This week we are featuring one of our amazing transformation star, Mary Myer. She has made incredible changes to her lifestyle. The journey to better health is never easy, but Mary pushed through to eventually get to the healthier and happier place she is at today! Read her amazing story:
April 16, 2018
How did I reach 278 lbs.? I think back to ballooning to 221 pounds after losing my one and only sibling back in 1979. Then, once again my weight increased in 2014 to 276 lbs.! The emotional eating negative habits and behavior patterns were wreaking havoc in my life! For every catastrophe, sad event, happy event there was always food and plenty of it!
I knew I had to make a positive change for the better and for my overall health. I distinctly wanted to get rid of negative food cravings, feel satiated by enjoying the healthy benefits of good cooking and to start feeling more energy again. I was just so tired of being out of breath and spending more money on clothes because I was in plus sizes! I also wanted to find a reliable, proven food/nutritional plan with healthy guidelines to begin my new and final weight loss journey. I had to educate myself and realize that emotional eating is not a solution to an enormous problem.
Fortunately I found an advertisement to Nutrish-Mish counseling and to an amazingly supportive, helpful nutritionista named Richael DelGatto! This program changed my life! I embarked on this journey July 18, 2016. I kept telling myself, “Baby steps, Mary!” I knew trying to make too many changes at once wouldn’t be the right strategy! I wanted to be successful and knew that it was up to me to ask the questions, do the research, shopping, preparation necessary in order to see results. So, I took that positive leap and today I must say I will never return to the toxic behavior I was engaging in! To date I have shed 102 pounds! I am no longer breathy and feel satisfied after every food selection I make or prepare. I have become an inspiration and a motivator to those who are in my circle. I could not have done it without all the encouragement Richael imparted to me throughout my weight loss journey. She is professional, knowledgeable, resourceful, compassionate and full of a plethora of helpful tips and suggestions.
Today, I competently make appropriate food selections, have lost the bad cravings that would only lead me to a downward spiral of poor food choices. I feel so much more energetic and know that my job is not complete. Each day I incorporate some type of exercise; whether it is 30 minutes on the elliptical at home, 50 minutes walking/jogging on a walking track, dancing with friends and/or taking a weekly Zumba class. I want to maintain good health and be able to continue to work as a productive and vibrant member of society. Being a teacher has also allowed me to positively role model a healthy lifestyle to the countless number of adult education and ESL students I come in contact with on a daily basis.
Breakfast usually consists of a protein shake with almond milk and 1 tsp of almond butter, fruit and spinach. Lunch is a salad with protein or homemade soup with 10 to 12 crackers and a fruit, a power snack may be an individual bag of raw almonds, a cut up apple with a tbsp. of natural peanut butter or two clementine’s or raw vegetables coupled with hummus. If I have a desire for chips I substitute with ½ bag of plantain chips. Dinner is plenty of vegetables many sautéed in garlic, protein consisting of lean meat or a piece of chicken, or fish and sometimes ½ cup of brown rice or quinoa or plain baked sweet potato or baked sweet potato fries. Occasionally, I will enjoy eating 1 cup of pasta with homemade red sauce. A weekly indulgence may include 3 to 4 honey graham crackers squares, 1 scoop of gelato, baked apples with cinnamon and brown sugar, a piece of homemade carrot cake with fresh grated carrots or a fun version of a protein shake or homemade protein cookies; recipes suggestions offered on the Nutrish-Mish resourceful website.
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