Tatiana Caso, a 28-year-old mother of two from Florida, US, has lost more than half her body weight after giving up her daily McDonald's lunches. At her heaviest, she weighed 16st 7lbs and wore a size XXL, but now weighs 8st 1lbs and fits into size XS/S.
The stay-at-home mum said a turning point came when she got on a trampoline to play with her daughter Ana, six, and son Mason, three, and became winded.
Fears for her children sparked change
“I was so winded, I instantly was so disappointed in myself and I just couldn’t understand how I let things get so bad,” Tatiana told creatorzine.com. “I had a lot of mom guilt because my daughter just wanted me to do things with her that I was too heavy to do and it was my own fault.”
She said she struggled with her relationship with food since childhood and used motherhood as an excuse to stay complacent. At her highest weight, her diet included sugary cereal, McDonald's burgers and fries for lunch, mac and cheese for dinner, and crisps and ice cream as snacks.
Slow and steady weight loss
In November 2024, Tatiana began tracking her calories to eat in a slight deficit and returned to regular exercise. She now weight trains five days a week and is preparing for a bodybuilding show, training eight to ten hours per week.
Her diet now focuses on whole foods and high protein, including egg white oats for breakfast, lean beef burrito with Greek yogurt for lunch, and shredded chicken breast with potatoes and green beans for dinner.
Motivated by protecting her children
Tatiana said one of her biggest motivations was knowing she could physically protect her children in an emergency. “We live in a scary world and I want to be sure I could carry my children out of any potential danger,” she said. “I would not have been able to do that effectively before.”
She added that she no longer worries about her ability to keep her kids safe and hopes her transformation inspires others. “I feel so much more confident and comfortable in my skin,” she said. “I don’t feel ashamed of my body anymore.”
