This mother and her daughter lost 74 pounds in 100 days in five simple steps

If Christmas is a time of sedentary overindulgence and sit down meals, then New Year's is a time for health resolutions.

Rates of new gym memberships and panic diets inevitably soar in January.

If you want a sucess story to emulate, take Cheryl Saw (at the time, 50) and her teenage daughter Tessa, who managed to lose a combined 74 pounds over 100 days.

The pair were inspired by another woman's story on giveit100.com, a site where users upload daily ten second videos, for 100 days, to create a 'working towards a goal' montage.

They decided to create a similar video of their own journey.

Cheryl told Women's Health that the moment she decided she had to lose weight was in fact at Christmas.

Tessa had given her a necklace that she said meant 'a new beginning'.

Cheryl had gained more than 100 pounds in under two years, and she was worried that her daughter would face the same struggles as her.

I knew it was time for a change for the both of us. We needed to start a healthy lifestyle and stick to it, not just for ourselves, but for each other.

They incorporated the following steps into their lifestyles, in order to create a sustainable weightloss plan:

• Avoid foods with sugar
• Drink more water
• Make homemade meals ahead of time, to avoid temptation to give into cravings when tired
• Eat out at restaurants less frequently 
• Add various easy exercises into routine, e.g. taking the stairs, walking, cleaning, trying workout DVDs

Support is definitely key for Tessa and me, as it is with a lot of other people going through their own weight loss journeys.

So make a plan to help you reach your goals. If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail. 

HT Womenshealthmag

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