Transformation of the Day: Marquet lost 100 pounds. Years of weight gain led to blood pressure, blood sugar issues, knee pain and back pain. Being a mom, wife and a RN working the late shift, didn’t leave a lot of room for self care. She decided that it was time to focus on health and wellness. Check out how she took action to change her life.
I began my weight loss journey in January 2015. I weighed 295 pounds. That was the heaviest I had ever been, even during pregnancy. I currently weight 195 pounds at 5’5″.
Like most women today, I struggled with balancing my responsibilities as a mom, wife and professional. Self care was non-existent in my life. Working long hours led to constantly eating out and mindless snacking.
From 2007, when my daughter was born, through 2014, I experienced a gradual increase in weight. I would simply shrug it off as I quickly had a closet with clothes in a wide range of sizes. In 2014 the weight gain seemed to occur more rapidly. I was constantly fatigued and even walking up a short flight of stairs caused me to be short of breath. Taking my daughter out to play was physically demanding as my knees and back were always in pain. The frequency of my doctors visits increased as well. I still remember my doctor pleading with me on many occasions to lose weight. I never saw her look at me that way before.
Later in 2014, when she prescribed medications for my out of control blood pressure and blood glucose she advised me to consider bariatric surgery as my weight gain was a real and present problem. I drove home that day with tears in my eyes, as I knew I had to do something. I couldn’t avoid the obvious any longer. I knew that in order to live as long as possible for myself, as well as to raise my daughter, I needed to make a change in how I cared for myself.
I began my journey in 2015. Like many other americans, I started with a New Years Resolution to lose weight. I started slowly doing cardio on the elliptical machine at the local YMCA. I went early in the morning when it was least crowded, because I was very ashamed to be in the gym around so many fit people. I started to cook meals at home, pack my lunch and avoid snacking at night. I tracked my daily food and water intake using the My Fitness Pal app. Slowly, the weight started to come off.
I cut out all processed/pre packaged foods. I started shopping only in the perimeter of the supermarket, which included only fresh produce, meat and seafood. I also started going to local farmers markets and began to prep my meals for at least 3 days in advance. I work the night shift as an RN, so having to not cook when coming off of a 12 hour shift helped me stay on course with my healthy eating. Each meal consisted of a complex carbohydrate (e.g. brown rice), protein (e.g. boneless, skinless chicken) and fat (e.g. avocado). For snacks, I ate almonds and dried cranberries or some other type of fruit (mostly apples and bananas). Greek yogurt with bananas is also a favorite of mine. Breakfast is always oatmeal sweetened with a banana or blue agave nectar.
By March 2015, I started taking classes at a local gym, including high intensity interval training and Body Pump. I quickly fell in love with weight lifting in the Body Pump class. By July 2015, I decided to enlist the help of a personal trainer. This experience changed my life. She taught me to have a more holistic approach to my weight loss and ultimately my life. My workouts have a warm up, cardio, strength training and stretching component, 5 to 6 days a week. My flexibility improved which positively impacted my workouts and decreased my recovery time.
I started to not only focus on my workouts but also on altering other aspects of my life to support a healthier lifestyle. I began to have one hot bath a week for relaxation and get monthly massages. When invited to parties or dinners, I would either eat beforehand or research the restaurant menu so I knew what I could eat there. On those days when I didn’t want to work out or I became complacent because I no longer weighed 295 pounds, I thought back to how I felt in 2014 and how I never wanted to be that afraid again. I thought about how far I had come and that I wasn’t willing to lose it all. I could see the pride in my daughters eyes and I was able to do more with her. I wanted more of that, so I pushed forward.
Today, my motivation remains being able to do things with my body I have never been able to do in my life. I have never just been focused on being able to get into a certain size dress. Because of that, I have been able to remain consistent even during the tough times. My Why remains the same, to live as long and as healthily as possible.
For anyone starting on this journey or even feeling defeated, I would encourage them to really think about why they want this. Make that Why about you, not about others, and watch how your motivation will flourish. When you take better care of yourself you are really able to be that wife, mom, sister, friend and professional that we all want to be. You cannot give from an empty vessel. Today, my blood sugar is controlled through diet and exercise. I am on only one blood pressure medication currently. Also, I am preparing to embark on my first figure competition in 2017.
Instagram: @quetty80
Daphne says
Absolutely inspiring! Thank you for sharing.