Real Weight Loss: Alyssa Boyd

alyssa boyd shows off her new figure. photo provided to bostonmagazine.com.

Name: Alyssa Boyd
Age: 28
Location: Needham
Total Weight Loss: 40 pounds

How she did it: Boyd kicked off her weight loss journey with P90X before discovering her love for group fitness classes (indoor cycling and yoga), which she does at least once a day. After her weight loss leveled off, she changed up her eating habits by trading stops at McDonald’s and other fast food restaurants for home-cooked meals, yogurt, and smoothies.

It was just over a year ago that Alyssa Boyd decided to change her life. “I know exactly what I have to do,” the 28-year-old recalls writing in her journal. “I just have to do it.”

And she has.

Boyd, an event planner, has lost 40 pounds since last February, a major milestone in her quest to lead a healthier and more active life. After previous attempts to shed the weight, Boyd found the motivation she needed after first quitting an unfulfilling job and starting her own company. “It was the first step in changing around my life and knowing that I wanted to become happy again and take control,” she says.

Having been an athlete in high school and college, Boyd jumpstarted her fitness regimen with P90X, an intense 90-day training program that combines elements such as resistance training, cardio, and plyometrics. She also started running, and competed in a half-marathon last June. Boyd is quick to add though that it wasn’t until she discovered the indoor cycling classes at Rev’d Indoor Cycling in Dedham—which she describes as her “new obsession”—that she began to notice real changes in her body.

“Once I started getting into group fitness, that was pretty much what changed everything for me. It’s really motivating,” she says, adding that she no longer dreads working out. “It’s just nice to feel the energy from other people in the room who have the same types of goals as you. It helps. I’m a big energy person.”

Boyd works out every day, sometimes twice a day, and says that she alternates indoor cycling classes with yoga. She’s made significant changes to the way she eats, too. Boyd says that she became more focused on clean and healthy eating after noticing a plateau in the initial weight loss success she had with her new exercise routine. So, she swapped her penchant for fast food for a Nutribullet, which she now uses regularly to make smoothies with fruits and vegetables. She also attributes her success to the support she receives from friends and family.

“It’s an all-around lifestyle change. It can’t just be changing exercise or eating,” Boyd says. “It has to be changing everything: your happiness, what you’re doing, who you’re surrounding yourself with, what you do for fun, and the people that you’re with on a daily basis.”

Since embarking on her weight loss journey, Boyd says that she feels “like a completely new person.” She says that she has more energy, feels healthier, and is “the happiest [she’s] ever been.” While she says she would like to lose more weight, her main focus now is on toning and sustaining her new lifestyle. She admits is hasn’t been easy, but says she is excited by the progress she’s made.

“I think the biggest thing is to be patient. It’s very true that changes don’t happen overnight. It took a full year to lose the amount of weight that I wanted to lose,” Boyd says. “Workouts are extremely hard for me every day, but [knowing] that I’m not going to look how I want to tomorrow even though I worked really hard today shouldn’t stop me.”