This post is from Jennifer Lynn-Pullman MA, RD, LDN, a consultant dietitian for the Jeanes Hospital Bariatric Surgery Program in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Jen resides in Warrington Pennsylvania with her husband and two children.
My Story
For the past three years I have worked with bariatric surgery patients. On occasion a patient asks me, in a hopeful tone, if I’ve had bariatric surgery. When I answer, “no,” I sense their disappointment. I try to explain that I too have struggled with my weight, but I know it’s nothing in comparison to their struggles.
Before graduating from college, I maintained my weight around 140-145 pounds. My diet wasn’t perfect, despite having a degree in nutrition, but I was so active teaching aerobics and walked everywhere, so I could eat pretty much what I wanted and still maintain my weight.
I started a full time desk job and attended graduate school at night. Physical activity decreased. I was either exhausted after a day’s work or needed to study. I know I just found excuses though why I couldn’t go to the gym. I still managed to keep my weight stable until I got married.
Husband + Kids = Extra Lbs
After marrying my husband, I became comfortable not exercising regularly and eating what I wanted. By the time I found out I was pregnant in December of 2002 I weighed 160 lbs and was wearing larger sizes in most of my clothes. Now that a child was on the way weight loss was going to have to wait.
Weight after son: 170 lbs and another size in clothes, size 14.
Then, I became pregnant again in 2007. I had normal weight gain with both pregnancies, approximately 30 lbs with each. I did not have much weight to lose after each delivery to return to my pre-pregnancy weight, but I lacked motivation to try to get there.
By December of 2008, after nursing my daughter for 11 months, I was down to 160 lbs, the pre-pregnancy weight I had been before my son in 2002. I saw this as a starting point and vowed to keep going until I reached a healthier weight.
Life yet again thwarted my progress. We moved and through the whole process I worried about everyone and everything except me! By the time we were finally settled in December of 2009, I reached the all time high of 175. I did not regularly weight myself, but knew I gained when my size 14’s were getting snug.
Now at my highest weight ever, I felt like a failure, because I should know better. I am a registered dietitian with two degrees in nutrition and here I am counseling bariatric surgery patients.
The Tipping Point
It was time to take action. I started out in January of 2010 exercising only, not changing my eating habits much. I periodically kept a food journal, but wasn’t consistent enough to see what I was doing. After about 8 months of this, I was only down to 170 lbs.
During the course of this time I tried to blame all kinds of things on my weight—except my personal diet and exercise habits. I had blood testing done for my thyroid and had other hormone levels checked. Of course all the tests were normal, so it was me that was the problem.
I continued to exercise 4-5 times per week, but now kept better food records utilizing www.mypryamid.gov, but would miss days still here and there. By October I was down to 166.5 lbs, November 163.5. Through the holidays and a family trip to Disney World my weight still went down slightly and in January of this year I weighed 162.5 lbs.
In December 2010, I started recording my food intake daily using an App called Lose It. And I started weighing myself once a month. The weight started coming off more rapidly and I was down to 156.5 lbs.
I plan to continue what I’m doing until I reach my goal weight of 135 lbs. I’m exercising 5-6 days a week, which consists of walking/running on a treadmill, weight training 3 times per week, and now a weekly yoga class. My goal seems far away, but now I feel more confident that I will get there.
Even though my weight loss journey is nothing like my patients’ experiences, I feel better counseling them now because I practice what I preach. I watch calories, exercise, keep a food journal and am living proof that it works!
Jenn Pullman, MA, RD, LDN
Even though my weight loss journey is nothing like my patients’ experiences, I feel better counseling them now because I practice what I preach. I watch calories, exercise, keep a food journal and am living proof that it works!
Jenn Pullman, MA, RD, LDN
Lose it is such an awesome app- really keeps you on track and my iPhone is aleays with me, while food journal may not be. I also gained a ton of weight with each of my three kids. I weighed in at 179 (I’m only 5′ 4″) before I gave birth to my first. I loved to eat and got lazier on the workout scene with each child.
I think it’s awesome to share our own weight loss stories with patients. It lets them know RDs are real people w real struggles of our own.
Thanks for sharing your story, Jenn! I’m confident you have the knowledge and dedication it takes to reach your goal! Please keep us posted on your progress!
My fitness pal is an awesome app as well for weight loss!!! I love it. I havent heard of Lose it but will check it out also.
I am still working towards my goal. I am around 150. Not sure if 135 lbs is realistic, but I continue to exercise and record my intake. My husband are planning to run a half marathon in November. My husband joined me 6 months ago using Loseit and has lost 60 pounds to date.
In the previous comment I ment to write “my husband and I are planning to run a half marathon in November”. Hit post too quickly! Ha Ha.