Woman who lost 105 pounds shares two things that made healthy eating and regular exercise easier

• Megan Tjelle lost 55 pounds by walking and eating healthily on a calorie deficit.

• Tjelle then used Wegovy, an appetite suppressant medication to lose an additional 50 pounds.

• Tjelle, who suffers from PCOS, also got her regular periods back for the first time in years.

Megan Tjelle was tired of missing out on life.

As her weight increased during her twenties, she found herself refusing social activities because she felt self-conscious and also noticed that her health was suffering.

She skipped pool parties because she didn’t want to wear a swimsuit, got sweaty while curling her hair, and struggled to put on her socks.

Tjelle had been an athletic child growing up, but she began to gain weight as she became less active after joining nursing school.

“That, coupled with the stress of nursing school, I coped with by eating too much,” Tjelle, 29, of Chicago, told Business Insider.

While in school, Tjelle was diagnosed with PCOS, linked to irregular periods and weight gain, as well as plantar fasciitis, which can cause shooting pain around the heel and arch of the foot.

After graduating, things got worse. Tjelle had started a demanding career, and working night shifts as a nurse made it difficult to develop healthy eating and exercise habits.

“I was at the point where I didn’t even want to look at myself in photos. I didn’t want to be in photos,” she said.

Tjelle tried fad diets, but they only caused her weight to fluctuate, causing her to gain back what she had lost and more.

In October 2022, weighing 246 pounds, she decided enough was enough. Starting a new job with regular hours seemed like the perfect opportunity to commit to improving your health.

Tjelle stopped relying on takeout and started eating a balanced diet with a calorie deficit and gradually started moving more.

“This change had a huge impact on me, and I feel like it was the most important thing that started my weight loss journey, simply because it allowed me to finally have normal meal times, normal sleeping hours and getting eight hours of sleep a night,” she says.

Research shows that getting enough sleep is essential for weight loss, with one study finding that well-rested participants tended to eat around 270 fewer calories per day.

This shift also reflects the reality that the weight loss mantra “eat less and move more” – a mainstay of the $90 billion weight loss industry – is easier said than done if a person is not in the right circumstances.

In six months, through diet and walking alone, Tjelle lost 55 pounds and her health began to improve. Her plantar fasciitis, which she initially blamed on her job, subsided when she lost weight.

Then I lost another 50 pounds with the weight loss drug Wegovy and got regular periods again for the first time in years.

Although Wegovy and other drugs in the same class known as GLP-1 agonists have not been approved by the FDA for PCOS, some women have reported improvement in their symptoms with the drugs, including including the return of their periods. About half of American women with PCOS have obesity, so it’s a topic of interest to doctors.

Tjelle started small by simply walking

Tjelle wasn’t in the right frame of mind when she tried to lose weight in the past, she said.

“What was different this time was that I was completely fed up with it, and I knew it was sort of now or never, and that it was time to fully commit to this change,” a- she declared.

Tjelle wanted her new lifestyle to be sustainable, so she started small. She committed to going to the gym every day, but started by simply walking on the treadmill for half an hour.

She had heard about the “12-3-30” workout trend, which involves walking on a treadmill at a 12 percent incline, at three miles per hour, for 30 minutes. It was too difficult at first, so she started with a 2% incline and went up.

As Tjelle lost weight, she gained confidence and felt fitter thanks to her ability to exercise more.

“Looking back, it was really hard for me to get into the weight section,” she said. “I was so nervous, I was afraid everyone would look at me.”

Tjelle transitioned to resistance machines and running over time – she now runs a half marathon and can do pull-ups unassisted.

Tjelle swapped takeout for healthy prepared meals

When Tjelle gave up takeout, she turned to a local meal delivery service called Seattle Sutton, which provided her with three nutritionally balanced meals each day, putting her in a slight calorie deficit, necessary to fat loss.

It wasn’t cheap, but Tjelle said she spent so much on takeout that she thought she still saved money.

“I just wanted something that would make my job easier,” Tjelle said.

Tjelle also stopped eating late at night and started having black coffee with milk instead of the creamy and sugary versions.

“Cutting out sugary drinks has been huge for me,” she said. “I didn’t really realize how many calories I was consuming.”

It wasn’t easy developing new habits, but she was so determined to lose weight, gain confidence, and improve her health that she persevered.

“Food noise” saw her turn to Wegovy

But Tjelle still struggled with “food noise,” meaning she was always thinking about eating — a common complaint of people who turn to GPL-1 appetite suppressants.

“It’s very difficult to stick to a calorie deficit when you have almost uncontrollable cravings and the noise of food is constant in your head,” Tjelle said.

It was this voice in her head that made her worry that she wouldn’t be able to continue losing weight naturally, that she would stagnate and eventually gain the weight back. After all, research shows that people who lose weight have trouble keeping it off long-term.

Tjelle has heard that the weight loss drug Wegovy, which contains the same ingredient as Ozempic, tends to silence food noise and has been linked to reducing PCOS symptoms. Her doctor agreed that she should try it.

The sound of food disappeared immediately, Tjelle said.

She started on a low dose and increased slowly, and experienced nausea – a common side effect – during the first two months, which eased over time.

Even though her appetite decreased, she continued to eat healthy meals and made sure to consume enough protein to help her maintain muscle while losing fat. GLP-1 patients should eat healthily and exercise while taking these medications.

During the first six months of her weight loss journey, Tjelle’s rare and irregular periods became more frequent, and on Wegovy, they became regular.

People with PCOS may have insulin resistance, and GLP-1 may increase production and sensitivity to this hormone. Weight loss is also thought to help relieve symptoms such as irregular periods.

“When I started Wegovy, it was the first time in my life that I started having regular periods every month,” she said. “I used to go years without getting one.”

105 pounds lighter, Tjelle takes a Wegovy maintenance dose

Weighing 50 pounds and eight months off, Tjelle decided to switch to a maintenance dose of Wegovy. She still takes a weekly injection, but at a low dose, and plans to continue doing so for as long as her insurance covers it.

“I feel like a different person,” Tjelle said.

Tjelle no longer has meals delivered, but aims to eat the right amount to maintain her weight.

“I kept all the healthy habits,” she said. “I don’t count my calories, but I eat healthy most of the time. I still allow myself to eat different foods in moderation if I’m going out to dinner or if there’s dessert. So I don’t limit myself because I have done it in the past and I still want to enjoy life.”

People treat her differently now

Tjelle was shocked – and saddened – that people treated her better now that she was thinner.

“People are nicer to you when you’re in a smaller body,” she said. “I just feel like people are offering to do more things for me, holding the door, offering to carry things for me.”

This is a “thin privilege” that is often emphasized by people who are losing weight.

Tjelle also attracts more attention from men, including those who were previously uninterested.

“Guys I’ve gone on dates with in the past, when I was more overweight, have reached out to me again,” she said. “People who ghosted me or didn’t want to go on a second date, all of a sudden they’re trying to talk to me.”

But the main takeaway from Tjelle is that she’s more capable than she thought.

“I think I always knew I had it in me, but I never really believed in myself,” she said. “I can’t set limits for myself because I feel like now that I’ve lost these 100 pounds, I’m capable of accomplishing anything I set my mind to.”

She added: “I want to live to my full potential and be the healthiest and happiest I can be.”

Read the original article on Business Insider