by Caitlin H,
Jul 25, 2022
Name: Michelle Wright
Age: 37
Occupation: Nurse
Meal Plan: Balance-D
Favorite Meal: Greek Burrito Breakfast
Start-date: November 2021
Starting weight: 266
Height: 5’5”
Pounds Lost: 30
Activity Level: Cardio drumming one day a week
When I get a craving, my go-to trick is: I just bought a Circle Water Bottle with flavorings, so that’s become my new sweet tooth treat. My salty treat is pork rinds.
My favorite app for tracking weight loss is: myFitnessPal
Working as a nurse at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic had no shortage of challenges. Just ask 37-year-old Michelle, who started her career as a nurse in 2017 and worked in labor and delivery and the emergency room.
“I was working insane hours,” Michelle said. “I’d work overnights and never had time to eat healthy.”
Michelle, who lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said between the influx of patients and long shifts at the hospital, the only thing she had time to eat was junk food. Her weight started to balloon upwards, something she’d always struggled with after being diagnosed with hypothyroidism when she was 16.
“I have always struggled with having the energy to do things with weight loss,” Michelle said. “I went on Weight Watchers when I was 16. But, as time went on, you learn ways to cheat. This has been 20 years now that I’ve been up and down.”
Michelle, at 5’5” tall, said the turning point for her was mid-November 2021.
“I stepped on the scale, and that was it,” she said. “I told myself, ‘No more bouncing up and down with the scale.’”
Michelle’s A1-C was also elevated, and the doctor diagnosed her with type 2 diabetes.
“The day after I got my lab results, I decided it was time to get serious,” she said.
Michelle did a significant amount of online research to find the best healthy food service, and said Diet-to-Go outshined all the others.
“I wanted something convenient with food I would actually eat,” she said. “I don’t want to have to go home and worry about cooking. The convenience factor was big for me. And the photos looked amazing; they made me want to eat this food.”
Michelle made her first order using Diet-to-Go’s easy online portal and was not disappointed after the box showed up at her doorstep.
“I unpackaged everything and got it all in fridge,” she said. “I was Snapchatting photos of my meals and sending them to my friends because they looked as good in person as they did online. I was making my friends jealous!”
Michelle added that the quality and taste of the food made it easy to stick with. She lost 30 pounds and within three months, her A1-C levels returned to pre-diabetes levels.
Michelle’s also blessed to have a huge support system that includes her coworkers, mom and sister, who is also on the Diet-to-Go program.
“They tell me, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing. Don’t eat that junk food,’” Michelle said. “It’s so important to have that support.”
Michelle added that Diet-to-Go has made it easy for her to stay on-track and achieve such an incredible level of success in her weight loss — a moment that was exemplified during a recent ER visit with her former coworkers.
“I was just wearing sweat pants and a t-shirt, and an old co-worker commented, “Oh my, Miss Skinny, where are you going?’” Michelle said. “People who I wouldn’t have expected to compliment me have been some of my biggest supporters. It feels so good because you can have people who know you’re on a diet saying things…but when it’s actually someone who doesn’t know saying it…it was validation for everything I’ve been doing.”
Michelle said learning about portion control and the fact that she fills up so much more easily now will easily help her reach her long-term goal weight of 180 pounds.
“I’m learning to listen to my body when it’s full rather than keep eating just it’s because it’s in front of me,” she said. “Ultimately, my favorite thing [about Diet-to-Go] is the convenience. I also love that you ask for feedback…and make changes to the menu items accordingly. Things are always changing, and that’s always nice. Plus, the five-week menu cycle means you’re not eating the same thing week after week, and you can make substitutes or stop and start on vacation.”
————————————————————————————
Author: Caitlin H
Diet-to-Go Community Manager
Caitlin is the Diet-to-Go community manager and an avid runner. She is passionate about engaging with others online and maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle. She believes moderation is key, and people will have the most weight loss success if they engage in common-sense healthy eating and fitness.
