I have been blessed with good health, so I haven’t had any illnesses that drove me to change my eating habits. I didn’t really struggle with my weight until after my 5th baby. It was then that I found I needed to watch what I ate and how much I ate. I began to exercise regularly, which helped a lot.
Then life happened, and I started homeschooling my kids and took in my grandma who was suffering from Alzheimer’s to live with us. My daily schedule changed drastically! I had no time to exercise anymore, and I didn’t adjust my eating habits at all, so my weight began to climb rather quickly. Although I didn’t like being overweight, I pretty much accepted it as the way things are for many years. Then my grandma passed away and as the kids grew into teens I founded a non-profit ministry to equip youth in leadership skills. That ministry lasted 17 years as my kids grew up and moved out. Then the grandchildren began to come along, and I found myself in a whole new stage of life.
In September of 2013 I finally reached the point where I was just DONE with being overweight. I was almost 51 years old and about 60-70 lbs overweight. I began to have a few minor health issues that slowed me down a bit, and I knew it was only going to get worse if I didn’t do something. I joined a 3 month Biggest Loser contest on a FB group and finally got serious about my weight loss journey. I lost about 20 lbs during that contest just through traditional dieting. I was feeling better and had more energy, and I was motivated to keep it going.
Then I read a blog called 100 Days of Real Food and my life has never been the same! That blog led me to research the Clean Eating Philosophy, and to adopt the lifestyle, dragging my husband along. We both quickly noticed the difference in how we felt by getting rid of white flours and sugars and processed foods. I changed a few things in my lifestyle each week, and developed a plan that not only had me feeling great, but dropping weight like crazy. Over time I lost just over 50 lbs, and was pretty darn proud of myself, and feeling better than I had in years. So many people asked me how I lost the weight and got healthier that I developed a program, held “Clean Eating Classes” at my house and started a FB page and a blog. It was great accountability for me, and many people were happy with the changes the program was bringing in their life.
In Jan of 2016, just after I turned 53, I hit a plateau with my weight, and had some super-stressors enter my life. I was traveling a bit, and that is always a challenge with my willpower (or lack thereof) and with everything going on, I began to put weight back on. I could no longer teach the Clean Eating Classes because I was not home as much, and I didn’t have time to post as much on FB or write blog posts. And I was feeling a bit helpless at circumstances going on in my life. I was not sticking as closely to my Clean Eating habits, I was overeating, and I stopped exercising. I gained much of my weight back and my body aches from arthritis and inflammation were plaguing me once again.
I’m quickly figuring out that my “Nutritional Journey” is going to be a lifelong quest for me. It is something I will always need to keep in check if/when I feel it stalling, and I will always need the encouragement and accountability of others to keep me in check.
Whenever I reach my destination, whatever goal that may be, I MUST remain diligent in the habits I have formed in order to maintain that goal. It takes no time at all for my love affair with food to get completely out of control. It might be that I compromise my “real food” standards, or I just plain eat too much. Or both! If I’m not careful, the victories I once experienced can soon become a memory.
There may be something that resonates with you about someone who has her ups and downs with body image, self-esteem and willpower. Maybe you can relate to finding victory in one moment, and feeling defeated the next. If so, won’t you join me on my journey? Whether you need to lose weight or not, getting healthy and sharing new recipes and fitness tips might be something that you’ll find helpful.
To journey with me, follow/subscribe to this website to receive helpful information and recipes a couple times a week. You can also find me on Facebook at Clean Eating in a Toxic World. I look forward to meeting you, and remember…It’s never too late!
Fit & Fearless after Fifty 