My dentist told me they couldn’t remove a tooth because of my weight. It was the wake-up call I needed to lose 100 pounds.
Carol Evans before and after her 100-pound weight loss.
My husband, John, sat in the hospital waiting room waiting to drive me home after I’d had dental surgery under sedation.
He looked confused when I returned to the reception so soon after meeting with the oral surgeon before my tooth extraction. “What happened?” he asked.
I was so mortified I could barely answer. The assistant had recorded my height and weight before the procedure. The doctor told me that my BMI — at 5 feet, 5 inches tall, I weighed 231 pounds — was too high for me to go under the anesthetic safely.
She said that I needed to re-book my appointment for around three months after losing 14 to 20 pounds.
I’m a successful woman who runs my own business growth strategy company. But at that moment in May 2019, I felt totally ashamed.
While it was upsetting and embarrassing, I knew I had to do something about it.
I followed the surgeon’s advice and rescheduled the surgery for September. Then I sprung into action, improving my health and losing weight through sensible diet and exercise.
My weight had slowly crept up on me over the years. I had worked a high-pressure job as the director of a hospital and was on call 24/7. I actually needed my tooth removed due to grinding my teeth at night because of the stress.
It was a wake-up call
Food was a comfort. I’d snack on anything crunchy or chewy, like cookies and bars of chocolate. As for meals, my plate would be laden with pasta and potatoes. Another weakness was bread.
I didn’t exercise, apart from walking the dogs. I told myself that it didn’t matter because I could hide my size 18 body behind a computer all day.
But after my wake-up call, I followed Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day Shred workout plan. I walked more, reduced calories, and stopped snacking.
I lost around 16 pounds ahead of the surgery that September. But, even then, I felt nervous about the sedation. They were very nice, but I could hear the medical team shouting, “Breathe, Carol, breathe,” when I came out of the anesthetic. It sounded urgent — as if they were concerned that I couldn’t do it on my own.
Evans is now at her optimum weight.
The fear helped me stick to my guns. I doubled down on my efforts to lose weight. I did intermittent fasting — only eating between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. — and dropped nearly all carbohydrates four days a week.
After a while, I found that two high-protein, high-fat meals kept me full all day. I’d make dishes such as chicken thighs with sauteed vegetables and cream. They were delicious and satisfying.
I exercised by taking 10,000 steps a day and going to the gym two to four times a week, mostly for strength training.
People started noticing and encouraging me. I became more enthusiastic as the weight came off. To my delight, I went past a size 12 and a size 8 and settled at a size 6. By mid-September 2021, a year after the surgery, I’d lost 100 pounds.
It felt fantastic. I no longer had to take medication for reflux esophagitis, which I’d had on repeat prescription for many years.
I regained some of the weight and lost it again
I kept up the regimen for nearly two years. Then, in July 2023, I spent five weeks on a solo vacation in southern France. I’d had a stressful few months at work, got complacent, and found it hard to resist the food.
Soon, I started eating an excess of foods like French bread and custard slices, and my old habits came back. In March this year, I was beginning to burst out of a size 8. I’d put on over 20 pounds. “Hold on a sec, Carol,” I thought. “It’s time to get back to the plan.”
I now weigh 138 pounds — to be honest, when I see photos, I think my face looked a bit drawn when I was eight pounds lighter — and my body feels just right. I’m at goal, comfortable in my skin.
I’m not a killjoy when it comes to living my life. I still go out for dinner and drink cocktails. I eat cake. I don’t deny myself anything, but I’m much more mindful about taking care of myself.
