Latest news with #EmmaRomaJayne
Business Insider
4 days ago
- Health
- Business Insider
A woman lost 130 pounds after weight loss surgery. 4 simple habits have kept her in shape for 3 years.
At age 22, Emma Roma Jayne had no confidence. The content creator and TikTok strategist, based in Australia, told Business Insider that she was very active growing up, but an injury forced her to stop playing sports and she "started piling the weight on." In March 2022, Roma Jayne decided to get bariatric surgery: a weight-loss procedure to reduce the size of the stomach, meaning you can't eat as much and feel full faster. At the time, GLP-1 medications like Ozempic weren't on her radar. Roma Jayne complemented the surgery with therapy to treat her eating disorder. "Instead of working on my mental health, I would just binge and eat and get the dopamine from food," she said. To be eligible for the surgery, she had to commit to making serious, long-term lifestyle changes to prevent gaining the weight back, including having regular sessions with a nutritionist and a personal trainer for six months pre-surgery and two years after. "People think that it's like a 'lose weight quick' thing. And that's all you have to do and you'll be happy and everything will be solved, but your hunger does come back," Roma Jayne said of bariatric surgery. "If I had those bad habits, that lifestyle that I had before weight loss surgery, I would 100% gain my weight back." The data is mixed, but one a review of studies published in the journal Obesity Surgery found that up to 76% of patients regained a significant amount of weight six years after bariatric surgery. Reasons included the size of their stomach growing over time, inadequate support post-op, and patients struggling to break unhealthy habits. Following the advice of her nutritionist, Roma Jayne initially followed a high-protein, low-carb diet to lose weight, started working out six times a week, and lost 132 pounds over two years. Three years post-op, she's maintained her lower weight by mainly eating whole foods and being as active as possible. She has what she sees as a more balanced and sustainable approach to her diet and fitness routine. Roma Jayne, now 24, shared the four habits that she said have helped her stay in shape. 1) Eating mostly whole foods and the occasional treat As working out regularly and eating a healthy diet became habits for Roma Jayne, she became more interested in and passionate about nutrition. After the surgery, she ate small portions and few carbs to lose weight, but she no longer excludes any food group as her focus is long-term health. She still eats lots of protein as she learned that it helps her maintain her weight, but avoids ultra-processed foods and prioritizes whole foods, which are linked to better overall health. Roma Jayne said that she eats nutritious, balanced meals, such as homemade pizza and wholemeal wraps, around 90% of the time, but isn't scared of the occasional sweet treat. "If I want to have chocolate, I'll just have some chocolate. I don't restrict myself too much," she said. Roma Jayne's approach echoes what's known as the 80/20 rule, or eating healthily 80% of the time and being more flexible the remaining 20%. Dietitians have told BI that this is a sustainable way to eat and maintain your weight, because restrictive diets often lead to cravings, which make it harder to eat high calorie foods in moderation. 2) Strength training three times a week Roma Jayne lifts weights at the gym three or four times a week. Her current goal is to maintain her fat loss, while gaining muscle, which is known as body recomposition. Research suggests that strength training helps burn fat while also building muscle mass, which improves the metabolism. 3) Parking a little further from her destination In the past, Roma Jayne would go to the gym but struggled to be consistent as she saw it as a punishment for being overweight rather than a way to look after her health. Now she tries to stay as active as possible because it makes her feel good. Aside from her formal workouts, she's conscious of her step count and takes opportunities to walk during her day. For example, sometimes she parks a few minutes away from her office or goes for a walk on her lunch break. "Just any way to get out and about," she said. 4) Prioritizing healthy habits over the number on the scale Over the last few years, Roma Jayne's weight has fluctuated, but she makes an effort to be kind to herself when it does. She focuses more on sustaining the healthy habits she has established than worrying about the exact number on the scale, as she knows they count for more. "My weight fluctuates so much, and I think it's just I know that I'm exercising well, I'm eating well, I'm healthy. So as long as I know that I'm doing my best, what is on the scales just doesn't really matter," she said. Obesity experts agree that weight alone is not an accurate measure of a person's health. Other factors, such as how much muscle mass a person has and water retention, can increase the number on the scale. Plus, research suggests that where on the body the fat is located might have more bearing on a person's health than how much of it they have. "I think the biggest thing that's really helped me maintain these habits and maintain my weight loss is really just doing what's best for myself. And that's in every aspect of my life," Roma Jayne said.
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
A woman who lost 130 pounds shares 7 changes she wasn't expecting — from people being nicer to her to food tasting different
Emma Roma Jayne struggled with her weight until she got bariatric surgery in 2022. She lost 130 pounds in two years, and found some unexpected changes other than the weight loss. These changes include her feet shrinking, starting to like avocados, and losing friends. On a family trip in 2022, Emma Roma Jayne stayed in the car as everyone else went to the beach. The thought of being in shorts in public, and having the body she was so insecure about on display, made her feel viscerally uncomfortable. Roma Jayne, a TikTok creator and influencer partnership manager based in Australia, had always struggled with her weight. She tried to eat healthily, trying different diets and exercising "all the time," but she wasn't losing weight. After the beach trip, her mom told her enough was enough. "She was like, 'This isn't right. You're 22. You should be enjoying your life and be able to go to the beach whenever you want and feel comfortable.' She suggested that I should get weight loss surgery like she had," Roma Jayne told Business Insider. So, in 2023, Roma Jayne had bariatric surgery, and her relationship with food and her body has been totally different since. "At first, I was very much like, 'That's cheating. You need to put in the hard work to lose weight.' But I looked at weight loss surgery as a way that I could stop the food noise and then change my lifestyle, because I didn't want to spend the next 10 years still struggling with the same issues," she said. She lost around 110 pounds in the year after the surgery. Now 24, she's lost a further 22 pounds in the year since — and kept the weight off — having made huge lifestyle changes; she now works out six times a week and eats a high-protein, low-carb, balanced diet. While bariatric surgery is becoming less common, per one recent study, weight loss is booming as more people are prescribed drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro to lose weight. Weight loss surgery "is the best decision I have ever made in my entire life," Roma Jayne said. "It has transformed my life completely." Aside from the obvious, Roma Jayne has noticed seven unexpected changes after her weight loss. "There's no beating around the bush, I was definitely treated differently when I was bigger," Roma Jayne said. "People were just not as friendly, but they are so nice to me now." She said that people hold doors for her, greet her in the street, and strike up conversations with her now, whereas before she lost weight she felt "invisible." "One of the more random changes that I didn't even know that was a thing is that my feet shrunk," Roma Jayne said. She has four pairs of shoes, all in different sizes, which she bought as her feet got smaller as she lost weight. Her feet are slimmer now, and she went from a US size 9 shoe to a 7.5. A 2014 study published in the Turkish Journal of Surgery found that 80% of the 212 participants, who all underwent bariatric surgery, bought shoes at least one size smaller a year after the surgery. The researchers suggested this could be because of fat loss on the foot, as well as the arches getting higher once there is less weight pushing them down. Roma Jayne also said that her voice has gotten higher and sounds more clear since her surgery. There's not much research on the impacts of weight loss on voice. A few small, limited studies have suggested that there could be minor changes to people's voices after bariatric surgery, but the differences aren't noticeable enough to hear. Roma Jayne has previously struggled with acne, but found that her skin cleared up when she lost weight. She said that she eats a low-carb diet and has cut out sugar. According to the American Academy of Dermatology Association, eating high-glycemic foods that raise your blood sugar quickly — such as white bread, potato chips, pastries, and white rice — is associated with acne. Roma Jayne also has PCOS, of which acne is a symptom. The UK's National Health Service said that weight loss can improve symptoms of PCOS. Roma Jayne used to hate avocados, and now loves them. She also used to eat a lot of fruit, but now eats far less fruit and far more vegetables. A systematic review of research, published in the Nutrition Journal in 2023, found that across 26 studies, it seemed that weight gain and obesity could change people's perception of tastes, and increase their preferences for sweetness. However, the authors said that these results weren't conclusive and that more research needs to be done. When Roma Jayne lost weight, she said that she dealt with "a lot of jealousy and resentment from friends." "I realized that they were my friends when I was bigger because I made them feel better about themselves," she said. "But now that I'm on my own journey and bettering myself and making these healthy changes, suddenly they had a problem with that." "When I was bigger, I definitely used my size as a shield to protect myself from other people knowing the real me. Now that I feel so much more confident in myself and I have so much appreciation and love for myself," Roma Jayne said. "I'm the most confident version of myself that I've ever been, and I continue to get more and more confident every day." She said that surrounding herself with the right people has also improved her confidence. Read the original article on Business Insider
