Fishers woman ‘half her size’ in magazine issue
FISHERS, Ind. (WISH) – A Fishers woman who lost 146 pounds – more than half her weight – has gained national attention for her incredible transformation. Now Eve Guzman is helping others around central Indiana do the same thing.
Guzman, 32, was recently featured in People Magazine’s annual “Half Their Size” issue featuring men and women from around the country who successfully lost 50 percent of their body weight.
“I weighed 277 pounds and I’m only 5 feet 1 inch, and when I decided I had to make a change was when I couldn’t find jeans to wear,” says Guzman. “I would go into the dressing room, try on 25 pairs of jeans and (I found) nothing. I got tired of looking at myself in the mirror seeing the person I didn’t want to be.”
Guzman began the transformation in 2003 at the age of 20. She started by restricting her total caloric intake to 1,200 calories a day and began exercising with at-home Tae-Bo tapes in her living room.
“By losing that first 40 or 45 pounds (at home), I gained the confidence to go in the gym – so, I eventually did start walking on the treadmill and the elliptical machine and then when I got the confidence to lift weights, I started doing that.” says Guzman. “Once I got to the point where I plateaued in my weight loss, I started to look at the 1,200 calories I was eating and started to make it more nutritious foods.”
Guzman says it took 16 months to lose the first 120 pounds. She maintained the weight loss despite a second pregnancy and a series of cross-country moves to pursue her career as a Licensed Medical Laboratory Scientist.
“Three years ago I decided I wanted to be in People Magazine,” says Guzman. “I would pass the magazine in the grocery store and tell my husband ‘I’m going to be in there one day.’”
At the time, Guzman had not fully lost half her weight. So in 2013, at the weight of 153 pounds, she decided to work toward new results. She began lifting weights regularly and completely overhauled her diet to consist of high-protein, vegetable-rich meals.
“I eat five to six times a day and I space my meals out approximately three hours a day and I always drink a half- gallon to a gallon of water a day,” says Guzman “Every meal I have has protein, that’s the staple of everything that I eat, and either a vegetable or a complex carbohydrate.”
Through this process, Guzman lost another 22 pounds to land at her current weight of 131 pounds.
Emboldened by her own transformation, Eve started helping others on the side at the beginning of 2014 as a newly certified trainer and sports nutritionist. She began working with people looking to achieve the same success – even starting a meal prep plan for friends and family who needed help with the “what” and “how much” of food preparation.
“Eating simple clean foods is the way to go,” says Guzman. “A lot of people think they have to be fancy and buy all these special things but the simple foods are the ones that will get you the results.”
Guzman chronicled her incredible weight loss success on her Instagram account, consistently using the hashtag #halfmysize. The editors of People Magazine found her through the #halfmysize hashtag and contacted her in the summer of 2014. Guzman says they vetted her story and verified she had lost the weight through diet and exercise – not surgery. Once all her information checked out, Guzman was featured in the magazine that hit stands Dec. 24, 2014.
With her amazing transformation, Guzman has decided to make one more big life change. At the beginning of April 2015, she decided to leave her career as a genetic toxicology laboratory supervisor and become a full time personal trainer.
As part of the new venture, Eve launched the training website GTransformationFitness.com with her husband, Randall a former semi-pro football player. Combined, the couple has lost 246 pounds.
Just since January 2014, Eve has trained 63 people who have lost a combined 1,898 pounds. She currently coaches 25 people.
“A year ago, I would’ve never imagined my life to be like this,” says Guzman. “I feel blessed and grateful – I’m very happy.”WHAT DOES EVE EAT?
Guzman says she eats five to six meals a day at a span of two to three hours between each meal. She consumes between 1,500 and 1,700 calories a day depending on the type of meats she chooses to eat.
“I’ve actually lost more weight and gained more muscle by eating more frequently and more food a day.”
Breakfast: A protein shake
Mid-Morning Meal: Breakfast sandwich comprised of egg whites, turkey bacon or lean turkey sausage and a slice of cheese on an English muffin
Lunch: Chicken breast, 1/2 cup brown rice and steamed vegetables
Mid-Afternoon Meal: Tilapia, sweet potato and green beans
Post-Workout Meal: Protein shake
Dinner: Shrimp, salad and steamed vegetables