It is no wonder that I’ve had weight problems for years. All my life I have enjoyed good food. I worked in an office, sitting at a desk. And, I preferred movies and reading to painful exercise, especially after I got fibromyalgia. Before menopause, if I chose to lose weight, I could follow a diet and exercise to take the weight off, only to regain the weight and more pounds later. (Yes, there was lots of yo-yo dieting using many different diets, including Optifast when Oprah was on that diet.) After moving into menopause about 8 years ago, it didn’t seem to matter which diet I followed, I couldn’t lose any weight. I thought I knew a lot about fitness and nutrition and still I wasn’t losing weight. I was struggling to climb the stairway in our home, having to stop midway to catch my breath. My asthma was aggravated. It was difficult for me to get the housework done. My feet, knees, and hips hurt. Most of my clothes didn’t fit anymore. I was tired all the time and depressed. And, my cholesterol was high. Something needed to change, and I accepted that I couldn’t do it alone anymore.

 

When I went to my first appointment with Belinda I weighed 195 lbs and my BMI was 30, which meant I was obese. She calculated how many calories and grams of protein, carbs, and fat I needed to lose weight. She shared another way to look at food. I could still eat my favorite foods, like dark chocolate. I didn’t need to buy more expensive foods at the grocery store to follow her program. She was introducing me to a change in lifestyle, not just temporary weight loss. In the first seven weeks I lost 13 lbs and my BMI was 29, I was no longer obese. My clothes were more comfortable, and I had enough stamina to visit the gym four times per week. By the end of my program I had lost 45 lbs, and was at the lowest weight I’d been in years.