Success Story
My Lifestyle Change
In December 2008 I decided it was time to take control of my weight… again. Weighing in at 180 pounds, it seemed like I had been on a diet pretty much my entire life, but I never seemed to lose much weight, if any. If I actually managed to lose weight, I certainly didn’t keep it off long and I would gain back double what I had lost. I kept making excuses. I was always too busy with school, work, or helping my mom. Not only was I almost in plus sizes, but I didn’t have much energy to put into anything that was important to me and I was in the obese category based on my height, weight and body fat percentage. My immune system was down and I was spending a lot of time and money at the doctor and nothing ever seemed to get better.
I decided to do a weight loss competition in January 2009 through the gym I started attending. I was certain a little competition would be what I needed to motivate me. I weighed in and had my picture taken. I felt grotesque and I happened to know the photographer through a friend. It was humiliating. With the competition fees, I received a complimentary meeting with a trainer who happened to be a friend of mine from high school. I felt all these eyes on me and I wanted to crawl in a hole. My trainer gave me amazing information on changing lifestyle eating habits and activity when I first met with him, but I didn’t do most of it. I thought I could maintain my unhealthy habits and still lose weight, so I continued to struggle. I needed more than competition to motivate me.
It wasn’t until one painful morning that I woke up after meeting with my trainer, that it hit me. I had to help my muscles carry my heavy limbs to the restroom and I looked in the mirror. It was not just the facts about obesity, my trainer’s encouragement, the photographer seeing my unfit figure, my steadily dwindling health at the age of 25, or my inability to wear a bathing suit in public comfortably. It was about respecting myself. I woke up that morning in some of the worst physical pain I had ever been in and I knew it was because I had been neglecting myself. I wondered how anyone could respect me at work, in a relationship or friendship if I don’t respect myself enough to take care of the only body and mind I have.
After my epiphany I carried a “game on” attitude and I was ready to make a full lifestyle change. I was ready to change. That was the key. Diets don’t work because it’s changing you until you get to where you want to be. Fad diets don’t provide the necessary nutrients you need to feel full, healthy and prolong success. On top of simply making the proper nutritional choices, I needed to add physical activity. I took every word my trainer said seriously but it was not easy. It was and is very time consuming and requires tremendous dedication. It was honestly one of the most difficult things I have ever done, but now it is just part of my daily routine. I only had a few sessions with my trainer, but he gave me the tools and information I needed to do what I had decided I was ready to do.
I started losing weight in February, hit a plateau from June to August at about 160 lbs (just keep going, plateaus drop off!), and today I weigh in at 153 lbs (less fat, more muscle!). I know this isn’t the bottom for me and I am confident that I will keep losing and wear a bikini next summer. The number on the scale, though, isn’t the most significant outcome. In the process of losing weight I have gained muscle, I feel healthy and physically amazing, I have gained a tremendous amount of respect for myself, I have amazing relationships, and I carry myself with my head held high and more confident than I have ever felt. Oddly enough, my memory has even gotten better and it seems a fog has lifted and I think more clearly.
I have always heard people say, “Healthy people die, too.” This is inevitable. I have also heard, trumping the previous statement, “It isn’t the quantity of life; it is the quality of life.” I was not fully able to appreciate this statement until I got over the initial change of my lifestyle and began to experience what being healthy really feels like.
Angela Tracy
State Department of Education
Success Story Archive
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