My Road to Movement and Exercise on a GLP-1

Learning to add movement into my life has not been easy. I was not active at all as a child, I never played a sport and was not encouraged to move. I’m not an overly disciplined person, and the thought of having to adhere to an exercise schedule or plan has always been difficult for me. To be honest, very often it felt just like dieting: restrictive, a "must-do," and not something I looked forward to. The more I thought I "should" do it the less I did it.

Finding joy in daily movement and community sports

Fast forward to today. I get a lot of movement each day, but in ways that are enjoyable for me. I live in the city, so I walk a lot. I start almost every day with a two-mile-plus walk in the park with my mini-dachshund, Hazel. I find there is nothing better for my mental health than fresh air, movement, and hopefully a little sunshine.

I also play pickleball three times a week—which is amazing since I had never played a sport and was the fat kid no one picked for their team in grade school, middle school, or high school. And most importantly, as a postmenopausal woman trying to maintain a 65-pound weight loss, I incorporate strength training for a full hour at least twice a week.

Shifting the mindset from weight loss to wellness

So, how did I get here? First, when my weight hit 219 pounds at 5’1”, I found a drive to do anything I needed to get healthy. I started doing more regular cardio—mostly spinning in the beginning. I found my first university weight loss program with the medical support I needed. As my weight came down, I felt better, so I branched out into yoga, and added those morning walks.

I was enjoying movement more, and I realized it was because I wasn’t doing it strictly to lose weight; I was doing it to relieve stress, sleep better, and feel better. And I did. It happened slowly—over about two years. It was not an overnight event, but my brain and my thinking were catching up with my body. I could think about living a healthy life because I was actually living a healthy life. When I retired, I added in pickleball.

The medical importance of building muscle while losing weight

Whenever I’d see my nurse practitioner or doctor, they’d tell me I was doing great with my medication and my nutrition (oh, do we talk about protein a lot!). They’d reinforce how good the cardio was for my heart and then ask about strength training. They’d remind me that to build and maintain muscle as I was losing weight, I had to figure out how to add in strength training.

What’s interesting is that when I had first seriously started on my weight loss journey, a doctor suggested I try CrossFit. I thought he was nuts—I was a 52-year-old woman who had never exercised. But I did it, and I really liked it. I eventually learned that lifting weights made me feel good. Trying things I never thought I could do, like a wall ball or a box jump, felt incredible when I succeeded.

Overcoming physical limitations with professional support

Two years ago, I was six years into my GLP-1 journey, and my weight was at a set point that would not budge. I would lose weight and then bounce back up. I couldn’t stay consistent. My nurse practitioner very gently told me I had to figure out how to build muscle just like I had figured everything else out. However, I had recently had my bladder removed after a cancer recurrence. I was overwhelmed, and my emotional energy wasn't ready for a new challenge. On top of that, the surgery left me with a hernia risk. I had to be extremely careful about core exercises and could not lift over ten pounds!

It was a suggestion from my son that changed my path. He said, “Mom, you’ve worked so hard on being healthy. Why don’t you get some help with this one and get a personal trainer? That way, you’d know you’re being safe, and you’d have help getting into a strength routine.”

Investing in yourself through personal training

So I did. After a few days of reflecting, I realized that this was an area I wasn’t going to resolve on my own. I’m pretty honest with myself, and I knew that I was bored doing reps by myself. I found a trainer who worked with other people my age. I was comfortable that he understood my restrictions and challenges and was the right trainer for me. He eased me into exercises, and I remembered that I loved it before as I learned to love it again.

I may not be jumping on boxes, or doing burpees (thank goodness!), but I’ve learned that you can do a lot of great bodyweight work with light weights, even with just one 10-pound weight. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it worth it for me to continue to be the healthiest person I can be? Absolutely. It is the one part of exercise I now make an investment in.

The long-term benefits of strength training for weight loss

In the past year, I’ve gone past that set point and then past another set point to my lowest weight ever. Yet, there are so many more benefits to strength training for weight loss that I didn’t think about. Even when my weight is stable, my body has changed so much that I’ve gone down another size in clothes. My skin is healthier, my stamina is better, and my mobility and balance have improved significantly! And my pickleball game is lit!

This movement journey, and strength training for weight loss in particular, is another example of how each of our weight loss journeys is personal. We have to find our own way. I never would have believed at my highest weight that I’d be playing pickleball with other people, and doing a full squat at age 67! It took patience, some wrong turns, and a willingness to try different things. I’m so glad I took the time to find what works for me.