• Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Black Beauty Awards 2022
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2022 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • Wellness House
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · News

I Lost 110 Pounds: Lindsay Harrington's Weight Loss Story

Get inspired by one woman's story of how she changed her eating and exercise habits to ensure a healthier life. 
I Lost 110 Pounds: Lindsay Harrington’s Weight Loss Story
By Lindsay Harrington · Updated October 28, 2020

Name: Lindsay M. Harrington from Detroit, Michigan

Total Weight Lost: 110lbs

Follow Lindsay on Twitter @LMichelle_Esq.

When I was growing up there was only one thing I absolutely had to do – get good grades. As long as I had A’s on my report card everything else was secondary. Diet and exercise were snazzy words that only the “pretty” girls used. Through my eyes, I was a smart girl and didn’t have time for any of that nonsense…so I thought. After making my way through high school and graduating within the top 3% of my class, I went on to study finance at Howard University.  The parties, the diverse food, and the drinking — I had the time of my life! When it was all said and done, I graduated from Howard University Summa Cum Laude and about 40lbs heavier.

Subsequently, I returned home to Detroit to attend law school. Law school was a sugary-energy-drink-fueled blur of reading, briefing cases, studying and grabbing food in the cafeteria where the menu items came fried or extra fried. After three sleep-deprived years of academic anxiety, I graduated a proud member of a nationally recognized appellate moot court team, in the top third of my class, and 60lbs fatter.

For years I had convinced myself that I wasn’t getting “that big” and the clothes were just “running small.” While out shopping for a graduation dress with my cousin my “academic high” was quickly subdued when I was not able to zip up a dress. The largest size that they had in the store did not fit me. I looked in the mirror and I was revolted by what I had let happen to myself. I realized that I could not hide behind by degrees. I had to put my health first.

While studying for the bar examination, I joined a gym and started “working out” and “dieting.” My definition of working out was walking for 30 to 45 minutes at a slow speed on the treadmill and having a grilled chicken sandwich and a small fries from McDonald’s instead of the fried chicken sandwich and large fries. I lost a few pounds in the beginning, but that quickly stalled out. I was playing myself. I had no idea how many calories I was eating let alone how much work in the gym it would actually take to burn them off.

After completing the bar exam I began to spend more time in the gym. During this time I was an unemployed law school grad waiting to find out if I had passed the bar. A personal trainer was not an option. Instead, I began attending the many classes that my gym offered. Zumba, spinning, boot camp, kick boxing and step aerobics. I worked my way up from three days a week walking on a treadmill for 30 minutes to spending five days a week for least 60 to 90 minutes in classes and/or weight training. The instructors were amazing and the classes showed me how much work it would take to burn off that fast food.

At that point I began to take my diet seriously. I completely changed my eating habits, starting with a cleanse. Specifically, the master cleanse or the “lemonade diet” as it is commonly known. I began this cleanse because I do believe sugar and salt are addictive drugs from which your brain and body need to be broken. After spending 14 days cleansing, I started eating clean. Eighteen months after passing the bar and becoming a licensed attorney, I am even prouder to say that I have lost over a 110lbs and counting!

Like many other people, I hit the dreaded plateau. I have begun diversifying my workouts by focusing more on weight training and peak fitness interval training as opposed to traditional moderate cardio. While I do still workout five days a week, I do not focus so much on calorie counting to lose weight anymore. Health and fitness are now my focus. A vegetarian lifestyle has provided me with a beneficial platform for continued growth in my fitness journey. This journey has taught me that while family, spouses, children, education and career are all important, it’s critical that we don’t ever forget to make our health our FIRST priority.

READ MORE INSPIRING WEIGHT LOSS STORIES FROM OUR READERS!


Stephanie Lost 60 Pounds

Jennifer Lost 104 Pounds
Christina Lost 52 Pounds
Rasheeda Lost 90 Pounds
Danielle Lost 52 Pounds
Nekita Lost 140 Pounds

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now