My Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Journey (45 lbs down)
By Bill Bradley, R.D.
Updated October 21, 2021
For those of you who don’t know me: My name is Bill Bradley, I am the owner of Mediterranean Living and I’m a Registered Dietitian. I am on a weight loss journey. I am also a new father. My wife Christine and I recently moved out to the country (I was still moving stuff in to our new house just a few days before Sophia was born). It has been a crazy, hectic time with a lot of support from friends and family. Being a new dad has changed me in many ways. I feel much more serious about my business, for example, but even more importantly, I feel motivated to be healthier. Being an older dad (I’m now 56), I want to be as healthy as I can for Sophia and also for me, (and for Christine).
About 10 years ago, my mom, who was very overweight her whole life, passed away. She had colon cancer and she never went to the doctor until it was too late. She had lost over 100 pounds in a year and she was thrilled about it. She had, at times, weighed over 300 pounds and to lose so much weight felt to her like a great achievement. Unfortunately, it was the cancer that got her there and sadly, she left us much too early.
After my mom died, I started overeating. One meal in particular stands out in my memory. My extended family and I were all at an Indian restaurant and I ordered a full meal and then started eating everyone else’s leftovers. I was stuffing my grief. Even before my mom died, I was struggling with my weight, but after she died I gained 20 more pounds and was the heaviest I had ever been in my life (256 pounds when I got married a year later). We lived on the second floor of our two family home and I had a hard time walking up the stairs. My knees would hurt and I was literally out of breath. I also was suffering from horrible acid reflux and felt sick most of the time. Honestly, I wasn’t really eating the Mediterranean Diet most of the time. I was a very unhealthy dietitian.
Things changed over time. I started dealing with my grief and worked at eating healthier, beginning my weight loss journey. I also did a 120 day hiking challenge, got more into exercise, and over a few years I lost 40 pounds (weighing in at 215 pounds). I still had some weight to lose, but I was mostly happy where I was so I didn’t work very hard at it. I kept all the weight off that I had lost for many years and generally was ok where I was.
And then Sophia was born. So much changed in our lives (including our new home and new baby) and suddenly I wasn’t getting much exercise and everyone was bringing us food and there was a lot of stress and you guessed it, I started gaining weight again. My weight loss journey was at a crossroads. We were so happy about our new baby girl, but our lives were thrown into a new kind of turmoil, and just like that, I gained 7 pounds. But there is something about having a baby that has changed me. I want to be there for her as long as I can, and I don’t want my weight to ever be an issue again. I have a new motivation and I have a knowing that I will reach my goal of 192 pounds.
Ironically, I had already been working on an online Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Program for all of you (which I had originally created for myself) so I decided to put myself on the program. I was already eating the food because I was trying it all out as I created recipes and meal plans. I was enjoying what I was eating so much and was starting to naturally lose weight. I also realized that in order to get to my goal weight I was going to need to change some of my habits. Here are the changes I have made so far.
- Move every day.
- Don’t eat two meals in a sitting.
- Eat a piece of fruit for dessert.
- Eat Mediterranean.
- Eat Fat.
- Meditate.
- Eat fermented foods.
- Keep track of what I am eating.
- Eat lots of Vegetables.
- Stay hydrated.
I am going to talk about all of these in more depth in future posts. I will be sharing the rest of my weight loss journey with you over the next few months.
Changing habits isn’t always easy and I won’t say that every moment has been magical, but here are a few results from the last two months:
- As of this morning, I weighed 210.8 pounds.
- I bought a new belt a month ago. I’m on the last belt loop. I will need another new belt soon.
- My wife says I look younger.
- Two months ago, I could barely make it up the hill by our house without stopping. Now, when I am walking, I have a new found energy and I have the urge to run.
- I just feel different, more in my body, more alive.
This way of being is liberating. The food is delicious, the new habits feel good and the changes are happening.
This was very helpful. I’m 34 and have a congenital disease called spina bifida. Recently I was put in a wheelchair due to the progression of spine degeneration and I’m so terrified of gaining more weight. This seems like a way to really be able to adapt and make progress towards success. Thank you for sharing this!
Bill I have your book Foods of Crete but would like to get your other book The Mediterranean diet of crete in book form. Can you help me find this? Thank you
Just so you know, the e-book is the same book. it is just with photos.
You can purchase it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Mediterranean-Diet-Crete-Traditional-Healthiest-ebook/dp/B07MKPCSZJ
Bill
Mr. Bradley:
Congratulations on your new daughter along with your new lease on life. I too due to a recent health crisis have been trying to lose weight as well as eat healthier. I am a registered nurse who would really like to get into the nutrition field. I however am 59 and do not really want to spend another 4 years in school . I have been doing a ton of research on the Mediterranean diet as well as some other heart friendly diets. I find the Mediterranean for more successful as well as yummy. Do you have any suggestions as far as a career in nutrition. I would appreciate your opinion.
Email me and I can go over some possibilities.
billbradley@mediterraneanliving.com
Thank you for your honesty and for sharing, Bill. I, for one, am trying hard not to keep concentrating on weight loss. (Only 3 pounds since onset). Because other diets have had me losing more quickly, I continued to question whether this really is a weight loss way of eating as well as a very healthy way of eating. But…as you shared in your experience, the actual number in pounds might not be evident but I do feel better….and less bloated. I also know I am doing my body good as I continue to make these delicious recipes with a lot more fresh veggies and less meat than what I was consuming before. I am in it for the long haul! You had mentioned to perhaps tweak your original goals….and I had put lose 15 pounds at the top of my list on Week 1. I now know the weight loss is going to be a lot slower but as long as its coming off, I would imagine that should suffice! And again, there is no dispute in knowing we’re doing our bodies good! Once the program is over for your 1st group, I take it we will be able to continue our communications and recipe sharing on the face book page, right?
Hi Gayle,
Congratulations on your success so far! yes, sometimes, it is slower then we might think, but it is so important to feel good as you are losing weight. And yes, you will have continued access to the facebook group and the resources after the program is complete.