I was also drinking too much to cope with stress. I remember asking my kids, “Do you think they dilute the wine?” Because even two bottles weren’t touching the sides. I live in size 18 leggings and refused to buy a larger size even though I probably should have. I didn’t go to events no matter what excuse I had, and I hid behind other people in photos. All my meetings were on Zoom so no one could see my body. Blood tests revealed that I was pre-diabetic and every bone in my body was hurting. Still, I was in complete denial.
I woke up when I saw myself on TV. For years, I blamed my weight on an unhappy marriage, single parenting, and the difficulty of starting a business. Suddenly I realized that I had to take responsibility. I was destroying myself mentally and physically and I was the only one who could do anything about it.
How did you transfer your weight?
I hired a personal trainer, Angie Wilkinson, at the beginning of 2020 and during lockdown I was training in my living room. But I couldn’t lose weight because I ate and drank too much. So in 2021, I asked Angie to help me with my diet. She advised me to prepare all my food, cook everything from scratch, stop eating processed foods, and eat 6 times a day to jumpstart my metabolism. My diet was very simple and consisted mostly of lean proteins, vegetables, healthy unprocessed carbohydrates like sweet potatoes, and healthy fats like avocados.
Every Sunday, I would meal plan, cook, and eat portions throughout the week in Tupperware boxes. I always had vegetables and chopped fruit in my fridge. I didn’t eat any diet foods like low fat milk or yogurt, everything was full fat. There was no sauce.