Category: Health & Wellness

Navigating Weight Loss with GLP1: Lessons Learned

One year ago, that’s how long it has been. It’s hard to believe that I reached a point when I threw in the towel, knuckled under, threw up my hands, cried uncle…all of those phrases that indicate someone quits, caves, gives up. But did I really?

On February 17, 2025, I began a health journey on a GLP1. Que the judgement. Trust me, I’ve heard it all – or at least it feels like I have. That’s the reason for this post, to address the reality of being on a journey to control your health and lose weight utilizing a GLP1 as a tool. Swallowing the judgment and continuing to push forward in the knowledge that no one walks in your shoes (literally). No one has any idea how many miles you put on a pair of tennis shoes in the five years prior to starting this new direction, while you continued to struggle to keep off that 20 pounds that you lost.

I went through all the questions. Why do I need this tool? Why can’t I just keep going and take the next five years to lose another chunk of weight? What are the long terms benefits? What will my family and friends think or should I tell them? I’m a fairly transparent person. I’m generally not afraid to talk about my life journey, the ups and downs (mostly ups), and love to hear from other folks about their journeys. This, however, felt different to me. Back to paragraph one…….admitting failure? What was the turning factor to lead me down the GLP1 road?

A visit to a new PA, another yearly blood test results with an A1C that was creeping up, getting older (I mean, we are all getting older), and a letter from my husband’s company that because they now see the verified health benefits research they would begin covering needed GLP1 medications in 2025. Yet, I was still unsure. Hear me when I tell you that making a leap to completely change the way you’ve approached your health and weight your entire life isn’t easy or to be taken lightly. Prayer, lots of prayer, and then like with most things in life, I pushed forward.

Let me address how a GLP1 is the “easy” way to lose weight. NOPE, NOT EVEN CLOSE!

If someone asks you how much protein you should consume in a day to preserve muscle while losing weight, could you answer that question without researching? If someone asks you how many steps you need while trying to lose weight would you give them the 10,000 per day response? If someone asks you whether you need to never eat carbs or sugar on your weight loss journey, or how much fiber you have to consume each day to preserve your gut health, or what is your calorie deficit…..you get the picture.

After a year on a GLP1 I can answer those questions (and many, many more) because regardless of what people around you think, a GLP1 isn’t a magic fix. It isn’t a magic bean that will just drop the weight and allow you to keep it off. It’s a lot of hard work – if you need to verify this just ask my husband, kids and grandson. What can Nana eat, is that restaurant okay, can we get ice cream today (always, even if I only have two bites – that’s the tradeoff)? My family is amazing!

I’ve felt the judgment from the outside (not from my family) since I began my journey and it’s made me uber aware of my own shortcomings of judgment for those around me. Yes, it’s difficult to hear someone that weighs so many pounds less than you ever have say that they are fat, that they can’t lose that ten pounds that’s troubling them, but that is their journey and that ten pounds is just as difficult for them as the 50+ is for me.

Here’s what I’ve learned in the last twelve months:

  • I know how much protein I need each day to keep moving forward.
  • I know that there are times when I don’t want to see another protein shake or an egg.
  • I know that when your nutrition changes….so does your hair (and it sucks).
  • I know that I have to exercise but that I can’t destroy my self-esteem when I don’t.
  • I know that the 10,000 steps per day isn’t a one size fits all – that’s a myth.
  • I know that being obsessive about all of the above is terrible for your mental health.
  • I know that being creative with recipes is a lot of work but worth the time.
  • I know that there are days that I don’t feel like I can eat anything but I have to eat, we all have to eat.
  • I know that each pound lost is a success.
  • I know that losing slower is absolutely okay.
  • I know that a GLP1 is but a tool in the toolbox – a great one, in my opinion.
  • I KNOW that losing weight creates health benefits.
  • ONE YEAR OUT, I know that losing 48 1/2 pounds is a success, even if I want/need to lose more.

I was speared to write about my journey when someone in our church approached me and asked if I had lost weight and how good I look. She then shared that she, too, is on a GLP1 journey – because after two bouts of breast cancer she needed a different way to approach her health. You never know what someone else is walking through. I’m grateful for her words and her sharing her story with me, and I wish her well on her journey.

My advice (you knew this was coming) to those who are losing, those who need to lose and those who are fine just like they are. Be honest with yourself. Never be afraid to ask questions, to learn new ways, to stretch your daily intake (information and food). Be mindful of what you say to people about their health journeys. You haven’t walked in their Sketchers or Brooks. Don’t be afraid to compliment people if you see that they’re on a journey. It’s helpful to have someone say in a kind way, without judgment, that you’ve lost pounds or that you look great. Don’t compare yourself to them, or anyone else, it serves no purpose. Pray, and then pray some more.

To my family, thanks for putting up with this journey. I know that it’s not easy when I’m so mindful of what I can eat today (or tomorrow) but I will always be able to find something on any menu! We all have to approach our health from our own mindset but we know that we have to address it. None of it is easy work but we have so many things to do together! I want to be able to hike the mountains and enjoy all the crazy adventures. My sister travel is important and this babiest has to be able to carry the bags, chauffeur, etc, someone has to be in charge! I am terribly grateful for the support you’ve all shown me over the last year – I could not – cannot – walk this path without your support (near and far).

And we enter year two…..adventures, here we come!

by Categories: Health & WellnessTags: , , , , Leave a comment

I WEAR PINK . . .

I wear pink for many reasons. 

I wear pink for a best friend that lost her battle;

I wear pink for my great-aunts that navigated without adequate treatments or cures;

I wear pink for all of the young women who are diagnosed and care for babies while being cared for
themselves.

I wear pink to raise awareness and to honor all those who bravely fight a breast cancer battle;

I wear pink to honor the medical providers who spend their time creating treatment plans to cure breast cancer, so that people can continue to spend time loving on their loved ones, walking through the mountains and beside the oceans;

This particular October (2022) I wear pink because I am walking through my third go-round of the unknown myself. 

I am so incredibly blessed. That may sound a little crazy considering the above statement, but it is true. When I received the news in July that I needed to consult a surgeon we (Phil and I) quickly decided that we were going to travel to the Levine Breast Cancer Center this time.  It’s two hours from our home but we’ve been through this twice before, the same breast, and it is more frightening each time.

Today I found myself at CMC in Charlotte with a team of individuals that crawled out of bed to give me the best care possible. I found myself at Charlotte Radiology with an RT and a radiologist that deeply cared about my comfort as they placed a radioactive seed that my surgeon would then “find” to remove the tissue and clip (yes, that $541 clip that I just got in July is now gone). I found myself with the most wonderful day surgery and anesthesia crew, who made sure that despite a quick turnaround from radiology to surgery I got to spend time with Phil. Lastly, but most importantly, I found myself with a surgeon that has given us clear information, identified me as continuing high risk for screening, met with us before surgery, and met with Phil after surgery. She assured me that regardless of pathology reports I will get a phone call from her. So, yes, I am blessed – beyond words.

I have a church family that cares for me, checks on me, and prays for me on a regular basis.  I feel that love and I know that those prayers are heard by my God.  I also know as I walk through this journey that God’s timing is perfect – even when we don’t understand it.  Jesus died for me so that I can live, and that is exactly what I intend to do.  For those who don’t trust or believe in modern medicine, to each his own.  I believe that God gave doctors knowledge, and I am grateful for that knowledge.

As I heal from the latest excision, I will continue to trust my team.  My MD does not believe that I have cancer. She knows that I had atypical ductal hyperplasia, and we hope that it has now been removed. There is a chance that the margins will not be clear and further surgery would be needed.  There is a chance that I could be upgraded to a type of cancer. But here’s the thing . .

I went for my annual mammogram, and they found “something” that needed to be biopsied. I did that and they found something that needed to be excised.  I did that and now we heal and wait for results. Whatever comes next will come. The time will pass – precious time. I intend to spend that time with my family, doing life. I intend to spend that time with my church family, learning and growing in God’s word.

My MD says that we don’t need to talk about anything other than good results right now, so I won’t.  If the pathology is clean, it simply means that every six months I will return to Levine Cancer Center and be diagnostically screened and that’s normal for high-risk patients. It’s nice to be grouped in anything normal. 😊

It’s October, my friends, if you haven’t had a mammogram – GET IT DONE. You see, what’s going on inside your “ta-tas” is going on whether or not you get screened. Why wait?  If you need someone to hold your hand – call me and we’ll WEAR PINK together.

by Categories: Health & Wellness, Pink October, Uncategorized Leave a comment