LaDon G., a 51-year-old who works in an assisted living facility in Spokane Valley, WA, knows exactly how she got to almost 300 pounds. “My daughter died in a fire 20 years ago when she was just five years old,” she says. “And afterwards, I just kind of gave up on things.” LaDon used food to comfort herself. “My mom used to make cinnamon toast all the time for me when I was little, so it was a very comforting thing for me to eat,” she says. “I’d come home after a bad day and just eat slices of it—sometimes up to eight slices in a sitting.” Every year she gained a little more weight until she stepped on the scale in early 2014 and saw she weighed 297 pounds.
Seeing that number wasn’t enough to wake LaDon up, though. “Last May, some friends came to visit us and we went to a beautiful park near our home,” she says. “We took photos with them in the park and when I saw the pictures later I couldn’t believe what I looked like. I felt so embarrassed, and knew I needed to start making better choices.”
To help her on her path, she asked for a Fitbit tracker for Christmas from her husband. “On Christmas Day, when I opened my gift and saw that it was a Fitbit Flex, I actually cried,” she says. “I had been married 32 years and this was the first Christmas I ever got exactly what I asked for!” She started using the food logging feature in the Fitbit dashboard to help make better choices. “There were a lot of ‘aha’ moments when I realized how many calories or how much fat was in something,” she says. “Soda had been my go-to beverage—I would drink it, and not even think about it. I cut out all soda and now only drink water.”
LaDon also began upping her activity one step at a time. “I never used to do anything active, but now I just walk whenever I can,” she says. “I’m in school to become a medical assistant and there are two buildings that are a mile apart. When I have a break I get up and walk to the other building and back, or up and down the stairs inside the building.” In the year since LaDon began changing her lifestyle, she’s lost almost 100 pounds. “My goal is to get to 180 pounds, which will take me out of the obese category,” she says. “I’m going to treat myself to a pedicure when I get there, and it’s going to feel so good.”
LaDon’s advice for others:
You don’t have to just eat your veggies
“I started juicing for breakfast,” she says. “My favorite is apple, carrot, spinach juice. It’s a great way to start the day with veggies.”
Go slow with your changes
“I used to drink sugar in my coffee and knew I wanted to cut that out,” says LaDon. “I cut it down slowly. I kept using a little less and a little less until I didn’t need it anymore.”
Plan ahead if you can
“One evening, I knew we were having pizza in class,” says LaDon. “That night I brought a salad with me, so that I could have a little of the pizza and not feel like I was starving.”
What’s helping you reach your health and fitness goals? Offer your tips and advice in the comments below, and share your success story with us!
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for medical diagnosis or treatment. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem or condition. Always check with your doctor before changing your diet, altering your sleep habits, taking supplements, or starting a new fitness routine.
Alice Oglethorpe
Alice Oglethorpe is a freelance writer and editor based in Chicago, IL. She covers health, happiness, fitness, and anything else that piques her interest. Her work has appeared in O, The Oprah Magazine, Self, Shape, Fitness, Redbook, Health, Better Homes & Gardens, Psychology Today, Good Housekeeping, and more.
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