My 2014 health journey
How I stumbled into an astonishing transformation
This is me walking my cat, Orange, in 2013 at the age of 52. I have degrees in biology and German (yeah, I’m an odd mix), and at that time I was a writer, editor, translator, language teacher, volunteer and mom. Pretty much everything I did involved words and thinking (or cooking).
Even as a child, I'd been a nerdy reader, uncoordinated, nearsighted, and generally picked last for teams in gym class.
Although I did enjoy swimming, riding my bike, catching frogs in nearby ponds, and galloping around my back yard pretending to be a horse, being physically active was never part of my identity.
A few months after this cat-walking photo was taken, I stumbled across a book called Younger Next Year.
I’d gone through menopause with raging insomnia (like a light was left on in my brain all night), depression with weight loss as I lost my appetite for weeks, and then as that resolved, thundering weight gain to new heights. I was increasingly alarmed at the knee pain that slowed my walking, along with bulging varicose veins which shamed me into wearing pantyhose even in summer in Northern Virginia when the air feels like a hot washcloth.
The book Younger Next Year offered three simple principles to become biologically “younger” and live longer. “Younger” caught my eye at the time, but I know now that what I want is to be as strong, healthy and active as I can, at exactly the age I am. 😅
The three principles are:
Don't eat “crap.”
Work out for an hour a day, including strength training twice a week, for the rest of your life. (Walking totally counts!)
Get plenty of positive social contact.
I can clearly remember my reaction when I finished the book: “They’re probably right. But I can’t do those things.” Changing the way I ate sounded bleak and scary. And an hour a day of exercise? I had visions of boring treadmills and judgmental trainers like my childhood gym teachers. Besides, I was super-busy with projects, committees and family stuff. At least I had plenty of positive social contact, right?
Months passed and my discomfort with my body increased. I wore baggy thrift-store clothes. One day I saw an object left on the floor, and I realized it would be a physical ordeal to get down there and pick it up.
Around that time I had my first colonoscopy, and I had to change my way of eating for four days. I dreaded it, but it wasn’t as hard as I’d expected; actually a bit of a challenge and adventure. Could I possibly stop eating “crap” and focus on real foods from nature? After all, I really like vegetables and missed them during the low-fiber prep ordeal.
Something came together then, a sense of willingness and curiosity. In December 2013 this Christmas photo was taken, and in the same month I joined a gym that had opened up near me, recommended by my good friend Jen, since they had a pool and offered aqua fitness classes.
My plan was to lose 20 pounds, moving back down from the obesity zone into my normal status of merely overweight. I’d achieve this by going to a water aerobics class at my new gym several times a week, accompanied by a "don't eat crap" eating plan that focused on whole foods and cut out refined carbs, including (gulp) pasta and bread.
I started a simple food journal in a notebook and promptly found that I wasn't eating as healthfully as I'd thought. Nearly every day was "special" in some way. I added even more vegetables and developed strategies for those constant special occasions, like taking only one bite of birthday cake or having an "inch" of wine.
My new friends in the Aqua Zumba class encouraged me to try regular Zumba. I'm too uncoordinated, I said. And I’d better stay in the water with these knees.
But I got a pedometer and started walking 10,000 steps a day, with knee braces at first. I watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, bought a juicer, and started making Mean Green with kale, ginger, cucumber, celery, apple and lemon.
I finally ventured into "land Zumba," standing next to supportive friends at the back of the room. Nobody cared if I was zigging while others zagged. And the boundlessly enthusiastic Elvie, also around my age, played irresistible songs and made the moves easy to follow.
At home, I started to run in the neighborhood. To my astonishment, my knees cooperated. I ran half a mile at a time, then one mile without stopping, for the first time in my life. In school I’d dreaded the mile run and always ended up walking, clutching my cramping side muscles.
This is me in July 2014. I'd lost the planned 20 pounds. More importantly, my new lifestyle was fun, and I was feeling great. I ventured into more classes: Bodypump (yes! weights twice a week!), Combat (kicking and punching the air; sounds cheesy, but the teachers made us feel like martial artists). Others were not my thing, like spin classes and "Bodyattack." But I found at least one class a day inspiring and fun, sometimes even two. An hour a day. For the rest of my life. I was there!
By November 2014, I was 43 pounds down. I knew that to stay there, I had to continue working out and eating in the same way. Fortunately, that's exactly what I wanted to do.
I enjoyed Rao's arrabiata spaghetti sauce on roasted vegetables, and hamburgers on lettuce. I scooped up guacamole and salsa with a spoon, not chips, or put them on my salad. After a while I stopped missing things that were "not on my list." A few exceptions were still OK, logged into my food journal and balanced out with more healthful choices.
In 2015 my husband was assigned as the U.S. Consul in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. What would happen to my new routines when I left Elvie and the other classes at my gym? I set up a weight room at our new house with floor matting designed for horse stalls, danced Zumba routines by myself, and thrashed around in a small pool.
My social connections boomed, with the close-knit community at this small consulate and wonderful new Mexican friends. Due to security concerns, we were restricted to certain areas and not supposed to move around alone. So I went together with new friends to local (free!) boxing lessons and great Zumba and Pilates classes. I even participated in a sprint triathlon.
And I started getting other people moving. I led an informal water aerobics class in the little pool; organized free lunchtime yoga with YogaGlo virtual classes; taught two adult Mexican friends to swim; regularly drove a group to boxing class; and coached a colleague as he took up running for the first time.
In Mexico, I finally decided what I want to be when I grow up. In April 2017, I passed the qualifying exam as a personal trainer (favorite unofficial study aid: Poke-a-Muscle), and then in November I became an ACE Certified Health Coach. Later I became a Functional Aging Specialist, and when I experienced the benefits and fun of Laughter Yoga, a certified Laughter Yoga leader.
I never could have imagined in my 30s or 40s that I’d someday become a personal trainer. But it turns out that I loved learning about my long-neglected body and how to create positive change.
I’ve learned things that I think everyone should know, from my training and from networks of my colleagues. Posture can be improved in just a matter of weeks! Balance is a trainable skill! Strength training is effective at any age, even for people who are frail and in assisted living!
I keep learning more (simple pelvic floor training! three-dimensional breathing! gentle habit change strategies that really work!), and now my journey is practicing all of this myself and sharing it with others.
I work as an affordable and flexible health and habit change coach with individuals and groups all over the world, teach a “Creative Balance” class in my community, lead Laughter Yoga, and offer lots of free activities on Zoom and in person, like this “Fierce in the Forest” group in the photo. It was 26 degrees that day, but we punched the air, did squats and bench push-ups, and battled each other with foam noodles to fun music. 😄
I’d originally set out to lose 20 pounds and get up off the floor more easily, but I ended up in a place I never could have imagined. Far more than a “weight loss” journey, it was about:
Questioning my habits with compassion and curiosity, and daring to consider new possibilities that could serve me better.
Turning gently away from processed foods, in order to nourish and heal my body with the real food humans evolved to thrive on.
Finding physical activities I truly love, in my case with music and with other people.
Feeling in my body the many, many benefits of exercise and real food, and letting them motivate me, not shame, guilt or ideas of what I “should” do.
Straightening up from my hunched posture and feeling stronger and more at ease in my body.
Prioritizing my own self-care (sleep, food, exercise) because it benefits both me and everyone around me.
Learning to observe my thoughts and emotions, tune lovingly into my heart and my body, ask for guidance, and act with more kindness and compassion toward myself and others.
I call these actions “fierce” because in so many ways, our world isn’t set up to support them. I’d love to help change that in my own small way!
Thank you so much for reading this! And if you could use an unconditionally supportive, friendly, affordable coach for your own unique journey of positive change, book a discovery call with me here, at no cost and with no sales pressure at all (that's just not who I am). Or join one of my free events on Zoom, check out my calendar here. I hope to see you soon!