I am 61 years old, happily married with two grown children. My husband and I recently retired from our engineering jobs in Phoenix, AZ. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my first grandchild in March.
I feel I have been fairly successful managing my weight. However, I felt like I was constantly gaining and losing the last 10 pounds over and over again. I wanted to learn how to maintain my weight within about 3 pounds.
I think I have tried every diet program available, Weight Watchers, Diet Center, Jenny Craig, the juice diet, low carb, low fat — you name it!! While I was able to lose weight in every program, I struggled with maintaining my weight.
I felt like I was “dieting” my whole life. I wanted to learn how to eat the foods I like in moderation while maintaining my weight. My frustration with other plans is that they really don’t successfully teach you how to maintain once you have hit your target weight.
I need to know the “why” and my coach was great at explaining the science and nutrition information behind all the strategies suggested. I feel that I have all the tools I need to maintain now, and I understand why they are important!
There is nothing like being able to pull anything out of your closet and know that you will fit into it. My coach helped me realize that the number on the scale is only one piece of the journey. You can see you are making progress in other ways, measurement, the fit of your clothes and how you feel.
I am very happy with how I look and feel. I am not always a perfect eater, but I know how to get back on track. I found that I love taking my morning walk and that has become a daily habit that has been easy to continue. I even miss it when I can’t walk for some reason! I no longer am addicted to diet soda, and water (with flavoring) has become my go-to drink.
Three important lessons I learned along the way:
- I did not realize how important drinking water was
- Daily exercise helped both my body and my mind
- Don’t let the scale dictate your success!
I’ve lost over 13lbs, 10 inches and 8% body fat, which is now in the normal range! I walk every day and I don’t hate it! I’ve learned to modify many recipes to reduce calories, and they still taste great, and I get to eat the foods I love!
If it wasn’t for Copper State FIT, I think I would have continued to yo-yo with 10 to 15 pounds. I might have given up at some point trying to re lose the pounds.
I say give it a try! It is a great program, affordable, and the staff is great, but YOU have to be willing to put in the work.
