A mother-of-eight who suffered a heart attack during her weight loss journey has revealed how she shed 150 pounds in just one year by intermittent fasting and counting calories.   .

Katie Silva, 42, from Niceville, Florida, started gaining weight after the birth of her fourth child Ethan in 2003. She had six kids in the span of nine years and turned to food for comfort while struggling with postpartum depression.

Amazing: The mother of eight lost a total of 150 pounds by counting calories, following a low-carb diet, and intermittent fasting .

Hard to handle: Katie (pictured before she lost weight) had six of her kids in the span of nine years, and she started gaining weight after the birth of her fourth child Ethan in 2003.

Challenges: Katie turned to food for comfort while struggling with postpartum depression, and she continued to gain weight until she tipped the scales at 345 pounds.

'When I confronted the woman I thought I was closest to, asking her why they had done those things, she blamed my weight and said I really just didn't fit in with the rest of them.

Dedicated: On October 1, 2020, she decided out of the blue she was going to lose weight and quickly lost 50 pounds .

I did not fit between the desk and the chair, so I stood, while the rest of the parents sat,' she explained. 'The teacher singled me out and pointed to a seat and said, "There is an open seat right here.".

Loss: Katie lost 100 pounds in under six months, but then found out she was pregnant.

'On October 1, 2020, in the middle of the day, I randomly decided I was going to lose weight,' she said.

'Through a calorie deficit, with the aid of a low carb diet and intermittent fasting, I lost 100 pounds in just under six months,' Katie said.

Challenges: Katie said losing the baby saved her life because her doctor told her it was 'only a matter of time' before she had a heart attack 

Setback: Exercise was limited after her heart attack, so she had to focus on nutrition to lose the rest of the weight, but she was not deterred 

'My cardiologist said that it was only a matter of time before I had the heart attack, but the complications and the surgery were likely the tipping point for why it happened when it did

Katie explained that exercise was limited after her heart attack, so she had to focus on nutrition to lose the rest of the weight

Her brush with death made her realize she wanted to be as healthy as possible rather than just lose weight.  

One year after she started her weight loss journey, Katie stepped on the scale and learned she weighed 195 pounds - exactly 150-pounds less than she was when she started

Focused: Katie's brush with death made her realize she wanted to be as healthy as possible rather than just lose weight

Meeting her goal: One year after she started her weight loss journey, Katie stepped on the scale and learned she weighed 195 pounds - exactly 150-pounds less than her starting weight

Success: 'I am happier and healthier now than I have been in more than twenty years,' Katie said of her weight loss 

'One of my daughters told me the other day, "You lost 150 pounds in a year