember thinking if I would ever get married the thought of walking into a wedding dress shop would scare me because I would never fit into anything, the people would judge me,” she said.
“Then (I ended up) going into a shop and then being squeezed into a size six wedding dress, I was like how’s this happening.”
Kylie shed an incredible 8st (55kg) in less than 12 months following the breakdown of a long-term relationship and feeling unhappy with her weight.
She explained: “I had gotten out of a 10-year relationship and was trying to find my happy place and make myself feel better, just focusing on me and my health, and I was really, really struggling with my weight.”
“I went to the doctors for help because I’d tried at home, gone on all different diets, nothing was working … they did a lot of tests and it ended up coming back that I have polycystic ovaries (PCOS).”
After being diagnosed with PCOS as well as being told she was prediabetic, Kylie sought the help of a nutritionist.
The nutritionist gave her a low carb and sugar meal plan as well as advising her to avoid dairy and gluten, which would aggravate her PCOS.
But Kylie hit a roadblock when the nutritionist told her she should also be implementing low impact exercise into her routine.
Feeling “so heavy and unfit” and unable to do a sit-up, Kylie was terrified of the thought of exercising in public.
“That’s what I was the most afraid of – I didn’t want to go to a gym because I was just so self-conscious,” she recalled.
“I did get a gym membership but I never went because every time I went in I went, ‘I don’t belong here, I don’t fit in’.
“I just felt like everyone was looking at me, and I just didn’t enjoy my time there. It ended up being a waste of money.”
I didn’t want to go to a gym because I was just so self-consciousKylie Mulcahy
Kylie decided to give exercising at home a go but found little inspiration from the chiselled fitness influencer types that populated YouTube with their fitness videos.
She continued: “There’s so many fitness influencers and fitness channels and weight-loss videos on YouTube, there’s thousands of them.
“I did try a lot of them, but nothing felt right. You look at the trainers and they’re in their crop tops and short shorts and they all look ripped, toned.
“You just sort of look and them and go, ‘I can’t do that’ … I just didn’t feel that I could relate to them.”
It was only after she searched for low impact workouts and found a cardio starter video by Team Body Project that things changed.
The online fitness program run by Daniel and Alex Bartlett uses real-life people (with real-life bodies to match) and had instant appeal for Kylie.
“There was just something about them that attracted me to keep on going back and keep pressing their videos instead of others,” she said. “That’s when I started seeing the results.”
After following their free videos on YouTube for three months, Kylie signed up to their online program for more content in April 2017.
“For those three months that I was pressing play on their videos at home, (I was thinking) this is crazy, how am I losing weight at home, in my lounge room, I’ve been struggling for so long,” Kylie said.
“It just made me have confidence again because I was doing it at home with no one looking at me. I could wear what I wanted.”
At first Kylie exercised every second day, but as her fitness levels increased, she began pressing play on Team Body Project’s video as often as she could.
By December 2017, after religiously following her meal plan and the videos, Kylie had lost a staggering 8st (55kg) – something she admits some people still have a hard time believing.
“They don’t believe me that you can get results from home,” she said.
Now I’m just happy, I love life, I’m just so much more confidentKylie Mulcahy
“It always amazes people and it does seem strange that you’re not using all these machines and stuff to get your results, but honestly it works, they know what they’re doing.”
Since losing the weight and keeping it off, Kylie says her life has been transformed.
Kylie previously suffered from severe anxiety that was once so bad she went to hospital because she thought she was having a heart attack, only for it to be an anxiety attack instead.
She married the love of her life in March this year and hopes to one day work with other women with PCOS that are struggling with their weight.
“Now I’m just happy, I love life, I’m just so much more confident,” Kylie said.
“Before I would never do things I used to love, like I always loved the beach and swimming but I would never go and do those things because I felt ashamed and embarrassed of my body.
“But now it’s the complete opposite.”
