I had been trying to lose weight for fifteen years, and nothing worked. I bought every piece of equipment and went on every new diet that came out, but I kept reverting back to the same unhealthy eating habits. My health was suffering, sleeping was difficult because I couldn’t breathe, so my doctors put me on a sleep apnea machine. My health challenges were my biggest motivator to change because I worried I wouldn’t be alive long enough to see my grandchildren grow up.
I knew weight loss was possible because I had heard so many success stories. But I couldn’t figure out the missing link as to why I kept failing. I had several friends who had hired a weight loss coach called Charles D’Angelo and lost weight. I was skeptical at first because I had endured so many years of failure, but I was desperate, so I decided to give him a try and I don’t regret it.
I had hired personal trainers before, but their focus was always on fitness and nutrition. While this worked for some time, I would eventually return to my old habits. I knew exactly what I needed to do, but I just couldn’t seem to do it. Charles introduced me to the missing link, and that was my mindset.
I had no idea that I was an emotional eater, I always had a difficult situation going on in my life, and I would use that as an excuse to comfort myself with food. I felt better when I ate greasy, unhealthy fast foods, and it became a vicious cycle for me. When I had my first meeting with Charles, I knew I was onto something because he didn’t ask me about my weight loss goals, but he asked me about my emotional state. He then began to explain the connection between food and my emotions, and it started making sense.
Before I hired Charles, I read about his weight loss journey, and because he had walked in my shoes, I knew he was the one to help me. I think many fitness coaches have never been overweight, they’ve been into fitness all their lives and never struggled with food addiction, so they don’t understand where people like us are coming from. But Charles was different. He was empathetic and could see things from my perspective. He became my accountability partner and didn’t only ask about how I was eating and my exercise regime, but he asked about my thought processes. How was I thinking about food, and what was I doing to steward my emotions so I didn’t turn to food? His body and mind strategy worked, which is why I’ve lost 160lbs since I hired him.
When I started losing weight, the most significant difference for me was my appreciation for movement. I got comfortable being overweight, I would just make things work, but my life wasn’t normal to the average person. I couldn’t walk up the stairs in my house without getting out of breath. And I couldn’t play with my grandchildren without weasing.
My life has changed tremendously since I lost weight, and this time around, I’ve managed to keep it off because I’m more self-aware. When things get tough, I don’t seek food as my comfort, I deal with the situation head-on, and that’s what keeps me from overeating.
