My Weight Loss and Style Reinvention Story

Let’s face it. I was THE crash test dummy of dieting for over 50 years. Hitting the wall and flaming out on weight loss attempts for half a century. I finally figured it out at the age of 65.  I am a living example that weight loss is possible at any age!

 

 

I had failed at weight loss so many times I was convinced my metabolism was broken and that I was incapable of losing weight and keeping it off.  I  thought I must not have any willpower.  Many women have told me they have had those same thoughts.

It turned out I had been going at weight loss all wrong for my particular metabolism

When I finally did the right things for my particular metabolism,  I lost about, about 1 or 2 pounds a week, from 190 pounds to 140 pounds. I have kept it off for three years. Most surprisingly, the success has come at a time late in my life when I would have bet that a slowing metabolism and being post-menopausal would have made it virtually impossible. This type of negative thinking is part of the reason I had never been successful at weight loss in my entire life. These thoughts were wrong.

 

 

Early Life;

I started what I realize now was an addiction to sugar around the age of thirteen. My house was the last stop on the school bus route, and the bus driver would pull into a little corner market and” let” us all get out to buy “treats” for ourselves. I had an unhappy home life with an alcoholic mother waiting for me at the house, among other issues, so I would load up with literally an armload of candy to eat on the bus to make myself feel better before entering the chaos.

To make matters worse, there was an ice cream truck waiting for us at the bus stop when we arrived at the bus stop! and I would buy an ice cream to eat with my candy to numb my anxiety during my walk home.  It worked. Mostly – Except for that little problem of weight gain up and down for 50 years.

My previous excuses for not losing weight permanently

• I hated exercise
• had been diagnosed as a teenager with PCOS (polycystic ovarian Syndrome) which predisposes women who have to prediabetes, weight gain, slow metabolism and more.)
• didn’t like vegetables
• didn’t like to cook fresh food every day
• didn’t have any willpower
• had health issues with two hip replacements, arthritis, asthma, IBS, fatigue
• I have struggled with hunger issues that make me feel like I am still hungry after I eat a full meal so I fight feelings of hunger every day even eating nutritious foods
• hated gyms and got bored walking and didn’t like to ride a bike
• figured id just wait for the magic diet pill to be invented
• I didn’t have time
• my body had something wrong metabolically and I was one of those rare people who could never lose weight
• was too hungry anyway and the thought of getting even more hungry on restricted calories seemed frightening

 The last “last straw” :

A number of factors came together at one time, including a pre-diabetes diagnosis, I was at my highest weight ever, and I was scheduled for replacement of both of my hips due to degenerative arthritis. I was so frightened of having the surgery go wrong and ending up in a wheelchair that I swore to myself that, if the hip surgeries were successful, that I would do whatever I had to do to take full advantage of the second chance at mobility and vitality being gifted to me. That was the beginning of the final transformation – the commitment to do whatever it would take.

What finally worked

I joined a small weight loss group at Kaiser that was taught by a young nutritionist. We had weekly weigh- ins. that activated my competitive instinct. I did not want to cheat on my diet and be embarrassed by being the only person who lost weight that week.   I learned that competition can be a good thing for weight loss, exercise, and more. Look for more about what I learned in that class in a later blog post in the weight loss category. I lost 20 pounds in that class (despite all my reasons why I didn’t think I could lose weight!) and then I kept going for 30 more pounds on my own. I’ve  maintained my weight at 140 pounds (I’m 5’8″) but would like to be another 5 pounds less.

The Top 8 Lightbulb moments that helped me be successful

• I learned if I avoided sugar and wheat  I did not have as many cravings or as much hunger
• I learned I needed to aim for 20 grams of protein per meal, no refined carbs and have substantial healthy fats and fiber
• When I couldn’t cheat on the diet I was forced to invent some psychological, nutritional and tactical tricks to cope with hunger and cravings.  I still use them every day. I will go into much more detail on those tricks in later posts.
• I found a vigorous exercise program I loved where I had fun, .could dance, am pushed hard, lift weights, do a variety of other kinds of exercises, and am inspired by other hard-working women of all shapes and ages in the class who are focused on getting stronger.  It is called Jazzercise and there are locations around the world. Best of all, most locations have multiple classes and instructors each day to accommodate varying work schedules, etc.
• I learned to focus on food as a means to avoid hunger, not as my main entertainment or for reward or for solace, as our culture in America teaches us.
• I learned that the benefits of being slim and fit outweigh ANY of the discomforts of losing weight or keeping it off.   I eliminated the toxic self-hate.  I don’t feel defeated, demoralized and depressed every day by the weight loss battle.
• I identified my trigger foods that start cravings in my mind and I keep them out of the house. I also mute all tv commercials for food and look away to do something else during that time
• I learned (well, in truth  I’m actually still learning) how to rate my hunger throughout the day on a scale of 1 (stuffed)  to 10 (could eat a horse, raw!!). I try to keep it in the lower middle numbers by eating food that keeps me satiated longer and making sure I have nuts and protein around for snacks ..

The Result: A renewed and reinvigorated me

I hired a personal stylist who helped me take my “edgy but (hopefully} elegant”  style and add wonderfully unexpected fabrics and patterns to what I already had. She had me try things I never ever would have tried on my own but as soon as I put them on I was blown away. She gave me confidence that I could wear black leather skinny pants and high heeled boots at my age if I matched it with a more classic top.  I have never felt more me in these clothes.

I am a  midlife woman who has become fit, energized,  and confident in my style.  I walk with a strong gait with upright posture, I don’t hate myself every day. I feel empowered, sexy, vibrant and in my prime.

I have taken what I learned in the Kaiser weight loss class about nutrition and weight management and kept going n my own. I have learned that I needed lots of protein and lots of healthy fat. The Paleo diet helped me lose the remaining thirty pounds after the 20 I lost in the class. But since my cholesterol is too high  I have been actively trying out different kinds of recipes with high protein and non-saturated fats.  It is a journey of discovery I am still on. And one I will share with you in future blog posts.

 

 

 

 

 

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