Liewsville woman shed pounds to enlist in army

As Ashley Barrett-Carter left Ryan Memolo’s Army recruiting station following their first meeting more than a year ago, the staff sergeant thought, “I’ll never see her again.”

Sgt. Memolo had seen overweight applicants before, including some who dropped the pounds and returned to enlist. But those people exceeded the weight requirement by 20 or 30 pounds.

Ms. Barrett-Carter needed to lose 100.

But two months later and 20 pounds lighter, she came back. And she kept returning to Sgt. Memolo every few weeks to report more weight loss.

Today, the Lewisville resident has shed a total of 113 pounds. She met the enlistment requirement and is preparing for basic training.

“It’s given me the courage to follow through and serve my country,” she said.

Ms. Barrett-Carter, 21, started contemplating a military career a few years ago. She said she maintained a “normal” weight during high school but then started gaining. She weighed 263 pounds and wore size 22 pants when she first met Sgt. Memolo.

The Army’s weight and body fat requirements vary based on height, age and gender. Sgt. Memolo gave Ms. Barrett-Carter a target weight of 160 pounds.

Startled to hear that her weight surpassed the Army’s standards by such a large margin, Ms. Barrett-Carter that night tore apart her pantry, pitching anything that she considered unhealthy.

Her doctor advised her to shed the pounds slowly — about 2 per week is considered healthy weight loss.

Ms. Barrett-Carter estimates that she had been consuming 5,000 calories a day, more than twice the recommended amount. She reduced her calorie intake and started exercising daily.

She hung a pair of size 7 pants on her closet door as a reminder of her goal. No fads. No pills. No as-seen-on-TV gut-busting contraptions. Not even a gym membership.

She didn’t diet; she changed her lifestyle.

“I didn’t stop eating normal food, I just started rationing,” she said. “I still eat rice; I still eat ice cream. It’s just about how much you eat. … You have to control the urge to eat the entire half gallon.”

Ms. Barrett-Carter initially gave up fast food, sweets and junk food. Her daily exercise started with walks around the block. She couldn’t go any farther.

As her endurance increased, she added jogging, stationary biking and weights. She enrolled in a physical education class at Richland College, where she was working toward an associate’s degree, and the instructor helped devise a workout regimen.

When Ms. Barrett-Carter reached 200 pounds, she indulged cravings once or twice a week with small helpings of previously off-limits foods. After hitting 180 pounds, she was exercising 90 minutes a day.

Every few weeks, she took the size 7 pants off the hanger to try them on. At first they barely touched her knees. At 200 pounds, they reached mid-thigh. And when they finally slipped over her hips and buttoned at her waist, Ms. Barrett-Carter joyfully danced around the house.

“It didn’t just fall off. It took a lot of changes on my part,” she said. “It just got easier and easier as time went on. Eventually I looked at it, and those little mini goals suddenly became the huge goal that I wanted it to be.”

Ms. Barrett-Carter avoids fast food, though she acknowledges that “eating out of a box” is easier and cheaper than buying fresh foods and cooking them. She exercises five days a week, running a mile, doing sit-ups and pushups and completing the routine from a workout video.

Sgt. Memolo says Ms. Barrett-Carter is well-prepared for nine weeks of basic training, which she’ll follow with 18 months of nursing instruction at Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio. Her husband, Jerrod Carter, will stay in the Dallas area to continue school.

Adjusting to her new size has taken time. Sometimes Ms. Barrett-Carter still walks to plus size area in clothing stores before realizing those clothes are too big. Airplane seats no longer feel snug. And the constant exhaustion has evaporated.

“I didn’t even realize how much it was affecting my life,” she said. “I have more energy. I’m healthier. I’m able to do everything I want to do in a day.”

Jeanne Barrett said her daughter’s outlook transformed along with her appearance.

“She made a commitment to change her life,” said Ms. Barrett, who has followed her daughter’s example by altering her eating habits and replacing a living room couch with an exercise machine. “She’s inspired me.”

In her quest to join the Army, Ashley Barrett-Carter lost 110 pounds over the course of a year. Here’s how she did it: .

Basic principles

Weight loss occurs when you expend more calories than you take in, either through diet, exercise or both.

Ms. Barrett-Carter followed her doctor’s advice, which coincides with healthy weight guidelines by the National Institutes of Health.

Exercise

For weight loss, the NIH recommends at least 60 to 90 minutes of moderate physical activity daily.

Ms. Barrett-Carter started with 10-minute walks and later added jogging, weights, sit-ups, pushups and stationery biking. She eventually began exercising 90 minutes a day.

To maintain her weight, she works out for an hour five days a week, including one-mile jogs, sit-ups and push ups.

Diet

To lose 1 or 2 pounds a week, the NIH recommends cutting 500 to 1,000 calories a day.

Ms. Barrett-Carter initially cut out fast food, junk food and sweets, but later allowed herself to eat small portions.

A typical day consists of oatmeal for breakfast; an apple or banana for snack; half a sandwich, soup, fruit and water for lunch; a granola bar for an afternoon snack; and for dinner, skinless chicken, fresh fish or pork with small portions of side dishes.

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