INDIANAPOLIS — A Indianapolis woman who lost half of her body weight is now encouraging others on TikTok that with persistence and support, they too can reach a healthy body weight.
Bridget Moyer said she was always the "bigger" one in her family.
"I had struggled most of my life with my weight. I remember sitting in my dorm room freshman year ... and I was like, 'You know what, Bridget? You're just going to have to come to terms with the fact that you probably won't ever lose weight...this is probably just going to be where you're at for the rest of your life,'" Bridget said. "I will never forget that moment because I really did believe that."
She weighed 256 pounds after gaining 30 pounds during her freshman year at IU Bloomington. She felt hopeless and shared her frustration with her older sister Claire, a personal trainer at Carmel Total Fitness. Claire along with Nutrition Coach Zach Pello, listened and then suggested a first step, a simple diet tweak.
They suggested eating simple meals of a protein, a fat and a carb the size of your palm. In a month and a half — with no added exercise — Bridget lost 15 pounds.
To keep the momentum, Claire and Pello asked Moyer to keep a food diary.
"The studies show that people people will typically underestimate their calorie consumption by up to 20%," Pello said. "That could be 300, 400, 500-plus calories they don't realize that they're consuming...so it can be challenging if you're not keeping some sort of tabs on it."
Bridget also realized she had an unhealthy relationship with food.
"Food is difficult. I don't think that a lot of people talk about it enough but it is it's really common to have an honest relationship with food and I absolutely did have an odd relationship with food," Bridget said. "I did not acknowledge that until I started working with my sister because (it was) the first time I felt comfortable to speak with someone about it and to not be judged."
Bridget said she'd hide what she was eating because she feared judgment. She labeled food good or bad, and that made her crave the good. Claire listened and encouraged her to focus on three things:
- A calorie deficit
- Prioritizing protein
- Strength training three times per week
The workouts started virtually and continued in person during the summers. The exercises with weights targeted every muscle group and boosted Moyer's metabolism. Claire customized each session to include a push, a pull, a hinge, and a quad-dominant movement, and instead of focusing on numbers on the scale, she asked Moyer to take pictures weekly.
"I actually really hated taking those pictures. And I would never have taken them had Claire and Zach not made that a part of their program," Bridget said.
The pictures reveal steady progress, and now three years later, Bridget has edited them together documenting her 130-pound weight loss on TikTok.
The loss was so great, that she opted for a tummy tuck to remove the excess skin in her abdomen.
There's an audience for her story. So far, her video's gotten more than 165,000 likes and many comments asking for advice.
"I mean, just amazing, right? I mean, talk about a huge transformation, but not only in her body, but also her mind, too, and how she feels," Pello said.
Bridget recently graduated from college, has a new job, is interested in pursuing a side gig in personal training, and feels closer to being her best self.
"I really do pride myself in the journey that I took with my weight loss because I know how hard I can work, and it was really hard," Bridget said. "I was in the middle of college. I had to make a lot of sacrifices, but it was worth it."
Now Moyer says she's happier, more confident, and forever grateful for her steadfast sister who answered the call.
"There aren't words to say how proud of I am of her," Claire said. "Not only the physical transformation but the transformation from the inside out," Claire said.