Susan Luster Lynch is pictured at 265 pounds, at left, in 2012 and at 165 pounds, at right, in 2013.
On Jan. 3, 2012, Susan Luster Lynch set her head to do something about her weight problem.
She had gone to the doctor the day before, and her doctor “told me I was taking myself to an early grave.”
“I was pre-diabetic, had high blood pressure and I was obese,” Susan said. “I just bawled.”
She weighed 265 pounds.
This sobering reminder was enough to prompt Susan to make some changes.
“I have a son, 11 years old at the time, and I wanted to be around to see him grow up,” she said. “I knew I was going to have to change.”
Change she did. She gave up three sweet teas a day from McDonald’s. She cut out most fast food.
“I started eating what I call ‘clean food,’” Susan said. “I ate fresh veggies and fruit and lean chicken and meats. I was very strict with myself.”
When Susan went back to her doctor for a follow-up appointment one month later, she’d lost 23 pounds.
“Something just clicked inside me then,” she said. “I’m very goal-oriented, so this just motivated me.”
In February, Susan joined Everybody’s Gym in Irvine.
“They were so good to help me with everything,” said Susan. “I was scared at first, but they showed me how to use the equipment.”
“Now I’m an elliptical junkie. I do five miles a day about five times a week,” she said. “At first, I could only do about 45 seconds.”
Susan stops by the gym for a workout on the elliptical machine each day before work.
“When I get done, I feel charged up for the day,” she said. “I feel like I’ve done something.”
Last November, Susan walked in her first 5K and even jogged part of the way. She hopes to run in the Mushroom Festival 5K this spring.
“Food used to be my fix,” Susan said. “Now it’s exercise.”
Susan said she has always had weight issues.
“I’ve always been a big girl,” she said.
She recalls having to wear a size 14 women’s dress when she was a flower girl in her sister’s wedding. She was 11.
“That broke my heart,” she said.
On Jan.3, 2013, Susan reached her goal of losing 100 pounds. She credits a lot of people with supporting her throughout her journey.
“My husband has been amazing,” she said. “He says all the time, ‘I’m so proud of you.’”
Susan said her church family has been supportive, her coworkers and even her customers.
Many people know Susan as one of the friendly girls who work at the Methodist store on Richmond Road. She’s been an employee there since 2002.
“At Christmas, some of our customers brought treats in,” she said. “They brought sweets for the others, but fruit for me.”
Susan also gives credit to God for helping her stay strong.
“I have held on to two verses that have really helped me through this,” she said. “They are Philippians 4:13 and Philippians 1:6.”
Another important part of Susan’s weight-loss journey has been her journal.
“I’ve recorded my diet, my water, my exercise…everything,” she said. “Whenever I get stuck, I go back to the beginning to see what I was doing then.”
The weight hasn’t always come off easily.
“One time I was stuck for two months,” she said. “I only lost one pound. That was hard.”
About six months ago, Susan decided to go public with her weight-loss journey. She started a blog on Facebook and called it “Susan’s 100-pound Journey.”
On her site, she posts daily tips and encouraging words for those striving to get slim and healthy.
For a long time, Susan only had a couple of hundred followers, but in the past few weeks, word has begun to spread. Currently, over 1,300 people have liked her page.
People often want to know how she eats now.
“I usually fry an egg in a nonstick skillet, and eat it on two slices of 35-calorie bread with a slice of cheese,” she said. “Or I sometimes eat scrambled eggs in a wrap with a bit of salsa for flavoring.”
When she’s working, she usually has a Wendy’s grilled chicken sandwich for lunch.
For supper, she modifies whatever she’s cooking for the rest of her family to be lower in fat and calories.
“I have a growing boy. I can’t expect him to eat like I do,” she said.
She substitutes ground turkey for ground beef in tacos and chili and she’ll grill her chicken instead of fry it.
“I snack on fruits and vegetables—and Fiber One bars. I think of them as my candy bars because they have chocolate drizzled on them,” Susan laughed.
Another important key to her weight-loss, Susan said, was to “drink water like you breathe oxygen.”
Susan said her son, Travis, is “amazed” by her weight-loss.
“He was excited when he gave me a hug and said, ‘Mom! I can reach all the way around you,’” she said.
She is married to Harm Lynch and they live on a farm on Walton Road. Her parents are Paul and Brenda Luster, and Susan has twin sisters.
Susan said she enjoys physical activity more than she once did. She and her husband take walks together, and they sometimes hunt mushrooms or ginseng in season.
“Last summer we played volleyball in the yard—and I could breathe,” she said.
Susan currently teaches Celebrate Recovery classes at the Body of Christ church on River Drive, where she leads people dealing with “addictions, habits and hurts” through a 12-step Bible based program to help them overcome their problems.
She hopes to soon lead a weight loss class.
“I feel like the Lord is leading me in that direction,” she said.