The Weight of the World on My Shoulders … Nah, Just the Weight Underneath

Ever since I turned 30, I’d been telling myself, “You should lose weight.” I had gained 75 pounds in 6 years, and every doctor’s visit ended with a lecture on that very subject. But as lots of people know, it’s much easier said than done.

Enter breast cancer at age 42. Suddenly, my health was front and center.

I’d like to say the 30 pounds I lost last year was from sheer willpower and utter motivation to get healthier. I mean, in some sense, that last part is true. The cancer was a wake-up call that I needed to be in better shape because things weren’t going to get better as I aged. It would be an even bigger struggle if I waited. But honestly, it was that combined with the pandemic shutdown that gave me a bunch of extra time.

I also had the help of a trainer, who I’ve been working with for years. At the beginning of training with him, I was only working out once a week and doing nothing about my diet. So that was helping me maintain where I was and not gain weight, but it did nothing to lower the number on the scale. He told me if I wanted to move that number, I needed to exercise 4 days a week and watch my calories.

So, I started tracking my calories in an app and carved out an hour four days a week to work out in our garage. I had created my own home gym with some resistance bands, a small elliptical and a standing heavy bag. I still worked out with my trainer once a week with various exercises and boxing, but he also created workouts to do on my own. That was incredibly helpful, because I prefer to follow someone else, rather than having to be accountable for my own exercise routine.

The other habit I started during this time was hiking. Now, anyone whose known me for longer than a few years would tell you … I was not a nature person. LOL I did pretty much zero hiking in Massachusetts, except for the Ramble up Mount Greylock in my hometown of Adams, MA once a year. But when the pandemic hit, walking outside was one of the few safe things you could do, so I started regular weekly hikes with different friends. Living in SoCal with great weather and a plethora of beautiful trails certainly helped.

The pounds came off slowly, which was fine because the healthy rate is losing 1-2 pounds a week. My original goal was to lose 60 pounds in a year, and I made it halfway. I had to be OK with setbacks, like the hormonal therapy I’m on from the breast cancer. It doesn’t help to take off the pounds when your estrogen is out of whack. That’s why most women gain weight during menopause. I discovered the bloat during the weeks when it was my time of the month just wouldn’t go away, no matter what I did, but would practically disappear the following week. It was a balancing act for sure.

This year, unfortunately, I’m 5 months in and have only managed to maintain where I was at the end of last year. The book launch I did for my new romcom, Running with Hounds…and an English Degree was like a second job, and I only maintained hikes with friends once or twice a week. Thankfully I didn’t really gain any weight back, so I was happy to maintain where I was. But now that this major event is over and I’m back to marketing and working on my next project, I’m hoping to get back to a regular workout schedule.

Pray for me, everyone. I’ll need it. :)