I Lost Weight and Restored My Health by Taking Baby Steps

In 2015, I was at my highest weight of 241 pounds. I had been placed on a mood-stabilizing medication to treat depression and anxiety after losing my grandmother, brother-in-law, and brother in nine months.

That's when I began to gain weight. At first, it was just 10 pounds but then I started gaining roughly 5 pounds per week. I would outgrow clothes every month.

I could not figure out what was going on with my body. My psychiatric medical provider didn't seem concerned as long as my mental health was stable, although the weight gain and development of other medical problems made me feel depressed and isolated.

I didn't want anyone to see me because I was embarrassed. I had also developed high cholesterol, hypothyroid, IBS, asthma, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, joint and back pain, significant muscle loss, and the only exercise I could do was yoga and walking.

I couldn't recover from strenuous exercise and walking up a flight of stairs was challenging. For someone who was once a marathon runner, this was devastating.

In January 2015, I was watching the Today show and saw an episode on Cushing's disease. As I was listening to the symptoms I thought to myself: I have every one of those.

I asked my doctor to test me. One test came back positive and the other inconclusive. I was then referred to an endocrinologist who concluded I had pseudo Cushing's syndrome caused by a poorly treated mood disorder that made my body secrete too much cortisol.

I decided I needed to take my health into my own hands. I found a new mental health provider, stopped taking the mood stabilizer, and worked with a functional medicine provider specializing in adrenal health.

I was diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity, placed on a different mental health medication regimen, and focused on making significant dietary changes.

I also enrolled in the integrative health certificate program at a local community college and learned about ways to support my digestion, aromatherapy, stress management, sleep, and how to be a health coach to others.

Initially, I went on a gluten-free, mostly plant-based, low-sugar diet and lost 60 pounds which took about three years. I noticed great improvements in my health. My joint and back pain decreased, I was able to walk five miles, and my mood improved.

Navigating a gluten-free diet was a bit challenging at first but because there were so many healthy whole-grain options like brown rice and quinoa I quickly adapted and replaced desserts with dark chocolate to satisfy my sweet tooth. I would also allow myself some ice cream twice a month so I wouldn't feel deprived.

I was then able to up my exercise intensity from walking short distances of one mile and yoga to walking five miles, running two miles on the treadmill, and light weight-training.

In 2020, I ran a half marathon, but after the race, I needed to go back to walking and yoga because I was once again having a hard time recovering from exercise. I also hit a plateau in my weight loss.

So, I decided to follow the paleo diet with a cheat day on Sunday.

Initially, I could only lower my daily carbohydrate intake to 70-100 grams per day otherwise my body would feel stressed. When I would get frustrated that I had to take baby steps, I would tell myself to trust the process.

After two years of doing this, I was able to tolerate higher-intensity exercise and began to run three to four miles, three times per week, and do kettlebell workouts two times per week.

I lost another 30 pounds, which is when I truly began to feel strong and healthy, and intense exercise didn't stress my body anymore. My back pain and IBS completely disappeared. I was also able to get off my asthma medication.

Eventually, I lowered my carbohydrate intake to about 40-50 grams per day, added in Greek yogurt, and upped my running mileage to five to six miles per week, and after another two years the final 26 pounds came off.

My weight loss journey took me nine years, but I gained so much more.

Taking baby steps and trusting the process allowed me to lose weight without stressing my body. I gained muscle, came off my asthma medication, resolved my joint and back pain and IBS, reversed my non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, lowered my cholesterol substantially, and decreased my mental health medication dosage.

I also hiked a 14'er and came in first for my age and gender in my most recent 10K. I earned my master's in nutrition and dietetics in 2023 and have begun coaching others on wellness and started a small business called Gut Instinct LLC with another colleague.

We are both registered nurses and believe in encouraging others to make small, sustainable changes at a time and trusting their gut instincts.

We believe everyone is different and needs to follow a different journey to better health.

Whenever I read about how a cheat day sabotages a diet or how dairy makes you gain weight I have to tune out the chatter and take a look at what listening to my body and trusting the process has done for my health.

Weight loss and getting healthier physically and mentally is a journey and taking baby steps can lead to sustainable results.

What helped me was looking at my diet and replacing highly processed foods with whole foods, eating no more than six teaspoons of added sugar per day, preparing my own meals, and slowly building up exercise intensity so that I don't burn out by doing too much too soon.

Getting a good amount of sleep was also important, as well as breathing exercises. When I hit a plateau in my weight loss, I considered lowering my daily carb intake which I did by replacing starchy vegetables and some fruit with non-starchy vegetables and leafy greens until I began losing weight again.

Most people want quick weight loss results, but I believe that slow and steady wins the race, and means that you are less likely to gain the weight back.

Sara Sanders is a registered nurse in the Denver area. She is passionate about nutrition and helping others reach their health and fitness goals.

All views expressed are the author's own.

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