Modern Flavor Magazine 1/2015 Modern Flavor Magazine 1/2015 | Page 15

would be a routine physical. The physical turned out to be anything
but routine and that day my life changed forever.
Was there a concern for your health?
Yes and that was my catalyst for change. During the physical my
doctor warned me that my blood pressure was up (again) and
deprioritizing my health could have grave consequences. I was
classified as obese, worked 50-60 hours a week and had the nerve to
be taking on a 20-hour a week grad school course load the next
month. He made it clear that blood pressure medication or worse was
in my future if I didn’t change. It was painful to hear but I knew he was
right and in January of 2008 I began my transformation.
What has been the most challenging part of the journey?
The hardest part of the journey for me has been resisting the
temptation to follow my feelings! I am not super human; I have good
days and bad days like everyone else. I don’t always feel like working
out or making healthy food choices. I had to learn how to push
through and do what I needed to do in spite of my feelings.
How did you use food to aid in your weight loss?
I learned about the importance of good nutrition the hard way. I took
my doctor’s advice and began exercising. After working out hard for 4
weeks, I stepped on the scale and was horrified to see that I lost zero
pounds! The “see I told you this wouldn’t work” voice kicked in and I
considered quitting, but then my mind flashed back to that day in the
doctor’s office. I had to figure out a way to make this work, my future
was at risk. I decided to go back to the drawing board to figure out
what that was missing.
I did some research and learned that I didn’t lose any weight because
I was still eating poorly. I decided to eat 5 small meals a day,
increase my fruit and vegetable intake, and drink 64 oz. of water per
day and that’s when I started to see results.