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'I Never Thought I Couldn't Do It'

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 11, 2007

Toni Martin, 57, Tampa

Height: 5-foot-2

Starting weight: 210

Current weight: 124

Why I did it: For more than 20 years, I weighed more than 200 pounds. I was never motivated to change my eating habits until my daughter was diagnosed with end-stage renal disease.

Sitting in the nephrology office with her, seeing how sick she was, I suggested I give her a kidney. The doctor said there was no way I could even be considered as a living donor because I was so overweight.

That day, Sept. 1, 2006, I decided to lose the weight.

How I did it: At work I noticed that the few people who'd had success in losing weight followed a low-carb diet. I didn't think I'd do well on a regimented diet, so I developed my own low-carb version.

I counted calories at first, and tried to stick to 1,500 per day. I still try to watch that, but I'm in such a pattern and routine now that I don't have to count.

I was a Coca-Cola drinker. It was the only thing I drank — and it was the first thing I cut out. Diet sodas weren't to my liking, but then I found Crystal Light. Once I got past the caffeine withdrawal, I found that Crystal Light was my new best friend.

Next I cut out all breads, buns, rolls, doughnuts, muffins, french fries, potatoes and potato chips. I stopped eating fried foods, choosing instead braised steak or oven-baked shrimp and fish for dinner. Steamed vegetables completed my evening meal.

But the biggest challenge was during the work hours. As a programmer analyst, my job is relatively sedentary. I found that snacking had become a bad habit; the vending machine was a place to avoid. For breakfast I'd have a Nutri-Grain bar and for lunch a low-calorie Lean Cuisine.

Mainly the only exercise I got is walking my dog. The more weight I lost, the more I did things outdoors, like working in the garden.

Hurdles: I always felt hungry. Always! But I remembered reading once that unless you feel hungry, you're not losing weight. I weighed myself every morning at the same time, but I didn't make any judgments or adjust my diet on a daily basis. I'd look at my overall progress weekly and then make changes accordingly.

I found that changing my eating schedule played a big role in weight loss. I never ate after 7:30 p.m. and found I was most successful when I kept to a specific breakfast, lunch and dinner time.

There were times that I plateaued at the beginning. I remember I'd lose two pounds and all of a sudden put one back on, and it would go like that back and forth.

I just kept adjusting what I was eating until I came up with shrimp, fish and steak. I love my lunches the way they are. I love the Lean Cuisines.

Going the distance: I didn't have a set number of pounds I was aiming to lose. It wasn't until I lost 40 pounds that my friends and work associates even noticed. My boss thought the difference was a new hairstyle. That's some hairstylist. My neighbors thought I lost the weight walking the dog. That's a lot of miles.

I'm in the maintenance phase now. I went from a size 24 to a size 4.

My biggest disappointment came when I'd finally lost enough weight to get tested to become a kidney donor and found out that I'm not a match for my daughter. But I'm not going to let that keep me from maintaining my weight. I feel it's been a gift she's given me; I'm in better health, and she's probably given me a longer life.

Best advice: Don't let friends, co-workers or even family tempt you ("Just this once, one won't hurt"). It's a 24-7, lifetime commitment, but it's worth every dropped pound.

I think you just have to say to yourself each day, "I can do this." For years I never tried, but once I decided I was going to do it, I never thought I couldn't do it.

When you start seeing results, that makes it a little bit easier.

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