Mom loses 200 pounds after nearly losing son while pregnant

October 13, 2022

Kara Beck, a mother of one, lost a whopping 200 pounds after the excess fat nearly caused her to lose her son during pregnancy.

“When I was seven months pregnant, and [my husband and I] were driving cross country and my blood pressure got so high that the doctors said I could have lost the baby,” Beck, 28, from Kansas City, Missouri, told Media Drum World.

While carrying her son, she reached her heaviest recorded weight, tipping the scale at 368 pounds.

Due to her size, Beck’s gestation was considered a “high-risk pregnancy” — meaning that both she and the fetus were in danger of experiencing grave health issues.

Mom Kara Beck lost over 200 pounds after nearly losing her baby due to being overweight.

“It was traumatizing,” Beck admitted. “I had always wanted children, and to know that I came so close to losing him was a triggering moment for me.”

She’d been overweight since the age of 5, and had unsuccessfully tried shredding the pounds on nearly every fad diet since age 8.

But years of yo-yo dieting, coupled with the disappointment of failing to lose weight, led her to develop a regimen of unhealthy eating habits.

Eventually, Beck found herself binging out on 3,500 calories a day, squeezing into a size 30 dress and wearing a size 46DDD bra.

Kara planned to lose weight before welcoming children with her husband.

Since childhood, Kara developed unhealthy eating habits.

But after meeting her husband when she was 19, and deciding to have a child with him at age 23, Beck planned to drop the weight prior to starting a family.

“Before I got pregnant we [spoke] of me losing weight to carry a child to term safely,” she explained. “However I got pregnant by accident before I could successfully lose the weight and it turned out to be a very high-risk pregnancy.”

Although she almost lost the baby several times due to her body mass, Beck delivered her child and immediately resolved to lead a healthier life.

“After my son was born, I went through the weight loss surgery application process again and finally had a [gastric] bypass in January 2018,” she revealed, adding that she initially had major reservations about the procedure.

Initially, Kara was afraid to get gastric bypass surgery due to its side effects.

“The first time someone had recommended it to me was when I was sixteen, and at the time I immediately rejected it,” she said of the invasive operation.

During gastric bypass surgery, doctors create a small pouch from the stomach and connect it to the small intestine, the rerouting system causes the body to absorb fewer calories.

“I had heard so many bad things about the side effects of these surgeries,” Beck added. “[But] I was woefully misinformed about the progress the industry had made over the years.”

After revisiting the idea of going under the knife, and finding a community of bypass patients on Instagram who were around her age and were enjoying weight loss victories, Beck underwent the surgery in January 2018.

At her lowest weight, Kara was 140 pounds.

Kara has since maintained a weight of 160 pounds.

Since her surgery, Kara has developed a health-conscious dieting and exercising regimen.

And she reveres it as one of the best decisions of her life.

“I am absolutely thrilled with the results of my weight loss surgery, it was the right decision for me,” she gushed. “I was lucky enough to get a great surgeon, and was ready to start exercising six weeks after the surgery.”

Thanks to her new stomach and workout habits, Beck quickly shrunk down to 140 pounds. She’s since gained about 20 pounds of muscle.

And in September 2019, she opted for a cosmetic surgery to remove six pounds of excess skin that she had “hanging” off since dropping more than half of her body weight.

“It would hang out, and become uncomfortable to handle,” said Beck. “And it was impossible to exercise with it flapping against me, as there was so much loose skin.”

After dropping 200 pounds of fat, Kara was left with an "uncomfortable" six pounds of excess skin. — After dropping 200 pounds of fat, Kara was left with an “uncomfortable” six pounds of excess skin.

Kara claimed that her excess skin hindered her workouts, and made it difficult to get dressed.

The loose skin also prevented her from getting dressed each day.

“I couldn’t wear clothes,” she remembered. “I had to wear two layers of Spanx and high-waisted jeans to go out of the house.”

And now, at a satisfying weight of 160 pounds, Beck has developed a healthier approach to eating.

“After my surgery, I have dedicated my life to caring for my health,” she said.

Kara has now built up about 20 pounds of muscle, and regularly hits the gym.

She has adopted a healthy lifestyle as well as healthy relationship with the gym and food.

“In the initial period after my surgery, I dedicated a lot of time to heal my relationship with food,” the mom confessed.

“I needed to overcome the bad habits of my childhood that had led me to be so obese in the first place.”

She now views food as fuel.

“I now focus on a protein-based diet, as I am working out in the gym and putting on muscle not just losing weight,” said Beck, who’s still mentally processing her massive transformation.

“It’s complicated,” she admitted. “I have gone through all the extremes of weight gain and loss as well as food consumption.”