How It All Began - One Woman's Weight Loss Success Story
How It All Began
by Angela Crout-Mitchell
As the bright March sunlight streamed in the conference room windows, I stared in disbelief at my father’s doctor. I wasn’t Dad’s only option, but the disappointment and sense of failure was overwhelming. My father has diabetes, had been on dialysis, and needed a healthy kidney. What was upsetting at that moment was the doctor’s statement that both donor and recipient would heal better if they were of a healthy weight. I looked at my fit, lean brothers and prayed one of them would be a match.
At 5’10, that gorgeous March day, I weighed 230 pounds. Despite that, my fear for Dad prompted me to through with the initial blood tests to determine if I had enough of the same genetic markers to be a donor. As luck would have it one of my brothers, my mother, and I were all matches. That November, my brother donated his kidney to our father. Happily, both of them came through the surgeries with flying colors.
But for me, the story was just beginning. The realization that my weight had become such an issue and could impact not only me but also the people I loved changed how I saw myself. Suddenly, three children by C-section and several abdominal surgeries didn’t seem like a good excuse to be overweight anymore. I didn’t want diabetes or heart disease, or just not having energy to negatively affect my family’s lives or mine. Something needed to change before those fears became reality. I knew how to exercise and eat right. I had been an athlete before and I was determined to be one again.
Initially, I thought if I stopped frying foods, ate less, and walked a few times a week, my weight would change. I lost a whopping three pounds and stayed there for six months. Now I weighed 227. That wasn’t quite what I had in mind. It was disappointing, but failure was not an option.
It was obvious to me walking wasn’t enough. I hated the idea of aerobics, visions of Richard Simmons danced in my head. I love what he had to say, but that wasn’t for me. After long days with three very active kids, I didn’t relish the thought of jumping up and down. It didn’t seem relaxing. That’s when it hit me. I got a cardio workout from walking, but my flexibility and strength conditioning were lacking. A trip to the local Walmart’s DVD section yielded a pilates dvd. It wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be. Just because its slower paced doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. In a way, the faster paced exercises I remembered from basketball were easier. My body felt stronger and my energy was higher, but I only lost two more pounds. I was telling my sister about this problem and learned she had been taking private yoga lessons from a young woman from India. I expressed interest and she invited me to join them for their next lesson. I was silly enough to accept. That hour was one of the hardest in my life. It was also one of the most exhilarating. I hadn’t felt that alive in a long time. The sore muscles and awkward didn’t matter. I realize yoga isn’t for everyone, but I had found the discipline for me.
Now, along with the dietary changes I had already made, I walked, practiced yoga and pilates, and enjoyed my new physical freedom. However, my weight stayed pretty much the same. The only aspect I could find to improve the situation was my diet. I believed and still believe that moderation is the key. The second anything becomes unappealing is the second a person will stop the behavior. With that in mind, my next step was to include more fruits and vegetables into my meals. This was no hardship; they were already some of my favorite foods. I also discovered that reduced and fat free foods had come a long way in quality from the versions I had tried before. Fat free frozen yogurt is an amazing dessert that eaten in moderation easily replaces full fat ice cream. The biggest change I made was portion size. I grew up in a Southern home with lots of delicious foods in large portions. It took some time and lots of google searches to discover that I could still have my favorite foods with some modifications to make them healthier. I also have many new favorites. Did you know that there exists a delicious chocolate fudge cookie that is fat free and is only 55 calories per cookie? It does exist and I have the recipe. At this point, the extra weight seemed to melt off.
It seemed like the whole weight loss was becoming an issue for everyone. It had never occurred to me that the changes I had made would impact so many people. I encountered those darling people who had nothing but positive things to say. There were also those who felt I had lost too much and had only my best interest at heart. The hardest people to deal with were the ones who forthrightly expressed jealousy. I never intended anyone to feel bad about themselves because of my success. Overall, I enjoy the people who are genuinely interested in how I did it and want to talk about their struggles. I am not an expert, but if something I have learned along the way helps someone else than I feel even better about my experience.
I won’t say losing 65 pounds has completely changed my life. I’m not suddenly rich. My husband and I still fight. My kids haven’t immediately decided to do everything I ask. The satisfaction comes from feeling better about myself and the knowledge that I can accomplish my goals if I strive hard enough. With luck, maybe my children won’t be faced with the fear I felt that fateful March day.
Angela Crout-Mitchell is a freelance writer and resides in Northern Kentucky. She lives with her patient husband, energetic 3 children, and lovable dog. Angela grew up in Northern Kentucky. She graduated from Simon Kenton High School and attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills. She majored in English with a minor in Political Science.
Her current area of focus is health issues, primarily on food and healthy eating. Angela's interest is to share personal experience and knowledge to encourage good eating habits focusing on flavor. She also advocates extending those habits in family friendly ways to ensure the health of the next generation.
Other writing interests include politics, family and educational topics, and human-interest stories.
Angela can be contacted at angela.croutmitchell@gmail.com
by Angela Crout-Mitchell
As the bright March sunlight streamed in the conference room windows, I stared in disbelief at my father’s doctor. I wasn’t Dad’s only option, but the disappointment and sense of failure was overwhelming. My father has diabetes, had been on dialysis, and needed a healthy kidney. What was upsetting at that moment was the doctor’s statement that both donor and recipient would heal better if they were of a healthy weight. I looked at my fit, lean brothers and prayed one of them would be a match.
At 5’10, that gorgeous March day, I weighed 230 pounds. Despite that, my fear for Dad prompted me to through with the initial blood tests to determine if I had enough of the same genetic markers to be a donor. As luck would have it one of my brothers, my mother, and I were all matches. That November, my brother donated his kidney to our father. Happily, both of them came through the surgeries with flying colors.
But for me, the story was just beginning. The realization that my weight had become such an issue and could impact not only me but also the people I loved changed how I saw myself. Suddenly, three children by C-section and several abdominal surgeries didn’t seem like a good excuse to be overweight anymore. I didn’t want diabetes or heart disease, or just not having energy to negatively affect my family’s lives or mine. Something needed to change before those fears became reality. I knew how to exercise and eat right. I had been an athlete before and I was determined to be one again.
Initially, I thought if I stopped frying foods, ate less, and walked a few times a week, my weight would change. I lost a whopping three pounds and stayed there for six months. Now I weighed 227. That wasn’t quite what I had in mind. It was disappointing, but failure was not an option.
It was obvious to me walking wasn’t enough. I hated the idea of aerobics, visions of Richard Simmons danced in my head. I love what he had to say, but that wasn’t for me. After long days with three very active kids, I didn’t relish the thought of jumping up and down. It didn’t seem relaxing. That’s when it hit me. I got a cardio workout from walking, but my flexibility and strength conditioning were lacking. A trip to the local Walmart’s DVD section yielded a pilates dvd. It wasn’t nearly as easy as I thought it would be. Just because its slower paced doesn’t mean it isn’t hard. In a way, the faster paced exercises I remembered from basketball were easier. My body felt stronger and my energy was higher, but I only lost two more pounds. I was telling my sister about this problem and learned she had been taking private yoga lessons from a young woman from India. I expressed interest and she invited me to join them for their next lesson. I was silly enough to accept. That hour was one of the hardest in my life. It was also one of the most exhilarating. I hadn’t felt that alive in a long time. The sore muscles and awkward didn’t matter. I realize yoga isn’t for everyone, but I had found the discipline for me.
Now, along with the dietary changes I had already made, I walked, practiced yoga and pilates, and enjoyed my new physical freedom. However, my weight stayed pretty much the same. The only aspect I could find to improve the situation was my diet. I believed and still believe that moderation is the key. The second anything becomes unappealing is the second a person will stop the behavior. With that in mind, my next step was to include more fruits and vegetables into my meals. This was no hardship; they were already some of my favorite foods. I also discovered that reduced and fat free foods had come a long way in quality from the versions I had tried before. Fat free frozen yogurt is an amazing dessert that eaten in moderation easily replaces full fat ice cream. The biggest change I made was portion size. I grew up in a Southern home with lots of delicious foods in large portions. It took some time and lots of google searches to discover that I could still have my favorite foods with some modifications to make them healthier. I also have many new favorites. Did you know that there exists a delicious chocolate fudge cookie that is fat free and is only 55 calories per cookie? It does exist and I have the recipe. At this point, the extra weight seemed to melt off.
It seemed like the whole weight loss was becoming an issue for everyone. It had never occurred to me that the changes I had made would impact so many people. I encountered those darling people who had nothing but positive things to say. There were also those who felt I had lost too much and had only my best interest at heart. The hardest people to deal with were the ones who forthrightly expressed jealousy. I never intended anyone to feel bad about themselves because of my success. Overall, I enjoy the people who are genuinely interested in how I did it and want to talk about their struggles. I am not an expert, but if something I have learned along the way helps someone else than I feel even better about my experience.
I won’t say losing 65 pounds has completely changed my life. I’m not suddenly rich. My husband and I still fight. My kids haven’t immediately decided to do everything I ask. The satisfaction comes from feeling better about myself and the knowledge that I can accomplish my goals if I strive hard enough. With luck, maybe my children won’t be faced with the fear I felt that fateful March day.
Angela Crout-Mitchell is a freelance writer and resides in Northern Kentucky. She lives with her patient husband, energetic 3 children, and lovable dog. Angela grew up in Northern Kentucky. She graduated from Simon Kenton High School and attended Thomas More College in Crestview Hills. She majored in English with a minor in Political Science.
Her current area of focus is health issues, primarily on food and healthy eating. Angela's interest is to share personal experience and knowledge to encourage good eating habits focusing on flavor. She also advocates extending those habits in family friendly ways to ensure the health of the next generation.
Other writing interests include politics, family and educational topics, and human-interest stories.
Angela can be contacted at angela.croutmitchell@gmail.com
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