Sydney mother loses 50 KILOS by ditching fizzy drinks

Larina Zell, 24, from Sydney, struggled with fluctuating weight throughout her entire childhood. 

And after tipping the scales at 140 kilograms at just 22 years old, Larina, who was a new mother at the time, knew she needed to make a change. 

Now, two years on, the dedicated mum has lost close to 50 kilograms and recently weighed in at 91.4 kilos. 

‘I struggled hugely with my weight from a young age and had terrible eating habits all through my teenage years and into my adult years,’ Larina told Daily Mail Australia. 

After tipping the scales at 140 kilograms at just 22 years old, Larina Zell, from Sydney, knew she needed to make a change

Now, two years on, the dedicated mum has lost close to 50 kilograms and recently weighed in at 91.4 kilos

‘I would eat massive amounts of food and I absolutely loved fizzy drinks. I didn’t drink any water at all, I hated it.

‘After I moved out at 18 there was always Coke in the fridge so I was always drinking it and mixing alcohol with fizzy drinks whenever I went out.’ 

Larina, who suffered depression at the time, was also working three jobs, getting McDonald’s and pizza for dinner on the way home and regularly turning to takeaway for main meals. 

‘I had always been very self-conscious and had never felt very beautiful so I just got more depressed and my bad health made me feel awful,’ Larina said. 

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‘In my before photo (left) I had already lost six kilos and I was just a mess and in tears after I took it. I had no idea how huge I had gotten,’ she said 

‘Emotionally and physically I just felt horrible.’ 

After the birth of her little girl in 2015, Larina decided to overhaul her lifestyle and do whatever it took to improve her health and wellbeing. 

‘When I was picking my daughter up and down everything in my body would hurt and I had hardly any energy,’ she said. 

‘I knew things were only going to get harder as she grew and I wanted to be the mum she needed and deserved. This pushed me to start looking into my options.’ 

‘I recently tried on a size 14 pair of jeans and I have never fit into a size 14 in my whole entire adult life. I just stood in the change room and bawled my eyes out,’ she said 

What is Larina’s average day on a plate? 

I try to meal prep where I can to save money and time.

BREAKFAST: 

I will usually have rolled oats with Greek yoghurt, fresh berries and honey. I never used to have cereal but it’s delicious.

LUNCH: 

My favourite chicken nacho salad because I get to have corn chips and it’s so yum yet so healthy.

DINNER: 

I still have meals like burgers, hot dogs, spaghetti bolognese and slow cooked meals like stews but because I am making my own sauces they are really healthy.

SNACKS: 

I make simple snacks on the weekend so things like pistachio cookies, cheese and tomato on biscuits, snack platters with veggies and a dip or caramelised onion with carrot sticks.

Larina started Googling ways to lose weight and was immediately bombarded with fad diets, diet teas and tablets. 

‘I felt really lost but after posting on Facebook a friend told me about an online program called the Healthy Mummy so I decided to sign up to the 28 day challenge,’ Larina said. 

‘Basically it was a meal plan with recipes I could follow and cook up a bunch of food for the week rather than eating takeaway all the time. 

‘The first step I took was cutting out all the fizzy drinks and started that by drinking soda water with lemon, limes and oranges instead.’

Larina then cut all sugar out of her teas and coffees, upped her water intake and took care to follow the recipes.

‘I started with simple recipes each week and for three months I was careful to cook only healthy meals and drink a lot of water,’ she said. 

‘Within a week I had so much more energy and within three months the acne I had cleared up, I had a glow about me and my clothes started to look too big.’

‘When I was buying clothes before I was so scared to be a size 26 that I was using rubber bands to hold the pants I had together.’

‘Every time I would try to bend over my knees and hips would crack and my body just sounded like an old broken wooden chair,’ she said (pictured right recently and left at 22)

When she first started out, exercise wasn’t a priority. 

‘My body hurt way too much to try and exercise,’ she said. 

‘Every time I would try to bend over my knees and hips would crack and my body just sounded like an old broken wooden chair.’ 

Despite working and studying, Larina later managed to work exercise into her everyday regime. 

‘I had a pretty busy lifestyle so I would do things like park in the furthest parking spot away or squat while waiting for the microwave or go for a 10 minute walk around the block,’ she said. 

After sticking to this regime, Larina saw the weight start to fall off her and she now sits at an impressive 91.4 kilograms (pictured at 102.4 kg)

After sticking to this regime, Larina saw the weight start to fall off her and she now sits at an impressive 91.4 kilograms. 

‘I can now run and when I can I will do a 20 minute run around the neighbourhood or will do a weird little exercise regime with my daughter,’ she said. 

‘For example I will push her on the swingset in the backyard while jogging on the spot, doing squat lunges or star jumps.

‘I will also do things like jogging on the spot in the kitchen or working exercise into everyday activities.’ 

Larina said she is still amazed when she looks at her old clothes. 

‘I recently tried on a size 14 pair of jeans and I have never fit into a size 14 in my whole entire adult life. I just stood in the change room and bawled my eyes out,’ she said . 

‘When I was buying clothes before I was so scared to be a size 26 that I was using rubber bands (pictured) to hold the pants I had together,’ she said 

‘I am so happy in my own skin, especially now I have worked so hard for it,’ she said 

‘In my before photo I had already lost six kilos and I was just a mess and in tears after I took it. I had no idea how huge I had gotten.

‘I still hold up my old pair of pants every second day to see how far I have come and it’s just a huge reminder to keep going.

‘That could have been my daughter’s mum in those pants but it’s not anymore.’ 

Larina, who is aiming to get to 74 kilograms, said getting in a bikini for the first time was both ‘terrifying and exciting’. 

‘I know I am not a picture perfect magazine model,’ she said. 

‘But I am so happy in my own skin, especially now I have worked so hard for it.’