28-YEAR-OLD hairstylist Ali Bruch from Milwaukee has lost an incredible 135lbs without stepping foot into the gym. The mother of two was previously classed as morbidly obese at 270lbs, and struggled to keep up with her kids. Battling with binge eating, Ali would consume over 6,000 to 7,000 calories at a time. She told Truly: “I was an anxious eater, whether it was happy or sad, I was binge eating and I didn’t have control over it.” The turning point came on a shopping trip with her cousin, when a rude shop assistant pointed out to Ali she wouldn’t fit a regular dress size and instead should look at the plus size section. Ali started a ketogenic diet, based on high fats and low carbs which resulted in her losing half of her bodyweight. But losing so much weight in a short period of time meant Ali was left with excess skin. Four months ago, Ali had a tummy tuck and breast augmentation, finally feeling like she’s got the body she worked so hard to achieve. “I don’t need to hide in pictures, I don’t need to hide from social events, I just feel so much more confident," she said.
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00:00My heaviest weight was 270 pounds.
00:03I was taking in 7,000 calories.
00:05I couldn't keep up with my kids.
00:07My lowest point was I went dress shopping
00:10and the lady helping us said,
00:12that's not gonna fit you,
00:13you need to go to the plus size section.
00:15I walked out of there like,
00:16okay, I needed to make a change.
00:19I lost 135 pounds without stepping foot into the gym.
00:24My best friend Katie is coming over
00:26and we're gonna go to a pool.
00:28And I am so excited and so nervous
00:30because my body has literally never been in a bikini.
00:39I was overweight my whole life.
00:41I was always just kind of an anxious eater,
00:44whether it was happy or sad,
00:46it was the binge eating.
00:47I didn't have control of it.
00:49I was probably taking in 6,000, 7,000 calories
00:52without even batting an eye.
00:54When you're in that binge,
00:55it's like you don't stop to think
00:58until it's done and you're so far gone.
01:00I couldn't keep up with my kids.
01:02I wasn't able to play with them like I should,
01:04get down on the floor with them like I should,
01:06run around outside with them.
01:10My lowest point was I went dress shopping
01:13and I held a dress up to my cousin
01:15and I said, I love this dress.
01:17And the lady helping us said,
01:18that's not gonna fit you,
01:19you need to go to the plus size section.
01:22I knew that I was overweight,
01:24but having somebody else, a complete stranger,
01:26also speak on it was just like, holy smokes.
01:31She made me feel terrible.
01:33It broke my heart because it's,
01:35you know, the people around you will always protect you.
01:37But hearing it from somebody
01:38that didn't really care about my feelings,
01:40it was heartbreaking.
01:41You know, I walked out of there like,
01:43okay, I knew I needed to make a change
01:46and she was the start of that.
01:49I was on Instagram and I saw this woman
01:51and she was doing a ketogenic diet.
01:53I'd never heard of it in my whole life.
01:56I looked at her page and I'm like,
01:58everything she's eating I love.
02:00I can eat eggs and hamburgers with no bun
02:04and salads and meat and cheese and berries.
02:06It was so easy to me.
02:09I literally started the next day.
02:10I went to the grocery store
02:12and I filled up my refrigerator
02:13and it was go time.
02:15Something clicked in my head and that was it.
02:18All of my progress, though,
02:19has been in the last two and a half years.
02:21My heaviest weight was 270 pounds
02:24and my weight now is 134 pounds,
02:26so I am literally half the size that I was.
02:29I think the hardest part was in the beginning,
02:32you know, I'm a very social person,
02:34so it's trying to still be able to go out to eat
02:36but still being able to do what I'm doing.
02:40You can have the chicken wings,
02:41just don't get french fries with it.
02:42You can have the hamburger,
02:43just don't have the bun with it.
02:44But once that first month passed,
02:46it was so easy.
02:47I lost 135 pounds without stepping foot into the gym,
02:50without going for a run.
02:52My weight loss was 100% food.
02:56I had a ton of skin on my abdomen
03:00that I could physically pull,
03:01I mean, inches away from my body.
03:04I've done so much work to get here
03:05and now I'm left with this.
03:07There was like this access part of me
03:09that I was like, it has to go.
03:10I had surgery four months ago
03:12for skin removal on my abdomen.
03:14I remember being wheeled into the OR
03:16the morning of my surgery
03:17and there was not a bit of fear in me.
03:19I looked at my anesthesiologist
03:21and we got in there, I'm like, let's go.
03:22Like, let's do it.
03:23I was so ready for that change.
03:27So I had a breast augmentation
03:28along with my tummy tuck.
03:30I was like, okay,
03:31like if I am gonna spend the money on my body,
03:33I'm doing it.
03:34And it was the best decision ever.
03:36We've got a whole bunch of swimming suits,
03:39something that I was never ever comfortable wearing before
03:42that now I can't stop buying
03:44because I got a whole new body.
03:48My best friend Katie is coming over.
03:51She is gonna help me pick my first bikini
03:53that I've ever worn in my whole life.
03:55And we're gonna go to a pool and go swimming.
03:58And I am so excited and so nervous
04:01because my body has literally never been in a bikini
04:05in 28 years.
04:07Hey, come on in.
04:09It's pool day.
04:10She's incredible.
04:11She's been so supportive of my whole journey.
04:13Are you ready?
04:14Yeah, but I think I need some of your help.
04:16I'm just so happy seeing her confidence
04:18through that, it's like, it makes me so like,
04:21I'm just so happy.
04:22Woo!
04:31We made it.
04:32Bikini time.
04:35It's go time.
04:49The confidence I have, the mental strength,
04:52the physical strength,
04:53just feeling like I am an incredibly different person
04:57in the best way.
04:58Feels good.
04:59It feels so surreal.
05:01I don't need to hide in pictures.
05:03I don't need to hide from social events.
05:06I just feel so much better.
05:09I feel so much more confident.
05:11You have to be in the right mindset to start.
05:14Any progress is progress.
05:16Keep going.