Transformation happens. My 7th year anniversary of being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer was August 28, 2014. On that day I decided to celebrate life. That evening I decided and knew in my heart that I could go through my own transformation. I can’t control cancer or many other things in my life. But I can control my lifestyle. I can control how I eat and my exercise and activity level. At 290 lbs, I knew that night that I could and was going to change my life. I decided I wanted to lose 100 lbs in a year. I met that goal in 11 months. In early August of this year I weighed in at 189 lbs. as of last wee, I am currently 176 lbs.
The first three months I worked by myself, changing my eating habits and trying to become more active. I had started in routine physical therapy earlier that The combined effects of past brain surgery plus lymphedema, chemotherapy and my morbid obesity had added up to a number of physical weaknesses and I had been about to start walking with a cane. My physical therapist helped me to learn to walk on a treadmill. Around that same time, I finally dared a few times to use a YMCA membership I had had for years. At my weight, it was too embarrassing. I was afraid of people’s judgment.
In December 2014, my transformation journey took a different turn. I met and started working with a personal trainer. I shocked myself that I had the confidence to let anyone know I wanted to lose weight. December 8, 2014 I started working with my personal trainer, Nneka. I was so glad she trained out of her home. There was no way I would have had the confidence to train in a gym. In the privacy of her home, I started gaining both physical and emotional strength as I trained. In physical therapy that year my goal had been to enjoy a five minute walk.March that next year I walked my first 5k in the Kirkland Shamrock Run. Earlier that month, when on a family trip in Oahu, Hawaii I hiked up Diamond Head Crater. That hike was a true milestone for me as I faced my fears of failure and judgment. I finished it with renewed determination to transform.
I am a caregiver. Often, caregiving takes over the majority if my life. There have been constant changing challenges as I have learned to balance caregiving and my transformation.
I now value nutrition and healthy eating. It is a daily challenge to eat right. Through the year, I have found that nutrition is the basis for the healthy lifestyle I have adopted as my own.
Losing over 100 pounds and dropping 6 and 7 clothes sizes in a year is absolutely amazing. But most amazing is that I feel like I have found a new life. Last month I not only tried zip lining for the first time, but Nneka and I celebrated my 100 lb milestone by skydiving. When I was first diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, I was scared. I wrote my final bucket list. Now I am writing a new list of things I have never had the confidence and fitness to do. I know I can now. Transformation has happened!