A 73-year-old lost 185 pounds. She goes 5 days a week to the gym and eats a low-carb diet.
Maureen Hagar was an emotional eater who weighed 355 pounds two years ago.
She joined a gym, followed a so-called "slow-carb" diet, and once lost 10 pounds in a week.
The septuagenarian trains for three hours a day, five days a week.
First, it was the scooter; second, the walker; and then a cane.
Maureen Hagar ditched her mobility aids after losing 185 pounds through a healthy diet and regular exercise.
The 73-year-old, who weighed 355 pounds when she began the regime in 2022, is down to 190 pounds — and has a goal of shedding about a dozen more.
"I'm very proud," Hagar told Business Insider. "It's taken a lot of stamina and commitment."
She said she'd had issues with her weight throughout her life, sometimes not helped by her mom. She meant well but, after baking a cake, would tell Hagar she couldn't have a slice.
"She was thin, and so were my sisters," Hagar said. "She'd bring in the cake and say everyone could have some except me."
Soon, she hid Hershey's candy bars in her bedroom and ate giant bowls of Rocky Road ice cream.
Hagar turned to food to deal with her stress
Nevertheless, the retired secretary said she was relatively athletic and burned calories while enjoying sports like swimming and tennis.
Then, after getting married and having her son 34 years ago, she found it increasingly hard not to over-eat.
"I'd eat things like casseroles and pasta, but instead of just one portion, I'd have at least two," she said. "I would wait until my husband was asleep and go back to the stove or refrigerator."
Hagar developed a pattern of comfort eating. Her son was diagnosed with special needs, and she turned to food as a means of dealing with the stress. "I bottled up my emotions," she said.
She became diabetic in the early 2000s. Doctors warned of the health risks, and she followed several diets and exercise programs — once losing 70 pounds, which she regained during the pandemic.
The family invested in a mobility scooter so that Hagar could join them on hikes and strolls along the boardwalks in California, their home state.
Then, in 2023, Hagar's mindset finally shifted. She was 355 pounds — morbidly obese for her 5ft 4in height. A relative encouraged her to join a Life Time gym, where she began doing low-impact aqua aerobics, including marching in the Olympic-size pool.
She went from completing just a handful of laps to 25 and then 50, encouraged by her personal trainer, Derek Conway, whom she hired in July 2023.
Conway, also worked with Hagar, who has arthritis, on the gym floor, doing gentle cardio on a seated elliptical machine and exercise bike. They did strength and conditioning exercises — and now spar with boxing equipment.
The trainer said low-intensity exercise suited Hagar better
"One of our goals has been to redevelop her balance and dexterity in her feet," Conway told Business Insider. "She'll step up and over small steps using support and trudge through the water, pushing against it."
He said the key to Hagar's fitness program was to get as much movement as possible for as long as possible. She goes to the gym in the mornings five days a week and stays for three hours.
"We don't do anything high-intensity except swimming," the trainer continued. "She'll swim as far as possible, then walk until her energy returns.
"Instead of sprints, we do steady-rate cardio, exerting moderate effort."
The 34-year-old helped devise a nutrition plan for Hagar. It is based on the so-called "slow carb" diet, which includes high-protein foods such as eggs, fish, and chicken and vegetables, especially legumes, such as lentils and beans.
"We cut out all bread, processed food, and simple sugars," Conway said. Hagar said the diet was responsible for limiting her glycemic response. She reversed her diabetes and stopped taking medication last November.
She told BI she was shocked to lose as much as 10 pounds in one week. Her average weight loss was four to five pounds. Hagar's scooter and walker were consigned to the garage. She tossed one of her canes and started to walk without the other.
Hagar, 73, and Conway, 34, have a special bond
Next week, she plans a kayak trip with her husband and friends.
The septuagenarian also credits Conway with persuading her to discuss her feelings openly. Despite the 39-year age gap, she said their time together was a form of "talk therapy."
"He cared about what I was sharing, and we got all my emotions out," Hagar said. "I'm stubborn and like to do things my own way, but I listen to Derek and don't make excuses."
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