Mom loses 100 pounds by walking an hour a day

By Emma Dunn via SWNS

A mom said she was "the biggest girl" on the football field at school and lost 100 lbs by walking an hour a day.

Mallory King, 32, tipped the scales at 223 lbs and was a US size 18 after growing up "living off" fast food and using food to cope with her parents' divorce.

She had a "wake up call" after being told by doctors she'd end up with the same health problems as her family if she didn't change her lifestyle.

Mallory managed to lose 100 lbs in 18 months by calorie counting and walking up to an hour a day.

Since then the mom has gone onto have her son, nine, and daughter, two, and now maintains a healthy weight of 157 lbs and a US size eight.

Mallory, a fitness coach, from Orlando, Fla., said: "When I was bullied for my weight it made me feel like a failure.

"I was called 'fat' and sometimes my family would comment.

"The only sport I played was soccer and I remember coming off the field and a family member said 'you're the biggest girl out there'.

"When I met my husband I was closest to my heaviest.

"He has always been a huge contributor in my ability to accept my body.

"He's always made me feel very beautiful at any size.

"Other people would treat me different [when she lost weight]. I'd get attention from strangers.

"He doesn't treat me differently - he grabs my butt just as much as he did before."

Mallory had always struggled with her weight since she was a child and "lived off fast food and the American diet" growing up.

She struggled with bullying as a child for her weight and Erb's palsy - paralysis of the arm - which was caused during birth.

Mallory said: "I'd be called a T-rex.

"I wasn't so bothered. It was more the ones about my weight."

Mallory started focusing more on her health when she met her husband Thomas King, 34, a stay-at-home dad, and left home aged 17.

Her wake up call came when doctors told her she could end up with the same health issues as her family.

She tried different "trendy" diets at first but realized early on it wasn't a sustainable way to lose weight.

Mallory started calorie counting instead and walking up to an hour a day and managed to lose 4st 2lbs in a year.

She said: "I was so confident.

"I was feeling on top of the world."

Mallory started getting into the gym and weight training and got down to 8st 3lbs.

She said: "I didn't even know who I am anymore - you become a stranger to yourself.

"My body changed to so much. I lost the extra 40lbs but by lifting weights I put on a lot of muscle."

But when Mallory fell pregnant in 2014 she struggled with her body image and how it was changing again.

She said: "I started putting weight on again - that was difficult.

"As soon as my son was born it all melted away.

"It was an empowering love journey. My body just created this baby. I had an appreciation for my body."

Mallory went back to the gym as soon as it was healthy to do so and had become a certified trainer by 2015.

She had to battle with the pressures of losing her baby weight quickly but she wanted to show people it's normal to lose it slowly.

She said: "It was important to me to do it in the way it wasn't about the pressure."

Mallory spent a year getting back to a healthy weight and now maintains it.

She said: "I have a strong sense of self acceptance.

"I feel very proud and confident of who I am.

"Having my body change so much over the years has allowed me to appreciate what it's capable of."

Now Mallory helps others find their self acceptance and also advocates for helping those with a disability like her own.

She said: "Having this disability I feel really lucky.

"It doesn't impact my life that much."

Weight before - 223 lbs

Weight now - 100 lbs after loss, 157 lbs now

Diet before:

• Breakfast: McDonald's breakfast
• Lunch: Fast food and a soda
• Dinner: Fast food
• Snacks: Chips, sweets, cookies

Diet now:

• Breakfast: Eggs
• Lunch: Eggs, poultry and fruit
• Dinner: Family dinner such as chicken nuggets, brown rice and veggies
• Snacks: Fruit, treat - such as ice cream or cookies