It's not transformation Tuesday, but who doesn't enjoy a great weight loss story any day of the week?
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Today's comes from Kim Carter Martinez. The 41-year-old Oakland, Calif. native has struggled with her weight ever since she was young. She lost her father when she was 12 and her mother at 17, and in an effort to deal with her immense grief, she packed on the pounds.
"I resorted to eating as a way to cope with my feelings," Carter Martinez told <a href="http://people.com/bodies/formerly-obese-woman-sees-belly-button-first-time-20-years/" target="_blank"><em>PEOPLE</em></a>. Before she knew it, Carter Martinez was an adult struggling with her weight, which eventually peaked at 344. Arthritis also impacted her body, and she was eventually told that she needed knee replacement surgery. Unfortunately, her weight was in the way.
"My doctor told me I needed a knee replacement to rid me of the horrible pain I was having, but I was too heavy to operate on — my BMI was so high there was a chance I could die on the operating table," she said. "He wouldn’t operate until I lost 50 lbs. That really motivated me."
And so, Carter Martinez slowly but surely started to work out to get the weight off. She did workout videos in her garage, gave up snacking and started to cook her own meals instead of eating out so often. After seeing changes, she even started the Paleo diet, which allowed her to eat like a cavewoman with its focus on meats, fish, nuts, greens, veggies and seeds. She eventually became more comfortable not only cooking healthier but also working out in public. Carter Martinez ditched staying in her garage solely to try riding a bike, and she ended up mixing that with sessions in the gym.
"I started using the machines and incorporated strength training," she said. "For three years, I exercised every day and went to the gym three or four times a week, and I did walking or bike riding or some kind of exercise video in the garage."
Her hard work paid off, and Carter Martinez met her goal weight. The only thing that was still holding her back was the extra skin that once encapsulated the fat on her body. She decided to have the necessary surgery to remove it.
"When I went for my post-op checkup four days later and took off the compression garment and saw the results, I just started to cry," she said. "I literally hadn’t seen my belly button in 20 years because there was so much belly fat hanging over."
Carter Martinez has come a long way, and after years of struggling to be mobile, including just being lightly active with her husband, she now has a new lease on life.
"Life was really hard before — there were so many times that I had to say no to social situations because I couldn’t walk around, but now I don’t have to say no to things anymore," she said. "I can pick what I want to do and be able to do it."
Get inspired by checking out more images of Carter Martinez's amazing weight loss and work ethic below:
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Keep up the great work, Kim!
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