Australian woman, Cora Henderson, recalls how her parents were shocked at her weight gain and barely recognised her, which is what inspired her to make changes. Photo / Instagram
When Cora Henderson saw her family for the first time after three months, they barely recognised her.
The 22-year-old from Sydney said she didn't realise how much weight she had put on until she visited her parents in Grafton.
The then flight attendant weighed 95kg at the start of 2020 after developing a $200-a-week McDonald's addiction.
"When mum picked me up from the airport, she barely recognised me. She sat me down and asked me if everything was all right," Cora told news.com.au
Cora, who now works in a supermarket call centre after losing her previous job to Covid, said during flight breaks she would gorge on fast-food – not realising it was the main reason she was always feeling lethargic and rundown.
"When we had long flights all we would do is sit at the back and eat to pass time and once we were off the plane, I'd go straight to the food court and just opt for fast-food," Cora said.
"Even when I'd get home I'd just spend about $30 a day on Macca's."
It wasn't until her mum sat her down when Cora realised she was feeling unmotivated and "lazy" because of the excessive amounts of over-processed and sugary foods she was eating.
"I didn't exercise either. It was the last thing on my mind," Cora said.
"It actually affected my mental health a lot – being a flight attendant and eating all that junk food really affected my life and how I was feeling.
"I had suspicions I had gained weight, but I didn't realise just how much and I was too lazy to do anything about it."
Cora said she would lack so much energy that instead of walking up the road to the shops, she would drive.
The 22-year-old signed up to her local gym and began with cardio, before incorporating weights and in one year she went on to lose 30kg.
She said as much as exercise helped, it also came down to her diet.
"I gave myself a ban on junk food for the first month and only drank water for liquids," Cora said.
"I also started to eat lots and lots of protein and vegetables and completely cut out sugar."
While she said the first 20kg "just fell off", the final 10kg was the biggest challenge, adding that her results plateaued once she dropped down to 75kg.
However, determined to keep going, Cora eventually lost the additional kilos.
"I feel so amazing now. I think the one thing people don't realise about weight loss is that you change as a person," Cora explained.
"It's about finding yourself and while lots of people do it to look good, the main point is making sure you're happy on the inside and fuelling your body with healthy foods."
"As soon as I had that chat with mum, my mindset just clicked," Cora said.
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