EP116: Angela's Transformation: From Dieting Cycles to Sustainable Health

In this episode of the Weight Loss Warrior podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Angela, a remarkable woman from Birmingham, UK, who has experienced a profound transformation in her health and mindset. Angela shares her journey from a lifetime of dieting and weight loss programs to finally finding a sustainable approach that not only helped her lose weight but also improved her overall health and well-being.

The episode begins with Angela introducing herself and reflecting on her lifelong struggle with weight. She described how she has always been overweight, from being a chubby baby to an overweight adult. Growing up in a Caribbean household, Angela developed a deep love for the rich and flavorful foods of her culture, which included a lot of starchy and fried foods. This cultural influence, combined with the constant negative feedback she received about her weight from family, teachers, and the medical profession, led to a complicated relationship with food.

Angela shared that she began rebelling with food at a young age, using it as a form of control when she felt powerless in other areas of her life. This behavior continued into adulthood, where she found herself in a cycle of joining various weight loss programs, losing some weight, and then gaining it all back. Despite trying numerous diets and programs over the years, including Weight Watchers, Slimming World, and Keto, Angela’s weight continued to increase, and she developed several serious health conditions, including lupus, type 2 diabetes, and fibromyalgia.

The turning point for Angela came at Christmas 2019, when she found herself unable to get out of the sofa due to her weight and health issues. Realizing something had to change, she decided to give Weight Watchers one final try in January 2020. While she did lose weight, she found the focus on tracking and the scales to be restrictive and unsustainable.

In August 2022, Angela had an epiphany: she realized that her cultural foods were missing from her diet, and the constant tracking was not working for her. She decided to put away the scales and stop obsessing over numbers. Instead, Angela focused on healthy habits, portion control using her hands as a guide, and enjoying her food by cooking whole foods from scratch. This shift in mindset, from focusing on weight loss to improving her health, was transformative. Over time, she lost 130 pounds and improved her overall health, all while enjoying her cultural foods without guilt.

Angela emphasized the importance of self-belief, changing the narrative in her head from negative to positive, and learning to trust herself and her body. She now focuses on eating for health rather than just weight loss and has developed a sustainable lifestyle that allows her to enjoy food while maintaining her health.

You can follow Angela to learn more about her journey here:

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