I hope you all have a best friend like mine. Lori Tanguay and I have been friends for over 35 years, and she is probably one of the kindest and most giving people I know. By day she is a pre-school teacher who takes great pride in her career. At home she has a wonderful husband Mike (Grizz) and she is the mother of two adult children, Jonathan and Ally. Like many women, over the years she inadvertently put others above herself and her health, and in turn, her health and weight got the best of her.
As a child, Tanguay said she was a picky eater; the only vegetable she would eat was corn (and corn may not even technically be a vegetable). As a teen, she was a runner so despite her diet, because she was active, she remained fit. While she did develop tastes for other vegetables as an adult, she has always loved sweets, diet (fountain) soda and any carbohydrate she “could get her hands on.” It really wasn’t until she got married and had her first child in 1996 that she began to gain weight.
“I kept very busy, but it was more for everyone else in my family. The baby weight from my first child hung on, along with that of my second,” she said. With work and family, before she knew it, it was 30 years later and she was 50 pounds overweight.
Over the years Tanguay’s weight fluctuated. She could lose weight but proclaimed she was “even better at gaining it.” She shared, “I never really learned how to maintain a good, healthy weight. It was always for the next event or stage in my life. A wedding was coming up, a graduation, or just that it was going to be summer. I could drop 50 pounds, but as soon as that event happened, before I knew it, I was looking at the daunting task of doing it all over again.”
“As it was approaching 2019, I was feeling tired, stressed and really unhealthy AGAIN. Many of my clothes didn’t fit AGAIN.”
As many of us do when the new year comes, we talk about going to the gym or starting a diet. Tanguay said, “Even after the first of the year, I wasn’t ready mentally. It took me a few weeks and a weekend trip away to get my head in the game.” This was her first step in what has turned into her year-long (and really lifelong) journey.
There was mental processing that had to go into the beginning of her new healthy journey. “It means putting my needs to the top of the list. You have to get mentally ready to shop and cook differently,” she said. And while it is good to eat healthy, she said it always seemed like a diet and not a lifestyle change.
After the first few months of 2019, the weight wasn’t “falling off” for her like it had in the past. Tanguay made an appointment with a nutritionist to review what she was eating and make recommendations. Her first reaction… tears.
“I felt like I was already giving up so much. However, waking up the next day, I knew she was right. I kept going forward; one hour, one day, one week at a time.” Instead of looking what you are giving up, Tanguay optimistically said, “look what you are gaining.”
She joined Weight Watchers (WW) many years ago. She found the program to be an asset in her weight loss journey. Tanguay appreciates the accountability of WW as it becomes a place for her to talk about weight loss, get healthy recipes and hear/support others in their journey.
Exercise has also become an important piece of her new lifestyle. First, Tanguay found a Zumba class at Studio Fit that she loves. Tanguay said, “Like the website says, it’s ‘exercise in disguise.’ ” She loves the dancing and movement of Zumba and she attends classes 3-4 times a week, even feeling disappointment when she has to miss a class. She uses her Apple watch to track her steps, exercise and activity as well; and having her children as “friends” helps them all motivate each other to reach goals.
Photo credit Tanguay FamilyOver the last year, Tanguay has spent time focusing on her health and incorporating more activity into her daily routine like a recent hike at Sugarloaf.
On her days off from Zumba, Tanguay has enjoyed a “new normal” with her husband Grizz. As empty nesters, they are spending more time together outdoors. “Thanks to the new Sebago trails in Gorham it makes it very convenient to grab our sneakers (hiking boots in the winter) and head over for a 3-4 mile walk,” she said. They have also started a new routine each Sunday during the summer by heading to Baxter Boulevard for the 3 1/2 mile trek. “It is two hours out of our day to drive in, walk and drive home. It is movement as well as spending time with my husband. In my book it is a win/win!”
Tanguay pointed out, “In the world we live in there are temptations all the time, our society centers around food. Whether it is a birthday party, showers, the holidays or even just the break-room at work; food is all around us.” One of the most difficult things when undertaking a healthier lifestyle, she said, is when people say things like, “Oh, you are being good today” or “What are you going to eat, salad?” She knows they mean well, but it can tend to make her feel bad for making a healthy choice.
Tanguay’s hard work over the past year has resulted in a weight loss of more than 70 pounds. She said this is the last weight loss journey for her; moving forward it is her lifestyle change. When people ask her how she did it she shared, “Eating less sugar and carbohydrates, while eating more fruits and veggies; as well as making time for some kind of activity.”
Finding time for this type of life change can seem like a mountain, and Tanguay shared a few things that helped her as she began. The first is just getting steps in, whether it is taking the stairs when you can, parking farther away, or going for a quick walk around the neighborhood. Thirty minutes of movement is better than nothing at all. “Next time you want to catch up with a friend, instead of meeting for lunch or a drink, consider taking a walk. It might be just what both of you need!” she exclaimed.
Finally, she stated, “You are worth it! Take the time for you! The older I get the harder it is to lose weight, but the hardest part is always starting.” When you are starting out, take it one day at a time, and while you may feel discouraged at times, “Nothing tastes as good as healthy feels!” Tanguay said.
As her best friend, I am completely inspired by her, and I’m not the only one. When she started bringing salads for her lunch at work, one of her students said, “I want to pack a salad just like Miss Lori.” It’s not just adults paying attention, children are watching our healthy habits, too.