I would like you to meet Kaitlyn Luper. Kaitlyn has lost a significant amount of weight, by way of surgery, and is an inspiration to many on her social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok by documenting her process of transformation.
We are thrilled to have gotten a chance to catch up with Kaitlyn and have her share her story. Even as a young mom and student, she still finds the time to be consistent in the gym and work on her well-being.
Enjoy her story.
- How did your fitness journey begin? What inspired you to start, and how much weight have you successfully been able to lose?
My fitness journey started on my 24th birthday with a promise to myself that by the time I turned 30 I would be in the best physical and mental shape I had ever been in.
I’ve always had this version of who I am today in my heart. I wanted to be mentally and physically better and stronger because I deserved that.
I was very depressed and honestly miserable in my own body. I was uncomfortable in my own skin and that feeling was something I never wanted to feel again. I knew that everything I was mentally feeling was physically showing.
Since 2020 and with the help of WLS (vertical sleeve gastrectomy) in 2022 with a strong determination I have been able to lose over 120lbs
2. What role did your support system play in your journey, both online and offline?
I created my Instagram account Katteee_VSG when I started my journey in 2020. I used it as an online journal to document my daily progress and what undergoing a bariatric surgery process consisted of. I posted every workout I did, all the appointments attended and everything in between. At that time, there was not many creators who spoke openly about undergoing weight loss surgery. At the end of the day, I wanted to inspire others in their own journey no matter what that looked like.
My family and friends offline have been amazing. They have supported me since the beginning and see how hard I’ve worked for this.
3. Could you highlight some of the biggest challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
One of the biggest challenges was getting pregnant right after my weight loss surgery. About 2 months post-surgery I found out I was pregnant, which was defiantly not recommended but things happen. So I spent a lot of time focusing on nutrition because I knew how important that was for me during my pregnancy.
Another challenge was just being judged for “not doing it natural”. When I opted for weight loss surgery it wasn’t looked at the way it is today. Now a days its very common for someone to receive help to lose the weight whether that is weight loss drugs or surgery.
I chose weight loss surgery because I knew I needed a permeant lifestyle change and knew I could do it, be committed to changing 24 years of habits.
4. What are your favorite go-to exercises or workouts that helped you achieve your goals?
When I started out in the gym, I could barely walk a mile on the treadmill without needing to stop. I knew that was not okay. So I started out slow, I would walk on the treadmill and use the elliptical to build up my endurance until I realized I was able to walk and not need a break. After I had my daughter, I was not ready to step back into the gym, so I joined a fitness app called Sculpt you which offered both gym and at home workouts. I would do 3x a week at home workouts until I built up my strength to get back into the gym. Which I am so glad I did, it gave me the focus to work on form and breathing.
My favorite exercises currently are hip thrusts, step ups, and core. I work a lot on balance as well because I realized how that can affect your workouts.
5. How did you manage nutrition during your transformation? Any favorite meals or recipes you'd like to share?
Being a bariatric patient, we focus high protein, carbs and fats. I am the type of person who can hyper fixate on meals which I think helps in the meal planning part.
Some people may not like this but COTTAGE CHEESE. It is such a good protein, and you can mix it into basically anything.
6. How has your transformation impacted other areas of your life?
My transformation has skyrocketed my confidence. When you are confident in yourself you feel like you can do anything. I took the leap and applied to surgical tech school and got in, which I don’t think I would have done prior. Giving my daughter the mom she deserves who can run and be active with her brings me the most joy.
7. As a brand, I AM FITNESS pushes goal setting. Looking ahead, what are your goals or aspirations related to fitness and wellness?
Oh man, one goal I didn’t even realize I had was working with my local Golds Gym as an ambassador. They had been following my journey and decided to bring me in. That was such a surreal moment. When I started my account, I never would of thought it would bring me these wonderful opportunities.
I just want to help people realize their full potential. I remember always looking at other people’s transformation thinking “one day I will do this”. Maybe something I say that motivates me to be the best version of myself helps someone else’s journey finally click.
8. For someone going through or thinking of a weight loss transformation, what are some early stage goals that they should set for themselves?
The biggest thing is remembering you can’t compare your starting spot to someone who has been doing this for years.
I struggled that myself, once I figured that part out it helped so much
Motivation and Discipline is talking about a lot, however one thing that is missed is the discipline part comes later not just after 3 workouts.
Remember your reasons why always
Give yourself grace. No one is 100% perfect.
