Many times we are not aware of the things we eat or the reasons we’re eating it. Usually, it’s because it gives us comfort or just plain satisfaction. Of course the down side of consuming bad food in great quantities is extreme weight gain.
Weight loss and weight maintenance, in general, is accomplish by proper diet and exercising. Unfortunately, some of us reach a point where these things simply won’t help. No matter how much you sweat, the weight still will not go down. This was the case with Melissa Carter. She had developed pre-diabetes and we know by now that this is a precursor to full blown diabetes. At this point she decided that it was time take charge of her health.
Read Melissa’s story in the following article.
This Former Eating Addict Lost 139 Pounds
She made a brave choice to save her life and it worked.
By Sari Harrar and Sari Harrar
Six years ago, Melissa Carter seemed like a success story. At 29, she was a music-industry executive who rubbed shoulders with rap stars at Grammy parties and was named a “Power Player” by Billboard magazine. “But inside, I was miserable,” she says. “I had a lifelong food addiction I wasn’t dealing with.” She was also prediabetic, and diabetes had killed her mother at 40: “I was questioning my worth every day.”
FACING HER FEARS
Melissa’s doctor told her that she was morbidly obese and a candidate for bariatric (weight-loss) surgery — news that was a blow to her fragile self-esteem: “I had to stop believing I could handle this on my own.”
After researching her options and accredited facilities and interviewing someone who’d had weight-loss surgery, she made the decision to go for it. In 2009, she had a sleeve gastrectomy. Surgeons removed about 80% of her stomach to leave a narrow tube that held less food — a tool for permanent weight loss if she could stick with small, healthy meals for the rest of her life.
After the surgery, Melissa was sore and weak. She followed a liquid diet while she healed, and the fat began melting off.
Next, she overhauled her diet. “I used to eat junk,” she says. “Breakfast was a cinnamon roll and a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich.” She learned how to cook by throwing potlucks with friends whose healthy habits (and recipes) she wanted to mimic. “Today, breakfast is a protein shake or eggs with brown rice or spinach,” she says. “I eat a lot of fish and vegetables, clean food. But I do have a treat once in a while. If I want ice cream, I get the best. I’m worth it!”
She set new exercise goals, too, starting small with five-minute walks. As she gained strength, she hired a trainer and joined an online running group. “I did a triathlon last year!” she exults. “It’s remarkable what you can do.”
SOUL FOOD
Within a year, Melissa was 100 pounds lighter. After two years, she was “skinny, pretty, and fit — but not happy,” she admits. She had another moment of truth, this time on a mountain in Italy: “I realized I didn’t love myself and was still medicating with food. I had great friends and family, but wasn’t authentic with myself or them.”
She joined Overeaters Anonymous to cope with her food addiction. And she left her corporate job to focus on her new love, fitness, becoming a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach.
In 2012, she launched BelieveCommitLive, a wellness business based on her life philosophy. “It’s not just about losing pounds,” she says. “If you aren’t whole and healed inside, you won’t have a life you love. I work on it every day.”
Last summer, when she felt her addiction creeping back, Melissa reached out for support via her blog. “What matters is what you do when old habits arise,” she says. “I will always choose to grow.”
Photos courtesy of Melissa Carter
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P.S. In order to lose excess weight we must address our diet and find some way to incorporate more activity in our daily lives. It takes motivation and action to accomplish this. One of the best ways to get going is to join up with a support group or a partner who has similar aspirations or has been where you are now.
P.P.S. Let me be your workout partner. Visit How to Prevent Pre-diabetes for more information.