For those of you new to my blog, I thought I’d start by introducing myself. I am Patty, a 56 year old woman who has been on a fitness journey for the past two years.
It was two years ago that I met Ryan Teal at Gold’s Gym in Colorado. Ryan was convinced he could help me lose weight and together we agreed to try the Gold’s Gym 12-week challenge. When I began the challenge on January 18, 2016 I was 276 pounds. I had high blood pressure and very inflammed joints from Rheumatoid Arthritis. I had an underactive thyroid that I had been taking medicine for since I was 17. I was pretty convinced that it was not looking good for me to make it to my 55th birthday. AND I had no idea how to eat properly.
Week by week, Ryan checked my food logs and made suggestions for healthier choices. I worked out daily and the weight began to come off. Up to that point I had been wildly unsuccesful with Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, the Protein Power diet, the Metabolic Center, Curves, and multiple other outfits. What Ryan did different was “teach” me how to eat properly. I was undereating and I was not making good choices. I knew how to give my all during a workout as my background is as a competitve swimmer. But I had no idea on how to eat properly.
Ryan has since left Colorado but continues to train me via on line communication. To date I have lost 75 pounds. My blood pressure is normal. My Rheumatoid Arthritis inflammation markers are normal. My thyroid medicine has been corrected to begin treating T3 (not just T4). This has resulted in me needing less and less T4 medicine. I’m still working on correcting that dose. I have seen my 55th birthday and my 56th birthday. So in that regard I truly believe I am reclaiming my life.
I am not into “quick fixes” or “diets.” To me a “diet” just indicates that you will go ON a diet and then you will go OFF a diet. I follow a nutrition plan. I currently eat over 1800 calories a day. Mine is a slow and steady journey that I have no intention of ending. I can only prove that to you with the passage of time.
As a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly, my life has also transformed. It has not been without struggles and I have been credited with being very honest with my posts. It’s the “honest” posts that touch the most lives. If you are interested in following my journey, you can click on the “follow” button on my home page and add your e-mail. I also post most of my posts to my Facebook page entitled Patty’s Fitness Journey.
I kicked butt on that 12-week challenge mentioned in the first paragraph. I lost 33.5 pounds and over 19 inches. I was voted first place by our local gyms only to be bumped down to 2nd place by the Corporate Gold’s Gym. It is a “visual” competition after all and my “visual” wouldn’t sell memberships. So that experience has only fueled my fire even more to try and reach those of you who want to “reclaim your life.” If in the end, our “visual” is awesome, that’s great. But if in the end, I’ve added ten years on to my life- that’s even better! Quality of life and longevity of life is what I am after.
This latest post really blessed me Patty. I admire your willingness to put it all out there! Your journey is very inspiring to me and I consider you a very brave woman. I don’t talk about my weight with anyone but my doctor. I know this coming year will be an amazing year for both of us! Keep being steadfast and I know you will continue to inspire and help others.
Thank you Carol. I definitely don’t feel brave. I often want to take down the posts after I’ve written them. But it’s comments like these, that stops me from doing so. I’m excited for you for the year ahead also. We’re going to kick butt – reclaiming our lives!