MY TRANSFORMATIONAL JOURNEY

Excerpt from:  It’s an Inside Job: How I Beat Cancer Three Times, Was DIagnosed with Diabetes, Lost 110 Pounds and Transformed My Life

"In February 2021, I was diagnosed with diabetes. My A1c was 6.7. I had been prediabetic for years and had plenty of opportunities to make healthy changes, but I didn’t. I had been watching my brother Eric, fight complications of diabetes for the past ten years. His kidneys had already failed, and he was on dialysis. He fought an infection in his foot for over a year but finally had to have it amputated and now had an infection in his other foot. 

Being morbidly obese and already experiencing neuropathy, I knew this was my future. It’s pretty much everyone’s future if their diabetes remains uncontrolled. I knew I had to do something immediately. Eric and I often talked about his diabetes and what he wished he would have done differently when he was first diagnosed in his mid-40’s. He accepted responsibility for his part in his current situation. We had already lost mom and dad and our older brother, so it was just the two of us and we were close. Really close. We talked every day, sometimes more. Walking along side him on his path, I forsaw the trajectory of my own health. 

The day I was diagnosed, my primary care physician sat down across from me and said, “Well, young lady, we have to talk about your weight.” I knew what I had to do. I said, “I know. I’ll take care of it.” He made sure I knew he would be there with me every step of the way and he was. So, was my gynecological oncologist. No judgment, just support. 

I joined Weight Watchers that afternoon. I didn’t know what else to do. I had joined twice before over the years but was so angry and resentful that I would lose a little weight and then just quit. I felt like was being punished, was definitely feeling sorry for myself, and my head was completely in the wrong place. 

I didn’t mention my renewed Weight Watchers commitment to my husband until a few days later - a bad habit I have, making decisions that affect other people and not telling them. From the moment I included him, and everyday going forward, he was incredibly supportive. We had some growing pains and negotiating about meal preperation, but he would be, and is to this day, instrumental in my success. 

I know now that mindset is critical to successfully losing weight and making long lasting changes and building a sustainable lifestyle.  This time? I was just grateful. Grateful that I still had time to make the changes I needed to make to reclaim my life.

I wish I had known it earlier."