Woman loses 20kg eating pizza, nachos and fries – with a simple twist
Pizza Pizza #PizzaPizza
A Queensland woman has revealed how she lost 20kg while still eating her favourite ‘indulgent’ foods — with a simple ingredient swap.
Bree Lenehan, 24, a businesswoman who promotes healthy eating and lifestyles, explained her life-changing process in a suite of TikTok videos.
With the mantra “low calorie, high volume is the key,” Lenehan said the changes to her diet helped her remain fuller for longer.
RELATED: Life Stages: ‘I had life-changing surgery at 45
Listing her go-to items as popcorn, sweet potatoes, yoghurt, smoothies, eggs and ‘nourish’ bowls that can mostly by made up of leftover ingredients, she ran through her simple recipes.
“Popcorn is low in calories and higher in volume, which means you can eat more and feel fuller,” she said in one video.
RELATED: Woman loses over 80 kilos after lifelong body battle: ‘I’m finally starting my life now’
Naming nutrient-packed and versatile vegetables like sweet potatoes as a staple of her diet, Lenehan also revealed how single ingredients can create a range of recipes.
Noting she still consumed pizza, nachos, fries and other so-called “unhealthy” foods, Lenehan swapped in sweet potatoes in order to create delicious meals with nutrient-dense values.
“My personal favourites are the sweet potato pizza bites and mini quiche boats… These are next level good, plus you can store them in the fridge to grab on the go and they still taste amazing,” she said.
Lenehan’s health journey began in 2019, and she said she switched her mentality from “how to be skinny” to “how to be healthy”.
Noting she had lost her menstrual cycles, ignored her body’s natural hunger cues and even feared social events, the Queenslander said the shift in her diet was “so much more rewarding than having abs or a thigh gap.”
“With the mindset shift from ‘skinny’ to ‘healthy’, I became so much more confident in my body as well,” she shared in a detailed Instagram post.
RELATED: Mum of seven bares all in raw and honest videos: Lost 19kg in four months
“It was no longer about trying to LOOK a certain way, but rather about FEELING my best on the inside.”
Lenehan said she began to embrace her “body’s normalities”, including natural physical changes like “bloating, rolls, cellulite, stretch marks, hip dips and wobbly parts.”
“These things are all perfectly normal & healthy, which is something I’m so grateful for,” she wrote.
Among the healthy recipes she shared to TikTok was her no-bread sweet potato bites pizza, which is ready in 30 minutes.
Combining sweet potato, cheese, tomato, basil, red onion and sauces, Lenehan said the recipe is customisable to suit personal taste.
Slicing the sweet potato before putting it in the oven for 20 minutes, she told viewers, “This is usually when I prepare the toppings, and then once the sweet potato is ready add the pizza sauce and toppings.”
The bites were 250 calories in total, and mimicked the flavours of a pizza.
In addition to filling meals, the health enthusiast opted for high-protein breakfasts of yoghurt paired with carb-strong fruits like bananas to stay “fuller for longer” and overcome “sweet cravings.”
Lenehan shared images of her physical transformation in the videos, one photo showing her standing in an old skirt with half of the garment hanging off her.
For the time-poor, Lenehan pointed to “nourish bowls” as an easy item to assemble – and a way avoid food wastage by using leftovers.
“Add lots of salad and vegetables for a large bowl of low calorie goodness,” she said.