The Journey to A Healthier Me and Cuter Clothes

The Freedom Center, where I work out,  asked to feature me on their new Success Board. I'd have to submit a before and after picture and a testimonial. I agreed because I really do think If I can do it, anyone can. I thought I'd share the story of my journey. 

I never set out to lose 92 pounds. Who thinks they have 90 pounds to lose? But the summer after I turned 50, I had a hard time making the case for staying fat. I felt good? No. I looked hot? Nope. I had really cute clothes? Kinda, but they were really, really big cute clothes. And my knees were killing me! At the same time, a friend had mentioned that a number of women our age were having heart attacks and strokes. I decided to make a change for a healthier lifestyle and a healthier me. And I wanted to look better in the photos of my daughter’s high school graduation the following June.

That fall, my pals were starting the Attack the Fat program at the Freedom Center in my town. In the program, you work out with a trainer three times a week for an hour in a group of 3 – 6. You are encouraged to eat healthily and work out on your own a few days as well. I debated whether or not to join them but had a conflict with work.  In the end, I opted to not to join but vowed to start on the same day they did. I started Weight Watchers on my own and walked every other day, come hell or high water. When my friends completed the program, I joined one of the Ongoing Personal Training groups. At the first session I told the trainer, I don’t run. She disagreed. I ran – a little and very slowly.

By the time I joined the Attack the Fat program in spring of ’11, I had lost 45 pounds. In those 8 weeks, I lost another 20 pounds and a whopping 37 inches. I was hooked. I started taking classes and kept up with the Ongoing Personal Training sessions. By this point, my knees no longer hurt. I had stopped taking heartburn medicine. And I could run! Still slowly though….

The biggest transformation I made was with my relationship with food. I read Food, God and Love by Geneen Roth (which I highly recommend). My AHA! moment was when we were going through a particularly stressful time with my daughter’s college search. I was sitting at the kitchen table and thought; I just want to eat chocolate until the stress goes away.  My next thought was, Sure, you can eat chocolate, but what about the situation will change if you eat it? And I realized nothing would change. I’d feel good for a second, bad the next morning and the situation would be exactly the same. That was big for me.

My journey of eating healthily and exercising continued on. Almost 2 years after I started, I reached my goal of losing 90 pounds. Technically, I could lose more but really, I’m happy in my size 12s and never set out to be skinny. I now use my love of cooking for Good instead of Evil and can’t imagine going back to my former sedentary lifestyle. I did have to buy a whole new wardrobe but it’s been worth every penny! Cute clothes rule! It’s been an incredible journey. I feel like myself again. Only with better knees.