Happy Birthday to the Doctor that WAS fat.

I was always an athletic and happy little girl. Unfortunately, a series of events changed some of the ways I processed grief and sadness. Consuming food became a way of self-soothing, and I vividly remember weighing in at 125lbs in sixth grade.

Throughout my teenage years, I continued to play soccer, softball, and ride horses. I continued to consume food for comfort, and when I started college, I was almost 200 lbs. Then I endured 13 years of advanced schooling and training where I did a poor job caring for myself. When I arrived in Napa in 2012, I was over 275lbs.

When you are overweight, you do not need people to let you know. You are reminded every second of the day. Moving in basic ways can be a challenge. Fitting in chairs or plane seats is uncomfortable. Every mirror is an enemy. Clothing never looks right. Hygiene can become physically limited. Pain can affect our ability to move. Then, we suddenly become a victim of our circumstances. “If only my pain were better controlled, I could lose weight.” “If only I could exercise more, I could lose weight.”

As a physician, I was also equally the recipient of the “all your medical issues would improve if you lost weight” kind of rhetoric that also made it hard to stay motivated. One day, I went to Brazil for a family member’s event, and my uncle told me I was fat, as if I was not the one living in that body. But I guess it was really what I needed someone to say to me. Even though his delivery was wanting, it immediately changed my life. I returned back to California and made an appointment for a gastric sleeve consultation. I underwent that surgery in 2014. On the morning of that surgery, I tipped the scales at 281 lbs.

There is no magic fix. Weight loss is not the point of my story. My point is fitness. I wanted to be able to ride my horses better. I wanted to be able to get off the couch without hurting. Honestly? I have had a fracture or surgery on every limb of my body at LEAST once, as well as injured my back a few times. I can tell you after losing 150 lbs, I can move easily and participate in the things that I want to do with greater ease.

But again, the point of my story is not that I lost weight. It is that I started making small changes. I started doing pilates, I worked out with a personal trainer, I hiked a 20 km mountain in New Zealand, I kept pushing my boundaries.

I share this story with you because it is NOT TOO LATE TO START. First, I would love to introduce you to a story I found on the internet about a woman named Joan. When Joan was 70 years old, her daughter encouraged her to join her training program. Joan, through rigorous diet and exercise, is in the greatest shape of her life at 75! Through weight training! TRAIN WITH JOAN

Recently, another article came out in the Washington Post and other outlets about a man who began rowing in his 70s and in his 90s and now has the body composition of a 40-year-old. ARTICLE

So on the eve of my 43rd birthday, I ask you….What is really holding you back? Is it yourself? If you joined a gym for the new year, here are six exercises to make you stronger

If you need help on where to start? Ask me! Ask Kim! We are here to help you!

Please don’t assume that you cannot do it. Everyone can start. If I can do it, so can you.

Sending you all the love and light <3 Dr. Weisbein.