Name: Robin K
Age: 59
Height: 5'6"
Before Weight: 176
Current Weight: 136
How did you gain your weight? Being thin never came easy to me. When I was young I worked at it. But then, years of working full time in a demanding job, taking care of 2 children and an aging mother, I never had time to take care of myself. I never exercised and loved food and was always stressed--so I ate.
What made you change your lifestyle? Parts of my lifestyle were changed for me, not by me. I stopped working full time, my children grew up and left home and my mother passed away. I suddenly had time, I only had my husband and my dog to take care of. I finally had time to take care of myself, and since I had developed diabetes, I wanted to postpone the need for medication as long as possible.
How did you lose your weight? I had tried to lose weight many times, but it was always too frustrating to be so far away from where I wanted to be. The month before I started my weight loss program, I looked at my daughter with her beautiful figure and told my husband I wanted to look like that again. Then I joined the Weight Loss Challenge at the Whitehall Health Club and the support and commitment to exercise changed my life.
I lost the weight by a combination of working out every day and by eating healthy. I did not see it as a diet, but as changing the way I ate permanently. I followed principles a nutritionist had provided me when I was a pre-diabetic. I don't eat anything white - no white potatoes, bread or rice. I limit my intake of carbs. When I eat carbs I eat them in combination with protein. I eat healthy snacks at mid morning and mid afternoon. Tracking what I ate on My Fitness Pal helped me to keep my calories intake between 1200 - 1500 calories per day. I learned to stay away from the foods I have difficulty limiting, and I don't eat sweets.
What was the hardest obstacle in your weight loss journey? It's hard to identify the single hardest obstacle. The exercise was painful and I saw how completely out of shape I was. But really, the hardest thing was probably learning patience and knowing that it would take time to get to my goal. I wanted to be thin overnight, but all of that fat had found a pretty comfortable home on my body for a long time and was in no rush to leave!
Any advise you would like to offer to people that are starting this journey? Advise--Find a buddy to help support you and for you to provide support to, and make changes that are sustainable for the long run.
Do you have a FB fan page and/or Blog? No - Just my personal FB page.
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Editor's Note: I want to congratulate Robin on her amazing transformation and thank her for sharing her story. I witnessed her transformation from day one. Robin is a friend and my workout buddy. We have shared many tears, pain and milestones throughout our journeys. I thank you for all the support you have given me my dear friend. Wishing you many years of health and happiness.
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