Ashburn Woman Loses More than Half Her Weight

Many of us have heard about the rise of obesity in America and, if we are honest, many of us could probably stand to lose a pound or two. But for one Ashburn resident, the challenge was much more than just one or two pounds. Melissa Spurrier has lost about 150 pounds.

In 2003, Spurrier weighed as much as 285 pounds, and for a 5-foot-4-inch frame, that was considerably more than doctors typically consider healthy. After a considerable weight gain during pregnancy, she never seemed to lose the weight and it continued to slowly haunt her throughout her adult years.

While working in the mortgage industry during the height of the housing boom, Spurrier found her job challenging and time-consuming.

"There were days when I literally couldn’t find the time to eat," she said.

It was during that time she started losing some weight and people started making positive comments about the change. At the same time, Spurrier was going through many big changes in her life – new job, new marital status, etc. – so she began looking at every little thing she was doing to see if there were other places she could make changes in her life. She decided it was time to make small steps to a healthier lifestyle.

"I began with the small things like drinking diet soda instead of regular, exercising from time to time, etc.," she explained. She kept up that trend for about four years and, in 2007, she had made enough changes to drop down to about 200 pounds.

In 2008, Spurrier made what she considers one of the most important decisions of her life: she became a born-again Christian. The experience opened her eyes to the biblical notion that God wants people to treat their bodies as temples. Through her commitment to God, she knew she wanted to begin respecting her body and making much healthier decisions.

"I didn’t want to feel the shame which came with neglecting my body so I stopped eating fast food cold turkey and stopped drinking alcohol," she said, adding that she continues to avoid both. Spurrier moved into a new apartment, began using the gym in the apartment complex and watched as even more weight dropped off. Along with that weight loss came more and more compliments, pushing her closer to her goal.

Spurrier admits she didn’t really know how to lose weight and she was quite a lazy person when it came to exercise.

"Even camping was too much for me," she said.

What she was doing had worked well until one day she reached a plateau and she wasn’t really sure how to move beyond it. She decided the answer was to eat less – less than 1,000 calories per day – and exercise for about an hour a day. Unfortunately, with the low intake of calories, Spurrier’s body balked and held on to every pound she had. She needed help.

In June 2009, Spurrier joined Sport & Health Club. She loved taking the cardio classes and became quite a fixture at the gym, working out five days a week.

Her personal trainer, Jason Carden taught her tips about losing weight correctly. She learned that, for her, weight training was the key. Like many women who have never weight-trained before she was afraid she was going to bulk up and look like a guy.

"Even though I was a cheerleader in high school, my body always leaned toward the muscular side," Spurrier said.

But Carden assured her that wouldn’t be the case. He gave her advice, guided her and inspired her – just what she needed to push through and lose more weight.

The journey to reach her goals has not always been easy. Although she had people in her life supporting her, there were times when going out to eat became a challenge. People didn’t always understand her new way of eating, and sometimes she would literally just have to have the willpower to say “no.”

The emotional aspect of weight loss gets little attention, but it is one of the biggest challenges for those undergoing a weight loss journey. There was a lot going on inside Spurrier that she didn’t quite understand. She equated it to the awkward feeling you have in your teenage years.

"It was almost like going through a second puberty!" she said. She went from never hearing a compliment to hearing them all the time; from rarely turning the head of a guy to getting the full attention of men. She felt very out of place – very vulnerable. When she looked in the mirror, she saw changes but not always the changes she expected to see. It took a while to not see the “fat girl” in the mirror anymore and to realize who she really was – a much healthier version of that same girl. She was now a woman who had curves and muscle definition. There were many days she didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her in the mirror. Getting comfortable in her new skin was something she knew she would have to do and it was a shocking feeling of accomplishment she almost couldn’t handle.

Today, Spurrier weighs about 130 pounds, feels fabulous and has gained a lot of confidence, despite the medical world’s view of a healthy weight.

"According to the ‘outdated charts,’ I am still borderline being overweight even though I wear a size 2," she said. She said obsessing over a number on a scale can devastate a dieter’s self-esteem. When she was losing weight and would step on the scales one week with no weight loss she would immediately experience a surge of depression.

She finally realized, by going through this journey, that she needed to be realistic with her body composition – particularly with her muscular body. She would question if her clothes were still fitting and whether she felt good about herself. Once she overcame the anxiety of the number on the scale, she moved beyond that into a healthier mind … and body.

Spurrier’s greatest feeling of success along her journey has been the bond that she has made with her teenage son. She can now be a good role model to him when it comes to living a healthy life and she absolutely loves working out with him. Spurrier tells people in her life that there is a right and wrong way to lose weight. And, although she knows how hard it is, she’s convinced everyone can do it. Knowing the right way, not via some “quick fix” method, and having the passion to do it are the keys to losing weight properly.

Now, 150 pounds lighter, Spurrier giggles as she explains how exciting it is that she can now squat lift that much weight in the gym.