What really happens after you lose 120 pounds?
In this episode, Lisa gets real about her weight-loss journey, the wins, the setbacks, and everything in between. From the moment she decided to start, to losing over 120 pounds, regaining much of it, and finding her footing again, this is the story behind Big Fat Skinny Dish.
Lisa shares what fueled her transformation, the pressure that followed, and how grit and grace have carried her through every season, from rock bottom to recovery—and everything in between.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re starting over again (and again), this episode is for you. Because it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress, perseverance, and learning to meet yourself with both grit and grace.
For Lisa, progress isn’t perfect. It’s personal.
In this episode, you’ll hear:
- The real story behind Lisa’s 120-pound weight loss
- What changed after the “after” photo
- How she handled regaining weight
- Why grace matters as much as grit
- The reason she started the Big Fat Skinny Dish podcast
Grace gives you strength. Grit keeps you going. And a handful of fries keeps you sane. – Lisa
Transcript
Welcome to Big Fat Skinny Dish, where progress isn't perfect, it's personal.
Lisa Kahler (:Do want to know the question I get asked the most? It's what did you do to lose the weight? People want to know my secret, they want the quick fix, they want me to tell them how to do it, they want me to tell them I took the magic pill so they can go get it. But here's the truth, there's just no secret. I've lost 120 pounds and gained back 65. I'm still right here in the middle of all of it trying to figure it out. What I do know is this.
Grit has kept me going and Grace has kept me grounded. I'm Lisa, host of Big Fat Skinny Dish, and today I'm sharing my story.
Lisa Kahler (:Back in:Lisa Kahler (:I had left social media because I was struggling mentally and physically and my health was on the fritz. At five foot one, I was close to 300 pounds. I knew I had to make some changes. I just, I wasn't there yet. But as Christmas approached, I started to tell myself that this would be the year that I would do it. come January, I was all in.
This was the year. I even went as far as to sign up for Weight Watchers. I had the app installed on my phone and this was before Christmas. But I didn't open the app for the entire holiday. And then January 3rd rolled around. The holidays were over, it was back to work. And when I woke up that morning, I sat on the edge of my bed with my face in my hands. I remember it so vividly.
I hadn't even started my day and I was tired. Everything hurt. And that was kind of the moment that I realized that I needed to do this. I felt like my life depended on it. So in that moment, I opened up the Weight Watchers app and I started tracking. I tracked my breakfast before I even ate it. I chose to start. I made that one choice and it worked.
By April, I was down almost 40 pounds. And it's funny because the scale set it, but I couldn't see it. And it wasn't until I did a side-by-side picture with the shirt, my before shirt, that things clicked. I was like, ooh, I really do look different. I shared that image on my connect page on the WW app, and the response was overwhelming. And I thought, you know, maybe I should
share more of this.
And that's when I started Big Fat Skinny Dish on Facebook eventually I launched the Big Fat Skinny Dish website. it felt really important to put all of this out there because I know that voice, that one that whispers, I'm never gonna lose this weight. I lived with that voice most of my life. And I wanted people to see that if I could do it,
So fast forward to the end of:You know, it's crazy. And I was at the lowest weight I'd ever been as an adult. And I celebrated,
But underneath all of the joy that I felt and the pride in that loss, there was this constant nagging feeling of never being done. Like no matter how far I'd come, there was always more to do. I felt like the scale could be lower, the workouts could be harder.
and then all of the outside voices, the doctors, you need to lose at least 30 more pounds to be in that healthy BMI range. All of that just fed into the negative self-talk soundtrack that I had running in my brain, not to mention that underlying fear.
of gaining all of that weight back. So instead of soaking all of that in, all of my accomplishments and really pushing forward, I started focusing on all of the things that I hadn't accomplished yet and all of the things that I still had to do. And I really do think that that's when things started to shift for me. Somewhere along the way I forgot
ut then by the second half of:At beginning of:body dysmorphia. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't recognize myself. It was like I went to bed one night and I got up the next day and my body was completely different. Nothing fit right. and then I started gaining weight in, places I'd never gained before, or it felt like I didn't gain before. that's when I had to really lean into grace. Grace reminded me that it was okay, that recovery was slow. It reminded me that
s failing. So fast forward to:ood or bad. But by the end of:after all of the hard work I put in, I felt that feeling of failure.
And in that season of gaining, I had found myself chasing all of those quick fixes instead of remembering the process that I used and that worked for me in the first place.
So where am I today? I'm somewhere in the middle. I'm not at my highest weight. I'm not at my lowest weight, but I'm still showing up and I am still figuring it out.
And that's why I started this podcast because the weight loss space, especially on social media is really loud. Everyone's got a program, a plan, a secret, a magic fix. And I have to tell you, it's just noise. What's really important though, is finding your own voice. Learning how to put grit and grace into action in your own journey. For me, grit is just showing up even when it's hard and
even when the results are slow. Grace just grounds me when I fumble. Because at the end of the day, the loudest voice you should hear on this journey is your own. Thanks for joining me today. And don't forget, grace gives you strength, grit keeps you going, and a handful of fries will keep you sane. See you next time.
Lisa Kahler (:Thanks for listening to Big Fat Skinny Dish. For links, bios, and resources, visit bigfatskinnydish.com. We'd love to hear from you. Share your wins, your struggles, or leave us a review wherever you listen.
