Samantha Schobel

The Transformation of Samantha Schobel

Read this amazing story of determination as one very overweight young woman decides that she is not going to become a statistic.

NOTE: The writer admits that she did not follow a healthy weight loss program and the techniques described here are not recommended by Lift for Life.com. Please note however Samantha's current program for maintaining her current healthy bodyweight.

My name is Samantha Schobel. I am a college student at Baylor University. I am originally from Columbus, Texas. I am 21 years old and 5 ft. 5 in. tall.

I was a thin child, but around the Jr. High age I started to become a "chubby" girl. In high school, I stayed "chubby" as a size 14. I knew I was a little bigger than the other girls, but since I could still shop at the regular stores and do regular activities I never gave much thought about my weight...much less, think it was an issue. As soon as I started to get more involved with college my weight started to creep up on me. I would work full time during they day at a tanning salon where there was not much physical labor involved. I would typically bring my lunch or get my mom or a friend to bring me "something good" from any restaurant in town. I was always good about eating breakfast, so lunch would be my second meal of the day. I then would get off of work around 4 and I would go pick my brother up from school. We would then go to Sonic or McDonald's "as a treat" and I would get a milkshake, burger, or anything to hold me over before I started my college class.

Then I would get out of my college classes around 8:00pm and I would be starving! I would then go home and gorge on a huge dinner! Dinner would be my largest meal of the day.

I then graduated from Jr. College in December of 2006 and moved out in June 2007 to go to Baylor. I weighed about 245 when I moved out. I then gained an extra 55 pounds over the next year by bringing my unhealthy habits with me to my own apartment. I would buy cheap and unhealthy "college foods" like Easy Mac, Hamburger Helper, Pastas, Donuts, etc. I would also continue my habits of eating fast food, going out to eat with friends, and I would NEVER workout. I always studied or played videogames. It got to the point to where my life was centered around the next meal, and all I would look forward to in life was either my next test, my next level accomplishment at Guitar Hero, or what desert I was going to "treat myself" with by baking on the weekend. My weight was out of control. I ate without limits. I even got a meal plan with school where I was able to eat all I wanted in a buffet-style setting. I ate there around 5-10 times per week. I then started my weight loss journey on June 26, 2008 at exactly 300 pounds. I decided that I did not want to live that life any longer and that the way I was headed was for complete failure. I was invisible to the world and I needed to either make a change or accept the fact that I would be dead within years (because I would keep gaining weight) without ever making a difference in anyone else's life AT ALL.

I then started to workout around 4-6 hours per day. I first followed a high protein/low carb diet and ended up losing around 27 pounds my first month. I then wanted EVEN MORE...so I started to experiment with no-carb dieting. I went into ketosis and continued to workout. It did not have a huge affect on my body because I was so big that I had plenty of fat for my body to use up. I did ketogenic fat loss from October 11 thru Thanksgiving. By Thanksgiving I was out of the 200s. I then demanded more out of myself. I was determined to lose all my weight in six months NO MATTER WHAT. I then started to experiment with combining low carb/no carb dieting, diet pills, and exercise. It worked well and I continued to lose weight rapidly. It then got to the point to where I tried total starvation--I would eat only 800 calories per day, no carbs, workout around 3 hours per day, and take diet pills on top of that. By the time Christmas break rolled around I was around 180 pounds. I then decided to finish my final stretch of losing weight with a big bang! Over the Christmas break (from Dec. 23-Jan. 12) I water fasted. I drank nothing but water and ended up losing all my weight to 165. I have suffered from almost every eating disorder I know...anorexia, bulimia, binge eating, emotional eating, etc. I know that I did not lose my weight the healthy way. 

However, for the past 6 months I have maintained my weight loss by eating 6 times per day, high protein, drinking lots of water, getting plenty of rest, etc. I am now at 20% body fat and I am working towards becoming a body builder. I have around 130-140 pounds of muscle mass because I got so fat and built it up in order to carry around my 300-pound body. I want to use this to my advantage and build on it to become a bodybuilder! I want to bring my body to its peak of healthiness because now I chose to take care of my body. Yes, I do regret not doing things the "healthy way"...however, I have this story to tell to anyone else who needs help/advice/etc. because I want to be real about my story to EVERYONE. There are so many others who suffer from the same things I do (whether they are losing weight or gaining weight) and who need people to just be real with them and admit that no one is perfect. I want to use my story to inspire anyone else who wants to lose weight and who question "keeping it off". I have done several Youtube videos about my experience if you are every interested in checking them out. My page is www.youtube.com/coutureslimdown. I greatly appreciate your response to my email and please let me know if there are any questions you have regarding ANYTHING else. I am going to send more pictures as well. Have a wonderful day!
Sincerely,
Samantha Schobel

Samantha Schobel www.youtube.com/coutureslimdown

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