My husband is Herb Mason. Our story about coming together in our 40s is worth telling, but I’ll save it for another time. Herb has never seemed concerned about his weight or the nutritional value of food. Without guilt, he’d happily consume a steak and baked or mashed potatoes, or a cheeseburger and fries, cooked crispy. He enjoyed his daily 7-11 Big Gulp, with regular Pepsi, each day. Not one, but two. Within the past two years he also added a daily Starbucks Triple Venti Latte with two raw sugars. In the beginning of our relationship (2005 ish) he told me he didn’t really have a sweet tooth. I laughed out loud. 

During the Spring of 2020 COVID stay-at-home order, I literally went to the grocery store and bought WHATEVER I wanted. If I couldn’t decide between two options, I bought them both. Which Oreos? BOTH! I like to refer to this time as my Cheese-It diet. It was the perfect solution to hibernation. I don’t think Herb was as giddy as I was about the reckless abandon with which I bought food, but this didn’t stop him from eating more than he might have normally.

In June of 2020, I emerged from the COVID cocoon for the first time, to meet a friend for lunch outside. To my horror, absolutely none of my clothes fit. I went on a keto diet immediately, but this is also a topic for another time. My weight-loss journey is nearly as old as I am. 

Two months into my diet, a friend of ours, Davis Jaspers, founder of Vitalife Weight Loss program, asked for volunteers to be interviewed for a staff training video he was producing. Herb and I were perfect for the project, as neither of us had been presented with the Vitalife program before. I’d seen many people get great results from Vitalife but I’d never investigated it for myself.

As a part of our participation in Davis’ Vitalife training video, we weighed in on a smart scale that gave us tons of great information. For example, Herb’s weight was 199.9 (Woot! Made it under 200!) and his metabolic age was 78. Ouch. Herb will be 60 in December. After the training video, and two months on Keto, I opted into the Vitalife weight loss program. Herb did not. 

In preparation for the program, Herb and I laughed about the things I’d need to give up. How “absurd” it would be for me to give up my cocktails. Afterall, vodka has no carbs, and I lost plenty of weight on keto, while still enjoying alcohol. And as long as we were laughing about my unhealthy choices, I outed Herb for his 2-Big-Gulp-A-Day habit. There are more carbs in a single Big Gulp than I ate all day on keto. Davis remarked that if all Herb did was give up the Big Gulps he would lose weight, improve his health, reduce the brain fog associated with excessive sugar among many other health benefits. I think Davis was the millionth person to tell Herb how toxic his soda habit was. 

Big changes come from small but consistent efforts. It didn’t take Herb long to come up with a plan he could live with. He decided he would cut back on soda little-by-little each week, the goal being to eliminate it altogether. First, he’d get down to one Big Gulp per day. Next, no Big Gulps and eventually just an occasional Pepsi as a special treat.

As Davis promised, Herb did start to lose weight. I’d begun tracking my food intake, along with others, trying to get UNSTUCK from our COVID gains. Soon Herb was tracking his food too, at first just out of curiosity. A cheeseburger is how many calories? Wait! What happens if I eliminate the bun? Wow…250 calories! Mind blowing.

Next came exercise. Herb wondered, “what if I add that in and track it?” So he dusted off his Fitbit and learned, the more he exercised, the more he could eat and still lose weight. Plus, with less brain fog due less sugar, he had WAY more energy to exercise. His first goal was getting in 10,000-steps per day. Then came the elliptical, followed by virtual yoga sessions with Sakhaya Yoga, each week.

Today, Herb has lost 30-pounds! He wears a size 33 pant, a size medium shirt and his metabolic age dropped from 78 to 59! His journey to getting UNSTUCK started with a desire to be more healthy, as he entered into his 60s, by eliminating his daily Big Gulp habit. As a result of setting attainable goals, and having me as his accountability partner, Herb gained the momentum he needed to keep pushing for more results. He entered his 60s in the best shape of his life. He got UNSTUCK and Imagined his Life’s Possibilities.