The Long Road to a Healthy Weight

My first memory of being “large” was when my sister took me to the "chubby section" of the girls' department to buy a dress. The dress was blue and wider than it was long. I was eleven years old, just two years after my mom died suddenly. My dad would buy me all the Ruffles potato chips and Brigham’s ice cream I wanted, then tell me I would be so pretty if only I would lose some weight.

Navigating a lifetime of dieting and weight fluctuations

The rest of my history is not uncommon. I tried every diet, lost weight, and gained weight back. I tried Weight Watchers, Nutrisystem, and doctors who told me to limit calories and exercise more. The only problem was that no one in my family exercised. I once put liver in a blender on a Weight Watchers plan with my bestie. That was disgusting. We were only 13 years old.

As an adult, the only thing that helped was Overeaters Anonymous. I made friends who understood my struggles. We didn't call it "food noise" back then, but I started to realize other people thought about food all the time, too. For the first time, I didn't feel alone. I worked the steps, but didn’t lose any weight. I found a therapist and an eating disorder group. I slowed the weight gain, but that was about it.

Turning the corner toward sustainable health changes

My actual weight loss journey to a healthy weight started at age 54 when I joined a weight loss program at a university hospital. My doctor had me prick my finger four times a day to check my blood sugar. I know she did this to scare me into dealing with my obesity and I'm grateful to her for the wake-up call. I ate medical weight loss food for a year and lost 65 pounds—about 30% of my total weight. I was at a weight I had never believed I could achieve.

I kept the weight off for a year, but between a move for my job and the lack of a maintenance program, it crept back slowly. I learned that you cannot out-exercise poor nutrition and overeating, even if you're only overeating a little. Finally, I enrolled in a weight-loss program at the university where I live. The doctor thought I should try a fairly new injectable medication.

The role of GLP-1 medications and professional support

She explained that the medication would give my body the help it needed, but I still had to see a registered dietitian and exercise regularly. I wasn't thrilled with a daily injection, but I was so determined not to gain back any more of the weight I had lost that I did it. She explained that I took medicine for blood pressure, cholesterol, and high blood sugar, and didn't think twice about those—this was no different. The goal was that it would help me get off those other meds in time.

The weight came off slowly and the work I did with the registered dietitian was the most impactful part of my health transoformation. I was a grazer, and she taught me to eat properly balanced meals. Progress was slow. We worked on breakfast for six months until I didn't need any morning snacks. Then, we moved on to lunch. She told me I did not have to eat salads for lunch to be healthy, and I told her I loved her.

Silencing food noise and embracing a new lifestyle

I continued losing weight. As my GLP-1 dose increased, my appetite decreased. Those inner voices telling me I needed donuts quieted down. I retired and moved again. I had my doctor recommend a weight-loss program in my new city and scheduled an appointment to ensure there was no gap in my prescription or care. I now knew that I could maintain weight loss results by eating differently, exercising, and taking a GLP-1.

The six people in my head arguing over when and what I should eat next, quieted down and then eventually stopped (yes, there were 6 of them). You don't understand food noise unless you've lived with it for most of your life. The quieting of those voices made room for me to do the work needed to learn how to eat and exercise, and manage my emotional health.

Lessons learned during my long-term weight loss journey

There are so many things I had to learn while on a GLP-1—how my appetite varies from injection day to the end of the week, how to meet my nutritional goals when my appetite is so low, why strength training is so important, and how to live as a formerly chronically obese person in a healthy-sized body. I am grateful to have a team of medical and other professionals to help me, but I put in the hard work to find them. This is my personal weight loss journey, and I am darned proud of it.