How I Lost 100 Pounds in a Year and Manged to Keep it Off

It's been an interesting journey on my path to health, beginning from the day my husband, Jim, was killed by a motor vehicle when it ran him over.

When Jim died, I weighed 240 pounds. One hundred pounds more than the day we were married on 04 January 1992.

It's important to understand that keeping a consistent weight was always a battle for me, from high school, through my enlisted time in the U.S. Navy, and during my Nursing Bachelor's Degree studies at Old Dominion University. It became especially challenging after I carried my dear daughter and birthed her.

When I was enlisted (1983-1987) in the Navy as an aviation electrician and air-crewman, I was extremely active. I ran 5 miles almost every day, weight lifted and rode my bicycle to and from work--my return trip being a ride up part of the mountain/volcano, Mount Etna. Back then, my weight stayed down due to my activity. I ate whatever I wanted. But if I took a day or two off from exercise, I quickly gained up to three pounds.

In 2003, after having my two children (1993 and 1997) and experiencing a traumatic infection after a surgery while I worked in Yokosuka, Japan--fibromyalgia set in. By this time, I was a Navy Nurse, and a Certified Nurse Midwife. My situation became terribly difficult since I normally ran 3-5 miles a day. I was also prone to lipedema. I tried desperately to keep my weight down, and I had to stay within Navy weight standards. I couldn't afford to put my career at risk by having negative marks against me because of my weight.

(My face at 235 pounds in 2016 and my face at 138 pounds in September 2022--one year after Jim's death. The last photo is me on the Shinkansen bullet train in Japan April 2025 after returning to martial arts and ensuring a healthy diet.)

At the time, even as a nurse practitioner/midwife, I didn't know what fibromyalgia and lipedema were. I only knew my body and my joints ached horribly and I could never seem to shed pounds without starving myself and exercising like mad.

I tried diet pills, acupuncture, sweating suits while in the sauna and continued gym workouts, but any weight I lost was only short term. The weight always came back. As a healthcare provider, this was embarrassing and depressing. I often wondered how I was supposed to counsel patients on health and weight loss when I was not an example of health.

When we moved to Maryland for my new position at the Bethesda Naval Hospital (now called Walter Reed) I started suffering from irritable bowl syndrome (IBS) and vacillated between severe constipation and diarrhea. Life became even more challenging. My feet and legs started swelling daily, with 2-3+ pitting edema in my shins and feet.

(In all of these photos I'm over 200 pounds. Often, I'd try to hide my body behind others because I knew I was overweight and hated how I looked in photos. This is common among those of us who have weight difficulties.)

I had wonderful jobs during this time, particularly in my newfound career of forensic nursing, but my ongoing weight problems worsened despite my Navy Officer requirements. I fought to control my IBS and other physical disorders, and continued to fight and struggle to keep my weight at the very border of what was unacceptable for military standards.

Fast forward to just after my husband's death in September 2021. By this time, we were living back in Virginia near Charlottesville and I'd retired from the Navy. I had a civilian job with DoD, but I was 240 pounds and had already had two hip replacements. With the hip replacements, I could walk better, but my knees hurt so I didn't exercise much.

Jim's death plunged me into depression. I wasn't eating, and I drank a good bit of alcohol often passing out in bed. I felt so bad about my loss, my lack of health, and the stressors of my job--I was living in a personal hell. I thought of ending my own life several times.

About 30 days later, I stepped on my scale and realized that I was suddenly 20 pounds lighter. Sure, I was happy to see the weight loss, but the healthcare provider inside me took time to shake the depressed/sad me. Looking in the mirror, I gazed at a figure of a total mess. My eyes had rings under them and my skin sagged. I thought of my kids. They'd just lost their dad. If I didn't change things for the better, they wouldn't have either of us around.

For the first time in a long time, I made an appointment with my healthcare provider. I talked with him about my depression, my sudden weight loss, my poor health and my desire to get on track by losing weight the right way and living a healthy life. One of the first things he recommended was a good therapist. I was conflicted. I'd seen a therapist before and all they wanted to do was throw medications at me. He assured me there were some very good psychologists on staff, and so I made an appointment.

My healthcare provider also encouraged me to take a hard look at the foods I was eating. And I trusted him. He was a thin man and appeared very healthy. I looked at some of the materials he gave me and took his words to heart. My lifestyle, my diet and the way I thought about food had to change. And it couldn't just be a quick fix. It had to be a lifetime change.

In a short novel I'm writing about this experience, I go into more detail about these changes and why they happened, but suffice to say that within a few days, I grabbed 3 large Hefty trash bags and filled them to the top with foods Jim and I had in the house (cookies, cereals, pastas, candies, etc.). Next, I looked at the alcohol. Jim loved his craft beer, and I enjoyed it too. He also had several bottles of whiskey and gin. I dumped all of it down the sink and put the bottles in a recycle bag. My trip to the landfill and recycling that day was with a full SUV--stuffed with garbage bags of foods I was never going to eat at my house again, and the empty alcohol bottles.

My first meeting with my therapist was a really good one. We worked together to settle on treatment that would include Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). A psychiatrist recommended Wellbutrin for depression (this medication doesn't usually contribute to weight gain). Within a month I'd lost another five pounds. I was the lightest I'd been in a long time.

Within the same time-frame, two things happened:

For my birthday and Christmas, one of my best friends, Alice, sent me a pair of boxing gloves and then a stand-up punching bag which included a "Bob" figure to practice on. Alice and I had trained together at Chuck Norris Karate Studio in Norfolk, and then later I studied karate at Old Dominion University for college credits, (After I graduated ODU and took a nurse officer job, I instructed karate for the local population. Back then, I worked as a Labor and Delivery nurse on the Zuni Native American Reservation.) Alice's gift started me back onto my martial arts path.)

1992 Zuni New Mexico. I'm pictured here with my adult students. My husband, Jim, is in the back row far left. He later made his Shodan/black belt as my student.

(2022: Returning to martial arts. A picture of the gloves Alice sent me and my black belt beside my white belt. The center photo is me training with "Bob"--another training gift from Alice. I started studying Shotokan karate with LM Karate Academy as a white belt so I could have regular martial arts workouts, and the owner and lead instructor there, Shihan Silverman is phenomenal. I also returned to my martial arts roots with Japanese Shorin-Ken karate, led by Tesshin Sensei Hamada and his senior students/instructors. Later, I began training in Iaido with fantastic instructors and started other martial arts as well, desiring to have various experiences and wanting to learn to adapt my 60 year old body to different situations. I am now 62,)

I also discovered scuba diving. An advertisement I'd seen mentioned to learn to scuba, find friends, and dive with a buddy. None of my friends lived near me. My kids lived in Mississippi and Colorado. I decided to give scuba diving a go at Dive Connections in Charlottesville and I loved it. It wasn't long before I obtained my basic PADI certification. Scuba diving took me many places I'd never been, and I met several wonderful people along the way.

2022: Here, I'm now 175 pounds. The lightest I'd been since leaving Yokosuka, Japan in 2004.

All of these changes came together and each month I weighed 5-10 pounds less. By the time of the anniversary of Jim's death in September 2022, I'd lost 100 pounds, weighing between 135-140. Whenever I see the scale start to creep up, I cut back on portions and I add a little more exercise to my routine that week until I'm where I should be. In addition, my legs and feet were no longer swollen. My edema had disappeared. My joints felt better, although I still do deal with the discomfort of fibromyalgia and the leg lipedema is stubborn. I don't know if I'll ever see muscle definition under that layer.

Still, making these life changes and being successful in the weight loss/health journey takes time, patience and a true desire to improve your life. There is no easy pill, or surgery, or magic fairy godmother that will do this for you. This isn't about trying to or hoping you have a thyroid disorder to get some meds to help lose weight. I'm 62. I've read, heard and watched people do it all, and I've done quite a bit myself.

On my journey I realized there is no easy fix to lose weight and it requires the commitment to change. Ask me about other diets and surgeries. I may have tried most of what you've read and considered. I'll detail more on that later. I honestly hate to admit that I was so desperate to try all of these things hoping for the quick fix, but in the end, the lifestyle change---it is honestly the best and it LASTS. Do not be fooled by those commercials/advertisements that tell you can eat all the foods you love and still lose weight. It is not true. You can do it maybe once a month, but then you need to go right back to your lifestyle change.

It's important to understand that those foods, like fried chicken, pizza, fries, chips, sodas, cookies and even nutrition bars--they are basically poisoning your body. If you take time to look at excess and refined sugar, and processed foods as poison, and look for those foods that are REAL food and eat them instead, then you are on your way to a better life.

So, how did I do it? What's my program in a nutshell? I go into this a little more in a book I hope to release this Autumn, but I'll provide the major highlights. Keep in mind, this is a lifelong/lifestyle change. These steps helped me lose the weight, improved my physical and mental health and helped me to keep the weight off:

1. Using a therapist to talk through my fears, angers, depression and grief.

2. Obtaining the right medication to satisfy my chemical brain imbalance and manage depression.

3. Getting rid of all unhealthy, processed foods in my house. No sugar, no pastries or cereals (even granola and oats are damaging), no pastas or crackers. I got rid of all simple carbohydrates. This is essential.

4. Getting rid of all alcohol in my house, and only enjoying a beer or a glass of wine when I eat out.

5. Shopping primarily around the perimeter of the grocery store and never going down the chips, cookies, crackers or candy aisle, and rarely down the canned foods aisle.

6. Not buying any of the old unhealthy foods at the grocery store to take home. Ever.

7. Following a Whole Foods approach, as well as following Dr. Gundry's advice on diet (although he's now on the supplement scene, and I stay away from that). Dr. Gundry's advice on diet is very good though and well researched.

8. Drinking a shake for breakfast every morning made in a Nutribullet, using protein powder, flax milk (it has excellent Omega-3's) and cold green tea, half a green banana (Dr. Gundry will tell you why green), half an avocado, half a kiwi with the skin on and maybe some frozen raspberries. I mix it up sometimes using foods from the healthy foods/fruits list. Sometimes I throw in a few walnuts.

9. Ensuring that I get regular exercise, to include weightlifting for my bone support. This also includes walking and martial arts.

10. Restaurant Practices: When I go out to eat (not more than once a week) I eat and drink what I want, but I do some key things. *MOST IMPORTANT: I only eat until I feel full, and this is important to practice. Sometimes we don't realize we are full until too late. Or we want to eat all of the food because, well, we paid for it. Change your view: whether we eat all the food or not, it's still there and it doesn't matter if it's in us or goes to the waste bin after that. Don't take home fatty foods from the restaurant. I never bring home leftovers. I try to share a dessert with whoever I'm with or I only eat half of it and I don't bring it home.

11. Drinking lots of water and flavoring it with lemons or limes. Making fancy lemon, mint, cucumber water and refrigerate it for a refreshing drink.

12. Drinking green tea. And it's important to make it correctly. It should only steep for a minute or what the directions say. Any longer, and it will be bitter.

13. Using Stevia for sweeteners. I like Truvia. It is sometimes more expensive but I need less of it than other stevia brands. I always try to carry a few packs with me in my purse and when I travel.

14. Using an air fryer for cooking sweet potato wedges, proteins or other items. An air fryer doesn't use oil. It's really like convection (hot air) cooking.

15. Using MCT oil for foods where I want a light coat of oil. I learned of the benefits of MCT oil from reading Dr. Gundry's books, but here's an easy breakdown.

16. Weighing myself every day or every other day, regularly and without fail. If I didn't the weight would creep up bit by bit because I didn't make changes to adapt.

17. Throwing away my "big" sized clothes as soon as I could fit into the next size. I took the old ones to the thrift store and then went thrift store shopping for the ones that fit. There are online thrift stores too where you can get some very nice and cheap designer clothes that can make you feel great when you leave your house!

    
    

That's the basic set of steps for what I do. Truly, for me, once I made up my mind to make these changes, and make them for LIFE, I lost sweet/salty cravings because I wasn't on the junk food/sugar-salt yo-yo, and my appetite balanced out. My energy levels are higher and I sleep better at night.

When I discuss this topic, some people will tell me it costs more to invest in these foods than their regular diet, but honestly, if you're yo-yoing on diet plans and treatments, and spending money on tons of supplements or diet and exercise computer programs, this may not be true. I've also spent time listening to what people are spending at the cash register for their junk foods, pastas, frozen foods, and flavored drinks and my bill is almost always less then theirs. I also eat less than they do, I crave less and I'm mindful of what I place in my refrigerator.

Okay--so that's all for now. Feel free to send questions if you have them and I'll try my best to find time to answer them. I hope that perhaps this post helps someone start on the path to their "best life" healthy journey. If it does, then the five hours I spent putting this together is worth it. :)

Take care all and enjoy your journey,

Cin