A mum-of-three is inspiring countless people across the world with her incredible weight loss journey. She’s opened up about the cruelty she faced before transforming her life
A woman has revealed how she managed to lose a whopping 140lbs (10 stone) naturally after cruel trolls called her a beached whale.
Erin Drotleff once weighed 306lb (138kg) and was taunted throughout her life with cruel nicknames like “thunder thighs” and “beached whale”, but now uses her inspiring weight loss journey to help others.
The mum-of-three said even though she grew up in a healthy household, as life started to get busy she started to eat more processed meals and snacks and started to put on weight which made her incredibly self-conscious.
Erin, from Dallas, has revealed how she managed to impressively shed the weight naturally, after battling eating disorders and healing her relationship with food.
“I grew up in a healthy household. My mum was in great shape and made home-cooked meals. But as life got busier and my parents had less time, we started eating more processed foods and snacks. In middle school, I gained some weight and became incredibly self-conscious,” Erin recalled.
It meant she was subject to cruel names and shared: “At school, kids would call me ‘thunder thighs’ and ‘beached whale’,” however the comments didn’t stop at school and would hear remarks at home too. That’s when I developed a severe eating disorder. Ironically, when I was at my sickest, people told me how great I looked. It completely messed with my head.
“It wasn’t long before I became a closet binge eater with a horrible relationship with food. I was constantly yo-yo dieting and basing my self-worth on the number on the scale. It wasn’t just me who was concerned about my weight; it seemed that everyone else was as well, which caused me to withdraw socially.”
Despite trying a whole host of different diets and weight loss medication, nothing seemed to help and she quickly gained the weight she’d lost. The mum said: “I was obese. My asthma was terrible, and I was often out of breath. I had severe foot pain (plantar fasciitis), back pain, heavy periods, and I would get sweat rashes. Mentally, I was anxious, depressed, and angry. I didn’t feel like myself anymore.”
The final straw was when Erin was attending a parent’s evening at her child’s school in 2022 and her calf ‘burst’. She explained how she heard a loud pop followed by an “indescribable pain” which left her limping into the classroom. She would stop “whenever someone would pass me in the hall to pretend I was using my phone” and didn’t want to admit what happened or show how much pain she was in.
“I sat through the conference sweating until my husband got to the school and was able to help me back to my car. I knew in that moment that I needed to lose weight.” After this moment, it took the mum three months to finally start seeing her weight loss progress but she focused on healthy eating and getting active.
After month five, Erin had lost 17lbs (7kg) and she noticed her weight kept dropping over the following months. “I decided to share my progress on TikTok. It was motivating to hear about other women who had lost weight; their stories helped me so much with my own weight loss. I then started sharing my tips, recipes and favourite healthy foods.”
“I start my day with greens and coffee, followed by a protein-packed breakfast like oats or eggs. Lunch and dinner contain protein, jasmine rice, veggies, and a sauce. I always save room for a nighttime snack to avoid any late-night binge. I still love food, but I approach it differently now.”
The fitness influencer also said exercise has become a big part of her lifestyle, and has helped her shed the pounds. She shared that walking is her ‘go-to’ but after six months she introduced weight training into her routine and now aims for three sessions a week, and will also challenge herself to go for a run, even though she dislikes it.
In January 2024 Erin then launched her online coaching business Drotfit. Not only did she do it to help other women during their weight loss journey, she also did it to help her family after they were forced out of their home due to toxic mould.
“We had to move so many times, deal with lawyers, and the financial stress was just piling up. I knew I had to do something to help my family, so I decided to put together an e-book – a four-week meal plan to help people start their weight loss journey. Right after I launched it, people from all over the world started messaging me, saying they were losing weight with it,” she said.
“With everything we were going through, especially trying to find a stable place to live, I knew this was a sign to go all-in and really start my business,” however she revealed it was one of the hardest things she’s ever done and is now committed to helping others. “My advice to those wanting to lose weight is – don’t overcomplicate it. Focus on the nutrition over the exercise and give it time.”
She said to be patient as you “become someone you have never been before” and said a cheat meal is fine, but doesn’t need to lead to a “cheat day”.
If you or a loved one are struggling with binge-eating, an eating disorder or a complicated relationship with food, you can find resources and support on Beat’s website.
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