When Becky Hoover was 16 years old, her mother died. That's when Hoover began turning to food as comfort: "As a teenage girl, I needed my mom. If I had a bad day, I turned to food. If I was missing my mom, I turned to food."
And that wasn't the only major loss Hoover suffered. Over the years, her father and brother also passed away, and another brother had died in childhood. "I turned to food as comfort a lot, and the weight kept piling on," she tells TODAY.com. "It's not an excuse, but nobody gains that much weight without a reason."
Her weight climbed to 348 pounds, and it was affecting her health:
A family member's blunt statement in 2019 motivated her to make some changes. This person told her point-blank that she was heading toward weight-loss surgery. "I didn't know what to say. I was shocked that someone would just come out and say that. It really upset me," she says. "But I used that as motivation. The next day I cleared off my treadmill and started to walk. And I've been walking ever since. I think I'm on my third treadmill."
Despite some setbacks (more on that later) Hoover has lost 160 pounds. Her back feels better, her health markers have all improved, she doesn't need to take any medication, she has tons of energy, she falls asleep as soon as her head hits the pillow and she's managing her depression.
Hoover recently turned 40. "It is a really good feeling, going into your 40s and being healthy," she says. Here's what worked for her.
She started walking and added in more exercise over time
At first, walking was all Hoover could do. As her fitness improved, she increased her speed and distance and she joined a local gym. She slowly added in some time on an elliptical machine, and next came some weight training. Now, she works out every morning and goes to the gym five days a week.
She relies on a quote for motivation: Nothing changes if nothing changes. "That's gotten me out of bed when I didn't want to get up to exercise. I just love that quote," she says.
She strives to do something every day. "On the weekends, I walk. When I get out there in nature my mental stability is so much better. My mood is better, I'm sleeping better, and my anxiety is better. I can't stress enough how much exercise has really just changed everything for me," she says.
Along with walking near her home in Punxsutawney, Penn., she likes to garden, bike, hike and spend time with her dog, Bailey. "Those are the biggest things I like to do to release the stress and depression," she says.
She replaced sugar and processed comfort foods with healthier options
Hoover also overhauled her diet, cutting back on or eliminating soft drinks, chocolate, processed food, bread and carbs. "I have cut out all added sugars. I do not eat anything sweet, like cookies or cakes, unless it's a special occasion," she says.
She loves to bake, though. "My mom taught me food is love, and I usually bake for other people," she says. She's won a lot of first place ribbons for her cakes and cupcakes, and even took fourth place statewide at the Pennsylvania Farm Show. "Very rarely will I bake something for myself anymore, because I know if it's in the house, I will eat it," she says.
She limited her calories to 1,200 a day and over time, she began intermittent fasting. She generally skips breakfast, has tuna and crackers for lunch and eats some type of protein and veggies for dinner. "I cook almost every meal, and if I get takeout, it's a salad," she says.
She didn't find it difficult to cut so many calories from her diet. "Before I started, I fasted for a month. That was during Lent. It got my body prepared," she says. "And it's not hard if you're eating protein and fiber -- stuff that keeps you full."
A family health emergency triggered a setback
Hoover got married in 2021 and became a stepmom to Charlie, now 21, and Zoey, now 18. In late 2022, the family faced a serious health issue -- her husband had a heart attack and needed a triple bypass.
"I stopped focusing on myself because I had to focus on him and our family. I just wore myself out. I stopped making time for myself and I stopped exercising," she says. "When I was at work, I got my comfort food. At lunchtime, it was nothing for me to go to Burger King, or to the store and get a pack of cookies. There was so much stress on me, and I fell back into those old habits. My depression came back, and because I wasn't exercising, I had no outlet for that. I just completely stopped taking care of myself, and I gained about 65 pounds of weight back."
In April 2024, things turned around for her. "There was a nurse I work with, and we were talking about my husband. She looked me right in my eyes and said, 'Becky, how areyou doing?' I didn't really know how to answer her question. It caught me off guard. I hadn't had time to think about how I felt," she says.
Now, she's back to a place where she's putting herself first again. "I'm realizing I have to take care of myself so I can take care of others," she says. She's back to her walks, workouts and healthy food choices.
She credits the Start TODAY Facebook group with helping her lose the 65 pounds she had regained: "From the motivation to get out there and walk to the exercise to the emotional support, I just love it. It's so therapeutic. I wish I had found it a couple of years ago -- maybe I wouldn't have fallen off the wagon."