Judy is in her early 60s.  When I first met her as a client close to eight years ago, she was carrying about 45 extra pounds.  The excess weight bothered her – she did not like the way she looked, and she had a knee issue that was diagnosed as early osteoarthritis.  Her cholesterol profile was not picture perfect by any means, and her blood pressure was elevated.  When I asked Judy which of these issues bothered her the most, she told me, “I hate the way I look and I really hate the fact that I know if I weighed less my knee would hurt less.”

Yes, I agreed that if she lost some of the excess weight, she would certainly feel better about her appearance.  I also echoed the reality, that if she had less weight bearing down on her knee, she would indeed probably have less pain and a better quality of life.  Judy did not want to address her diet in any meaningful way.  She did not want to talk about emotional eating nor did she want to keep a food journal.  She just wanted to start exercising.  She felt that she could commit to that one habit change and so we embarked on a relationship that involved me slowly introducing her to gentle movement first and then full on weight training, with free weights and specific weight machines, as well as a program of flexibility movements.  Judy did aerobic training on her own (two days a week of brisk walking) and we trained together for an hour, 3 days a week.  The payoff was slow but steady with her physique developing a more toned look, and biceps beginning to peek out.  Her knee pain began to improve and she began to feel stronger.  I continued to bring up her diet, periodically, with suggestions here and there, but there was still a great deal of resistance. 

January 1^st of our fourth year together, I showed up at her home with some garbage bags and when she opened the door I simply said, “If you want to really lose the weight, improve your health and target the ongoing knee pain, then we need to tackle your diet.”  The intervention worked, and 2 hours later, much of the highly processed food in the pantry and refrigerator had been tossed or donated.  We spent an hour food shopping together and discussing food groups, nutrition labels, fiber and protein, and returned to her home to prep and organize a menu for the week.  It took Judy about 7 months to lose the weight and to really embrace a whole new way of nourishing her body.  Of course, once the “extra 45” as we called it was gone, those muscles she’d been developing for four years were fully exposed.  Her knee pain was intermittent and her quality of life was vastly improved.  We have continued the relationship, off and on as needed.  My role as a personal trainer, nutritionist and health coach, serves to support Judy and to re-tool her diet and workouts, so she can continue to maintain her weight, her health, and her significantly improved mobility.  To date, her osteoarthritis occasionally acts up, and Judy realizes that she may still require more serious therapeutic measures.  For now, Judy’s weight, diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids from nuts, seeds and fish and antioxidants from fruits and vegetables, as well as her fitness regimen, are helping to slow the osteoarthritis progression and pain.