Troy Mother Sheds 120 Pounds in Under a Year

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (WJBK) - A Troy mom was kicked off a rollercoaster because she was too big. She will never forget the embarrassment, and she is making sure it will never happen again.

After waiting an hour and a half to get on the Cedar Point coaster, Kathy McDonald was told the seat belt was too small.

"The worker comes over spending about three minutes trying to strap me in, only to ask me to exit -- take the walk of shame with my son," she said. "I basically walked away from the family, cried and said let's go home. I'm done."

At age 21, McDonald was a fit, young bride, but three kids later, a hectic life got in the way of her health. She filled her body with anything fast and fried.

"Bacon cheese burger, fried chicken, French fries, no salad, skip the salad, maybe do coleslaw as my vegetable, and pop, a lot of pop," she explained.

It eventually added up.

"I stopped weighing myself at 270," she said.

On the inside, the seemingly happy mother was hurting, embarrassed by her own body and scared to even attempt to get on a plane to visit her sister.

"I just never admitted to them that I was so fearful of buying this ticket, getting on the plane and being in another position where I could barley fit in the seat or struggled to fasten the seatbelt," McDonald said. "I just couldn't bear to put myself through that humiliation, so I avoided it."

However, one day McDonald did something that would drastically change her life. She ordered the P90X DVD workout program and started exercising in her own living room.

"I felt sore, so I knew that it's working," she told us.

McDonald modified the muscle building workout. She took it slow, but felt herself getting stronger and leaner every day.

At the same time, she was learning how to not fear food, but fuel her body with protein shakes, fruits, vegetables and lean protein.

It took less than a year. McDonald is down 120 pounds.

With her self esteem soaring, she finally bought that plane ticket.

Her entire family, including her husband and three boys are so proud.

"Not only do they work out with me sometimes, my 16-year-old brags. He actually brags, picks me up in front of his friends, lifts me up over his shoulders. They bring their friends over. They are proud," she said. "I feel like I'm the mom I was meant to be finally."

McDonald wants to help anyone who is struggling. Click here to visit her Facebook support page »