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Baby steps will help you lose weight...and keep it off!
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Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too! (Michelle Gibson: Flickr)
Earlier this year, I had interviewed a 51-year-old woman named Jane who had recently dropped over 130 pounds. Just hearing about her new-found enthusiasm for life—not to mention hearing the energy in her voice—actually made me feel like signing up for the NYC marathon! (Okay, I didn’t. But I did work out to a dance DVD later that day…) But Jane’s experience proved that age-old lesson: It's never too late to make a difference!
Jane’s story: Jane had slight weight fluctuations since childhood. But after her youngest daughter was born, Jane’s weight stayed around the 200-pound mark and remained there for years. When her marriage failed, out came the boxes of cookies and chocolate snowballs.
Her eating plan was simple: About five donuts for breakfast (eaten over the course of five hours, thanks to the dessert table at the hospital where she worked), and super-sized fast-food meals for both lunch and dinner. At night, she’d give her daughters their fast-food dinner, then put on a moo-moo and climb into bed with cookies and a milkshake on one side and the TV remote on the other. By the end of the day, she’d consume around 4,000 calories.
Jane attempted numerous diets over the years, but she reverted back to her old ways within weeks. But Jane knew she was on a destructive path when she bought a new pair of scrubs in a size 2-XL. “I like them roomy anyway,” she told herself, trying to mask the pain.
Jane’s turning point: Over time, Jane began experiencing a number of health ailments—back pain, joint pain and constant fatigue became a regular part of her life. When she reached 240 pounds, blood work showed that she had developed high blood pressure and a thyroid condition. Then came the day when Jane was trying to get off the toilet and needed to grab the sink in front of her in order to lift herself off the bowl. Looking down, she noticed that the bolts on the toilet were loose. Then suddenly the sink felt wobbly—and those bolts were ripping out of the wall as well!
When Jane finally stood up, she screamed, “That’s it!”
Jane’s solution: Jane began a new lifestyle by slowly eliminating her favorite fattening foods: One day she gave up French fries, another day she said goodbye to donuts. It then dawned on her that previous diets had failed because she was decreasing her calories by the thousands overnight. Now she was going to do things at a slower pace.
She also did research and learned that women over 40 should stay away from processed sugar in order to lose weight. Jane was aware that many low-fat foods contained this type of sugar, so she decided to stick to eating the real versions of cheese, milk, mayo—even desserts—in limited portions.
Shortly after, Jane began experimenting in the kitchen. Chicken became a staple, along with lean deli meats, veggies, fruit, fish, and seafood. And when Jane discovered Slim Fast milkshakes, she felt like she’d won the lottery! She also learned how to handle everyday frustrations. Instead of grabbing a cupcake when she felt down and out, she now grabbed her sneakers and pounded the pavement.
In total, Jane lost 131 pounds and today the scale reads 138. She hikes, bikes, jogs, tends to her garden, and has signed up to do a 39-mile walk for breast cancer!
Jane's sample day: Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled eggs with a piece of wheat toast and a string or two of cheese...or just a chocolate Slim Fast shake. Lunch: ½ a tuna or roast beef sandwich on whole wheat bread, a tablespoon of real mayo, lettuce, tomato. Snack: Fruit. Dinner: a piece of chicken breast/steak or fish (including seafood), salad and veggies grilled with olive oil. Dessert: chocolate cake. “Not everyday, of course, but instead of eating a piece that’s 6-inches high and wide, now the piece is one inch. I’m telling you, I eat everything on earth!”
Jane’s take-home lesson: “People used to tell me: ‘You’re in your late 40’s—you can’t take off the weight,’” she remembers. “Well, I’m 51 and look at me! I eat everything and yet I’m medicine-free, full of energy and in the best shape of my life!”
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