Former elite swimmer who gained more than 150lbs reveals stunning transformation

A former competitive swimmer who gained more than 150 pounds after quitting the sport has now revealed her stunning weight loss transformation.

Caroline Eric23, from Kansas, struggled with depression after she stopped swimming after a severe burnout.

Over the next five years, her weight steadily climbed, gaining more than 150 pounds, but she grew unhappy with the way she looked.

And when one person told her they wouldn’t date her because she was “fat,” she said it “flipped a switch” and she decided to take action.

She elaborated on her decision, explaining that while the “fat” comment struck a chord, she didn’t go on a weight-loss journey “because a man wouldn’t date me,” but she did it “for me.”

In addition to working out, Caroline has made some major changes to her diet.

In an Instagram post, she showed how she traded ice cream for frozen grapes, spaghetti for zoodles, bread-heavy sandwiches for lettuce wraps, and McDonald’s breakfasts for whole-wheat English muffins.

She’s also ditched soda for low-calorie sparkling water, and she says she “don’t even like regular sweets anymore.”

Describing how she gained weight, Caroline said: ‘I struggled with obesity and mental health after I quit first class swimming.

‘I was a competitive athlete all my life until I decided to stop after a severe burnout.

“I kept a swimmer’s diet, but switched to a very sedentary lifestyle. I gained over 150 pounds over the course of about five years.

‘The trauma I suffered from years of top sport ran deep and made me see exercise as the enemy.

“The more I gained weight, the more I withdrew from loved ones and retreated to food — often binging in my car to deal with my depression.”

Before changing her lifestyle, Caroline was bullied and suffered from painful depression.

She revealed: “It’s important to note that I was bullied quite a bit so people would tell me I was disgusting, or guys would never want to date me, they’d call me a cow or a pig, they’d take pictures from me to send in their group chats, and ironically I turned to food.

“Food was my comfort and the only thing I could control in this world was hating me.

“Before all this, I hated myself to the core. Both because of my body and because I was extremely depressed.’

After seeking treatment for her depression, Caroline said she could change her lifestyle.

“Over the years my mental and physical health deteriorated until I needed a more serious treatment for depression called TMS (Temporal Magnetic Stimulation),” she said.

‘This treatment uses a magnet that promotes neuroplasticity. This treatment saved my life and gave me the energy needed to make a radical change.

“I decided to embark on a wellness journey in hopes of becoming my best self. I learned that I didn’t have to wallow in my pain. I could change, I could overcome.

“So that’s what I planned to do.”

Caroline started with small steps like cutting out junk food and walking just 15 minutes a day.

“At this point I started with small changes. Cut out fast food, which was incredibly hard for me because it was my comfort, started walking 15 minutes every day and tried my best to eat better quality food,” she said.

“I never thought I would fall in love with wellness or create an online platform as a wellness influencer.

“I lost about 70 pounds with these little changes. I plateaued there for a while until I decided to do Ketamine treatment for anxiety and depression.

‘This treatment was the game changer. It allowed me to reframe everything in my mind and pinpoint exactly why I felt the way I did about food, exercise, my body, my health, and my life.

“I had incredible clarity from this treatment of what I needed to do to get past the plateau and also realized most of it: exercise is not the enemy and never has been.

“I joined a gym a few weeks later. I went off birth control, I learned so much about balancing your hormones, balancing your gut, the mind-body correlation and so much more.

Not long after, I hit 100 pounds down and started growing my social media by sharing my story. I am now the healthiest and happiest I have ever been, even at the peak of my swimming career.

“I want people to know that it doesn’t take much to change your life. I want people to know that change is possible, change is good and change is realistic.

“I hope my story inspires someone else to take their health into their own hands. Start by making some small changes that will benefit you in the future.

“What is something small you can do that will help you in the future? It could be waking up earlier, it could be cutting out fast food, it could be as simple as exercising for 15 minutes a day and it will change your life.”

Now Caroline is the happiest and most confident she’s ever been.

“I have so much more energy and a new joy and excitement for life. I have goals now, I have dreams, I have things I want to achieve,” she said.

“I never really had that before. It used to be just a struggle to get through each day so I never really looked to the future I thought it would be more of the same I was so wrong.

“Every day I’m proud of myself for how hard I’ve worked and every day I remind myself how far I’ve come.

“It would be a lie if I said that this is all about self-love and acceptance, because the reality is harder. Most days I love myself, sincerely and with all my heart.

“But there are still quite a few when I find old habits wanting to resurface, or days when I’m much harder on myself than I deserve.”

“I am the healthiest and happiest I have ever been, but there will always be room for progress.

“Most people are shocked by how much weight I’ve lost. They say they barely recognize me or that I don’t look like myself anymore.’