Brianne Connor used to spend her summers covering up. “I didn’t own a pair of shorts,” the 5-foot-3 New Bedford, Massachusetts, resident tells Us Weekly. “I wore pants, jeans, long sleeves and sweatshirts even though I was hot and sweating.”
Shopping with girlfriends was just as uncomfortable. “Many of them would head over to juniors and I would be taking my dreadful walk to the plus-size section,” says the 25-year-old, whose closet was filled with size 24 pants and XXL tops.
Yet Connor couldn’t break the cycle of turning to food (ice cream was her favorite) for comfort. “I ate everything and anything,” she tells Us. “I would load my plate until you couldn’t see the bottom.”
The soft-spoken brunette — who battled her weight all her life — would have continued spiraling had it not been for a doctor’s appointment in December 2012.
“I remember stepping on the scale and seeing that I weighed 266 pounds,” she tells Us. “In one year I had gained 30 pounds.”
Adding insult to injury: Connor’s arm was too big for the nurse’s blood pressure cuff.
It was the wake-up call the Salem State University graduate needed. One month later, she joined a gym.
“I walked the treadmill, attempted the elliptical and worked out on the arc trainer,” Connor says. “About a year and a half into my journey I added in weight training.”
There were major diet changes too: The former soda and fast-food addict now sticks to a low-carb meal plan packed with fruits, veggies and lean meats, and she preps a week’s worth of lunches to avoid making poor decisions.
In three years she has lost 106 pounds without surgery and now wears a size 8.
“I own shorts now!” she gushes to Us. “I feel comfortable in my own skin.”
