My name is Jeanne DeClue (@ finessecurves314), and I’m 32. I live in St. Louis. Louis, Missouri, and is a professional copywriter. After struggling with my weight for years, I started following a keto diet, then switched to a plant-based diet and started taking the paddle to lose about 55 pounds during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first time I noticed that my weight started to rise towards the end of high school. I was used to doing sports and being active, but my life got a little more sedentary after I finished. My weight continued to increase during most of my adulthood – so much so that my doctors suggested that I undergo weight loss surgery.
But I decided against it. I was very scared to go under the knife because I had never had it before, so I was more interested in losing weight through diet and exercise. Still, it took me a while to adjust my diet and routine.
Only with the pandemic did I seriously commit to losing weight.
When the COVID-19 pandemic started in March last year, I switched jobs. At the time, I really wanted to feel at my best, so I started focusing more on my health. As I learned more about the new coronavirus, I also became afraid of what it means to be considered a high risk, and therefore I had a greater pressure to get healthier immediately, which means I became more aware was of my weight.
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First, I signed up with the keto diet and recorded with MyFitnessPal what I was eating.
I used the app for help keeping track of my calories and macros. I tried to stay within my calorie range by not eating more than 50 grams of carbohydrates a day. I will do this through low-carb shakes in the morning, salads for lunch and a protein-heavy meal for dinner. I did it from late March to June. I quickly dropped 25 pounds, and it felt really good to reach this milestone.
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I saw weight loss as a win, but soon after that I did not feel so good with the keto diet, so I stopped counting macros and switched to a plant diet. Although I noticed that the weight did not drop as easily, I had a lot more energy and I felt healthier.
I still eat cheese and occasionally have what is considered junk food, but the way I eat looks very different than before. I keep an eye on everything I eat to make sure I have a calorie deficit.
This is what I eat one day.
- Breakfast: Smoothie Shred green juice
- Afternoon snack: Fruits or nuts
- Lunch: A salad
- Dinner: A kind of vegetable bowl or zoodles; sometimes I add cheese or shrimp, but I really try to limit animal products
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I also learned a lot about rowing as fitness, and it really helped me to live a more active lifestyle.
My fitness routine started in August 2020 when I met Row House Chesterfield. After sitting for some time, it was very intimidating for me. When Row House Chesterfield reached out to me to try a class, I was really nervous and almost did not go. But during my first class, I felt a lot of empowerment and amazement at how I like it. It is not about who performs best, but about doing your personal best.
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Certain sections of the class also focused on working together as a unit to achieve targets, which was pretty cool. I also found it to be very relaxing and to some extent a trance with the neon lights and the rhythm of the rowing motion. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I could do something and not feel pushed out or completely bent out of shape afterwards. It’s a full body workout, but it’s also a low impact, which was perfect for me, since I did not work out for years.
Now rowing is my exercise. I row a few times a week. I like it because you can track your personal stats (split, distance rowing) and see how it improves over time, which gives me motivation to keep improving. It feels so good to get new PRs.
Since November 2020, I have also been doing dance aerobics and strength training. The dance aerobics are also fun because it pushes me in a different way than rowing does. I do not have a set schedule, but I try to row twice a week and I also try to go to a dance aerobics class every week.
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By adjusting my eating style and starting a fitness journey, I helped lose 55 pounds.
I started at 420 pounds and currently 365 pounds. I think the biggest thing that really helped with my weight loss is limiting my calorie intake for breakfast and lunch, which allows me to have some wrapping space for dinner. I know you hear that you need to eat more calories at the beginning of the day, but that’s what really works for me. I think it also helped change the types of snacks I eat. Now I try to achieve fruit instead of the fat-heavy snacks that I would enjoy while I was on the keto diet.
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The other most important thing is that I have learned to be consistent. Only when I saw how my lifestyle was changing, even though I messed it up, did I actually start to see results. I learned that bad days are inevitable, but that you just have to keep pushing.
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