Donna’s Success Story

Donna’s Success Story is one of perseverance and willpower.   She had battled her weight and been highly successful.  She has also learned lessons the hard way, with a regain.  At the beginning of this year she took a good look at where she was and decided to make some changes in her diet and lifestyle and she is living proof that if you want to lose weight and are willing to put in the effort that weight loss success is possible.

I met Donna many years ago through my blog as we both worked to lose weight. We communicated for a while simply via the comments section but then eventually though email.  It was a good day when I finally got to meet this amazing woman that I call my friend.  We had a fabulous time riding our bikes together at an organized ride that first weekend , and we have managed to hook up a few times since then (definitely not often enough!). Donna has been at one time or another my confidant, my accountability partner, my bike buddy, my sounding board,  a shoulder to cry on and most recently my inspiration....but most importantly she is my friend. 

Here is a picture of Donna and I at that very first meeting.  (As a reference point, I believe we both weighed right around 210-215 pounds)

What sparked you to begin to lose weight?? 

      THIS time I started the year out having to pay almost $500 for one months supply for ONE of three injectibles I take for type 2 diabetes.  Since I have a fairly high deductible with my insurance, the medications I was taking for my type 2 diabetes as well as for high blood pressure and cholesterol were costing me a small fortune!  It took several months to meet my deductible and even now it costs about $200 a month, out of pocket, for my medications.  Since I plan to retire at the end of the year, I started to try and think of ways to reduce some of my bills.  One way was on the car insurance for my car since I no longer put many miles on my car. The next one was my medications.  The insurance is taken care of and as of my June Endocrinologist appointment I was able to get off of one of my insulins, thus far.

 What was your highest weight?  Current weight?  Highest weigh that I can remember was 305 pounds,  Current weight as of this morning is 188.8 pounds. 

  How much weight have your lost? 

Since January of this year I lost 38.4 pounds.  I have fluctuated for about  8 years at right around 250 pounds give or take 5 pounds.

      What was your starting clothing size?  Your current size?  

My starting size was 22/24 pants and 2-3XL tops.  Just bought medium shorts yesterday, a pair of capris in large and a large top.

What plan did you follow to lose your weight?  (ie weight watchers, slim fast, a plan of your own creation...)  I really don't follow any special plan.  I have known since my type 2 diabetes was diagnosed that carbohydrate  and sugar intake needed to be watched.  I started to log EVERY day in MyFitnessPal and watched to make sure I didn't go over my carbohydrate and sugar levels. I had been to diabetes classes twice, once with my husband and once when I was diagnosed so I knew what to eat and how to make sure you get the nutrients  from all food groups.   I am an Excel spreadsheet geek, so I tracked all of the nutrients that the free version of the app allows, as well as calories.  I could see how I did each day against my weekly weight loss.  So that was a LONG answer to your question, so really my own plan.

Have you reached your weight loss goal?  If so, how long have you been maintaining your weight?

  Not yet!  I spoke with both my Endocrinologist and Primary Care doctor and they both would like to strive to get my BMI at a "normal level".  Searching that data on the internet shows me I should be at 170 pound's.

Do you consistently track your food intake (via online or paperform) 

  I track in myfitnesspal EVERY SINGLE DAY!

How often do you weigh yourself?  How did you come to that choice for how often? 

 I weigh myself once a week,  first thing in the morning.  On very rare occasions I will weigh mid-week, but my Sunday number is what I log in MyFItnessPal and on my spreadsheet.  I chose this because I know there are a lot of fluctuations each and every day and only wanted to have my sights on ONE weigh in a week.  I am the type of person that gets disappointed if I weigh in the morning after I go over my calories and see a gain.

What online tools do you use?  Just MyFItnessPal.com 

Do you exercise regularly?  If so, what do you do? 

Not really!  This is my weakness right now.  I am not sure if it is because I am lazy or what.  I just can't seem to get motivated for any period of time to keep at it.  I now work from home full time, so I can't say I "don't have time". since my 1-1/4 hour commute is gone!  I have a good bicycle and a great place  to walk. I also have clubhouse in the 55+ community where we live.  The clubhouse has a recumbent bike, several treadmills, weights, etc which is open 24-7 with our pass key .  Maybe admitting it to you for your blog will give me the incentive I need to get with it!  I know that I need to exercise not to lose weigh as much but to get rid of my stomach and to try to tone up my legs and arms.

What products do you use/can't live without/recommend? 

My FitBit   I finally purchased one at the end of May and don't know how I lived without it!  It helps me to get up and move since I work as a Project Manager and sit at least 8 hours a day.  I also like that I can log my water consumption, that it monitors my sleep and I can see it all at one place.  I also like that it pulls in all my data from MyFItnessPal.

Do you have any words of advice for someone that is just starting out on this journey of weight loss and health?  

Take it ONE day at a time.  Do what is best for you and don't compare yourself to anyone else.  YOU have to be ready to lose weight, make the changes and even find ways to get exercise in.  What works for someone else might not work for you!  It is a work in progress and something you will need to commit to for the rest of your life.  If you have NO medical issues now, try and fix this BEFORE you might possible need meds for conditions related to weigh loss such as type 2 diabetes, thyroid, blood pressure, cholesterol. etc.

Thank you Donna for sharing your inspiring weight loss progress and success with us!  I know you have been a true inspiration to me and I’m sure your story will inspire others.  You are proof positive that a healthy lifestyle CAN reverse the need for medications!  Keep up the good work and I’m sure that you will reach your weight goals and that more medications will be eliminated/reduced!   

If you want to read more success stories you can read about David and his flight to health!

David’s Success Story

David and I connected quite a few years ago through this blog and we had some deep email discussions about weight loss and what it meant for each of us.  We have emailed sporadically through the years and just the other week when we were communicating, I was more than excited to hear that he had reached his goal!! David’s story is not about his weight or the numbers on the scale as you will see in his responses. His story is driven by health concerns and the restrictions of those health concerns.

Due to professional reasons, he is choosing to not share his picture, but his story is amazingly inspiring!

What sparked you to begin to lose weight??

I always wanted to be a pilot when I was young. But it wasn’t until my parents offered to pay for my flight training one summer while I was in college that I was able to act upon that dream. I jumped at their offer and went through the training and acquired my pilots license.  However, flying is a bit expensive and with finishing college, then finding a job, paying  for a place to live, a car, and all of life’s expenses; flying took a back seat.  I always thought that I would get back to it sooner or later, but time kept slipping by me.  As I got older and more settled in life I started to occasionally think about flying again.  However by that time I had a medical complication, high blood pressure.  I figured that would prevent me from easily regaining my pilots license. I was placed on medication,which managed the issue but I figured it would prevent me from clearing the medical requirements to regain my pilots license so I never pursued it. Eventually I became prediabetic and started taking more medications to control that.  Of course shortly thereafter the itch to fly really took hold of me. I really missed flying and now that I was a little older and could afford it, I was ready to get back into the cockpit.  So I did some research.  I found that all of my medications were on the FAA approved list.  The only complication was the diabetes.  My blood sugar was being controlled with medication (granted it was a little high, but it was steady). I could get the medical clearance without changing anything, but it would be more difficult and would require special certification.  In order to walk into the examination and walk out with a valid medical clearance (with no special clearance needed) my blood sugar needed to be lower.   That was my goal and my motivation, to get under that magic number so that could happen!

 What was your highest weight?   Current weight?

At my highest point I think I was at 268lb.  Now I am probably around 240.  I go to the Doctor every six months and as long as I weigh the same or less, I know  I am on the right path.  

Furthermore, I have reached the magic numbers to easily obtain my medical clearance. I am currently working on finishing up my training to obtain a valid and current pilots license.

What plan did you follow to lose your weight?

I sort of did my own thing.  I eliminated all sugar, or anything that was naturally sweet (including fruit).  I stopped eating things like rice, potatoes, pasta, and drastically limited my bread intake.  I wasn’t super strict about it.  I would occasionally have those things, and even dessert every now and then.  However, kept them to a minimum.  And I also started  trying to have a NSNG (no sugar, no grain) diet, albeit slightly modified.  I would recommend anyone listen to Vinnie Tortorich (vinnietortorich.com).   I think he has some podcasts of his own, but I would listen to him when he came on Adam Carolla's podcast.

Have you reached your weight loss goal?  If so, how long have you been maintaining your weight?

No, I would say I have some more weight to lose, but I dont have a magic number in mind.  If I stay where I am, so be it.  There is more to health that meeting one particular weight goal.

Do you consistently track your food intake 

No, but I do tend to kind of mentally track it during the day.  So if I splurge a tiny bit at lunch I will eat a better dinner, etc.

Do your exercise regularly?  If so, what do you do?

No I do not.  It is something I hope to fix one day. I will do some things that get me moving around, but not exercise per se.  I have  always hated exercise for the sake of exercise.  Much more willing to go for a hike or bike ride, etc, because I want to do that, not just to work out.

Do you have any words of advice for someone that is just starting out on this journey of weight loss and health?  

You have to commit to it mentally.  I tried multiple times with multiple different diets, and they all worked to some degree, but were far too restrictive to stay with long term and eventually the weight comes right back.   I would recommend just picking something, just one thing, that you like but know is bad for you.  Just cut it out.  Keep everything else the same, and go without that one thing. It could be that can of Coke, or that ice cream, whatever it is.  I am not saying it won’t be difficult.  All habits are hard to break.  But that is what it is, a habit, not a need.  And if you just cut out one thing, the impact is minimal, and after a while you wont even want it any more. After you have broken that habit, it’s time to cut out the next thing.  Do this  until you find what works for you.  Don't go on a diet, change your lifestyle.  Make permanent changes.  In my case, since I have cut out sugar; whenever I do have a sip of something like orange juice or a coke it is way to sweet for me.  I don't want it anymore.  There are still things (like chocolate) that I crave occasionally, and I do let myself have a piece every now and then (or a few m&ms, etc), but just enough to enjoy the taste, and thats it.  And if you do have a bad day, where you just eat like crap, don't worry about it, just reset the next day.  If most of your days are healthy, the occasional bad one will  hardly have an impact. 

 As far as your weight...I would say don't check it every day.  Maybe check it once a week at a consistent time (like just when you wake up but haven't showered).  And don't worry if it was higher than the last reading....you are just looking for a trend over a long period of time.  If you like, plot them on a graph and you can easily see the downward trend.  Its hard to see when you are obsessed with the numbers day to day.  

Is there anything else you would like to share?

As far as weight loss goes I believe that weight loss is 90% diet, and 10% exercise.  Focus on the diet!

Thank you David for sharing your story with us!  Your healthy changes have helped you reach your goals and accomplish your dreams.  Keep up the healthy lifestyle you have set up for yourself and you will definitely have continued succcess.  I’m sure flying is so much sweeter because of the effort you had to exert to get there!   Enjoy your airtime and fly safe my friend!

If you want to read more success stories, check out Lori’s story about how she has been losing weight through Weight Watchers or Crystal who has adopted a slow and steady approach to changing her lifestyle and weight.