Nest Mom Loses 58 Pounds With Walking, Food Tracking

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When Lori Jerisha's two children both headed off to college in fall 2023, she decided it was time to focus on herself and her health. Over the years, she hadn't been exercising, her weight had climbed to more than 210 pounds and her fitness level had dropped. She wasn't happy with the way she looked or felt. "I knew I needed to make a complete change in lifestyle," she tells TODAY.com.

"When my daughter and I went to the Taylor Swift concert in Chicago in July of last year, I needed a break when I was walking from the parking lot to the stadium and up the stairs. I got so tired of asking her to wait for me," she says.

"Another time, we went to Denver for a family vacation. Six of us went to the Red Rock Amphitheater and I was the only one saying, 'Can you just wait?' I was only 40-something years old. I had to be able to walk."

Along with her struggles walking, her cholesterol and blood pressure were high, she had acid reflux and she needed a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for sleep apnea . "My health was really starting to creep up on me," she says.

Seeing photos of herself in summer 2023 also pushed Jerisha to improve her health. "I went to my cousin's wedding, and I saw how big I looked next to all of my cousins. And then I went to a family function at my daughter's college, and I couldn't fit into a T-shirt from her school. Nothing fit me well," she says.

Jerisha, now 47, chalked her weight gain and health issues up to her inactive lifestyle. Earlier in her career as a nurse, she had walked a lot. In her 30s, that changed: "I went from moving around to sitting in front of a computer, typing and using digital electronic records."

For the last 12 years, she's worked from home as a nurse for an insurance company. "So, same thing. I'm tied to my desk. I don't get up," she says.

She started walking regularly in fall 2023 and tweaked her diet. In less than a year, she lost 58 pounds: "I know I'm still considered overweight, but if I stay where I'm at, I'm happy."

It's the improvements in her physical fitness that have made the biggest impact on her life: "My energy has increased. I can walk up the stairs without being short of breath, and carrying the laundry baskets is not a problem," she says.

Her health markers have improved, too. She no longer needs blood pressure or acid reflux medication, and she was able to avoid starting cholesterol medication . "My last goal is to get off my CPAP," she says.

Plus, she's enjoyed building her new wardrobe. She says, "I don't have to shop in the plus section anymore, and it's fun to buy dresses, skirts and clothes that show my arms. I can shop at the same stores as my daughter."

Walking jumpstarted her weight loss Jerisha had never been a fan of exercise. "I've definitely tried to exercise in the past, but I didn't like sweating or having to go to a gym and sit stationary and do something. I don't know how to swim, so that was out. I don't like lifting weights . I don't like running , but I always enjoyed walking, I just never really took the time to do it for myself," she says.

When her husband, Tony, told her she couldn't lose weight just by walking , she said, "'Watch me.' I used to just walk around the block. Now I get up to three miles in, two to six times a week. I make a playlist , I put one earbud in so I can still hear what's behind me, and I go," she says.

Her husband joins her on some of her walks, and he has lost 25 pounds by walking and changing some of his eating habits along with her. He agrees that walking is what made the difference.

Small diet changes like less snacking and tracking food added up With her kids out of the house, Jerisha wasn't finishing their leftovers anymore. She and her husband cut back on restaurant meals and ate at home more often. "I made little changes that piled up and it really worked out well," she says.

She uses MyNetDiary to keep track of her food. If she wants to eat something like a small candy bar, she can see how it will impact her day.

She took the food out of her office so she wouldn't be tempted to grab it to eat when she was working.

She started making changes like removing the sour cream and cheese from her Chipotle order: "It doesn't taste any different," she says.

She has tried vegetables, like Brussel sprouts , that she never thought she would eat: "They're not as bad as I thought."

She aims to have at least one meatless meal a week.

She's started reaching for single-serving Greek yogurt with crunchy add-ins instead of ice cream: "That satisfies my sweet tooth, and it's portion control," she says.

She and her husband pre-make meals and grill extra chicken to add to salads or to make grilled chicken wraps.

She cut out cheese and mayonnaise and eats more whole wheat.

"Those were the things that I really tried to start on," she says. "It's minor things and little changes. You don't miss them."