Debby Rose’s journey to lower weight and better health goes through two pregnancies, severe hearing loss, weight loss surgery, a traumatic event that left her almost housebound for five years, and two joint replacements of the knee.
Over the past two years and seven months, the 70-year-old has lost 112 pounds, and with the weight loss she has seen her health improve:
She struggled with her weight for a long time
Rose’s weight gain started during her first pregnancy, and she gained much more during her second pregnancy, when she was bedridden.
In 2001, she reached her peak weight of 345 pounds. She then underwent gastric bypass surgery, lost 175 pounds and kept it off until 2010. But a traumatic experience triggered a serious setback in her life. As she was leaving a parking lot one day, she pulled over to close the hatch in the back of her car and was nearly kidnapped and hijacked. She suspects she may have been targeted because of her hearing impairment.
“I had one foot in the car and one foot out, and he slammed the door, trapping me inside. He said, ‘Move on. I’m taking you, your purse and your car,” she said. Rose had been trained not to go anywhere with an attacker because she would likely be killed. So she put the car in reverse and drove.
“He fell and I continued. I didn’t even know where I was, I was so shaken up. I didn’t know if I killed him,” she said. “After that, I was terrified to leave my house. I wouldn’t go anywhere. That’s when I started gaining weight. I was so depressed and was beating my insecurities and fear with food.
Five years later, her weight was up to 298. She tried using MyFitnessPal, but she kept losing and gaining the same 25 pounds. “I really wasn’t ready to do anything,” she said.
Her weight loss journey began by addressing health issues
Taking care of some of her health issues has put Rose on the path to weight loss. In 2017, she realized her hearing was deteriorating – the hearing aids she had relied on for years barely worked and she was lip-reading to communicate. In 2018, she received cochlear implants, which are surgically implanted devices that can help you hear. “It gave me confidence,” she said.
He told me: ‘Your quality of life depends on your weight loss.’
SAID Debby Rose
Later, she went to the doctor because she suffered so much from arthritis in her knees. She needed knee replacement surgery and she needed to lose weight. “He told me, ‘Your quality of life depends on your weight loss,'” she said. She took that advice to heart and started making changes.
Aims for slow and steady progress
“I’m a slow loser,” she said. “I strongly believe that the way you lose weight is what you have to do for the rest of your life, otherwise you’ll just gain it back. It has to be a lifestyle,” she said. small, short-term goals “I try to gain 10 pounds at a time, and it usually takes me two to three months to get off those 10 pounds. I have that as a mindset, and then I try to come down another 10.”
She calls the day she hit “Onederland” — falling into a weight that starts with a “1” on the scale — a big moment. She still remembers when that was: August 24, 2021. She currently weighs 186 pounds and her short-term goal is to reach 170. Long-term, she would like to weigh 155-160.
She follows the 80/20 diet and practices intermittent fasting
“I’ve tried every diet, and they don’t work for me,” she said. “So I try to follow the 80/20 rule. I eat healthy 80% of the time and 20% whatever I want. I can have it all – I just can’t have it all at once. It works for me. I don’t feel deprived, and it’s just a way of life now.
The foods she includes in the 20% are things like pasta and potato chips. “I don’t keep potato chips at home because those are my trigger foods. If I want fries, I go to the store, buy a small package, take them home and eat them. I don’t feel guilty,” she said.
In January 2020, she decided to try intermittent fasting. She has black coffee in the morning and eats a protein salad around 11 a.m., depending on how hungry she is. She usually cooks something in the air fryer for dinner and stops eating at 7 p.m.
“I have to eat two meals a day or I won’t get my nutrition, and I try to get between 1200 and 1500 calories a day,” she said. She keeps an eye on her macros, but she doesn’t care. She simply uses them to guide her towards healthier choices. Because she had gastric bypass surgery, she doesn’t have to worry about portion control. “I can only eat a small amount, otherwise I will get sick,” she said.
She exercises with her new knees
Rose had her first knee replacement in June 2021, and as part of the preparation, her doctor gave her a series of exercises. “I started doing that, and after doing my first knee, I was so much stronger. I added yoga. The walk was still a bit difficult because of the other knee,” he said. she said “I used to walk all the time when I was younger and I loved it, but it’s hard to walk when you’re hunched over on a walker or on a scooter.”
She had her second knee replaced about a year after her first, and now she walks 6,000 to 9,000 steps a day. When it’s too hot to walk in her neighborhood of Vancouver, Washington, she and her husband walk to the mall so she can take her steps. She also challenged herself to lie down and step back twice a day for 30 days. . She does squats, strength training with resistance bands and rides her recumbent trike.
She also recently joined the Start TODAY Facebook group and enjoys sharing her successes and connecting with others for motivation and support.
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