When I weighed 260 pounds and my doctor said lose weight and do PT, my knee pain was too great and the cure seemed too hard, and slow, so I said no thanks and took the steroid injections instead.

Three steroid injections over two years.

The first one helped.

The second one gave me a reaction.

The third one actually hurt me.

I was heavier than ever and, in more pain, than when I started.

I wasn’t a candidate for knee replacements. Too young. Not damaged enough. Just… suffering.

Waiting to get worse.

I decided to stop waiting.

I saw an ad for Dr. Novelli at the Knee Treatment Center of America. Twenty-one sessions. Traction, TENS, red light therapy. 45 minutes away from my office. A huge commitment. But I had to try.

It helped. I had more space between my joints. A foundation to build on.

I did Keto. Forty-five pounds gone.

Then a fitness studio opened in my town and I started strength training.

I had a slow start. It took about 6 months

to make the habits stick.

I started working closely with Tani, my trainer.

I took a breather from the weight loss to get a good foundation under me in the gym.

I know I can only focus on one thing at a time.

Tani is amazing. I have learned so much from her about my body, how it’s meant to move and what happens when you’re not using your body as intended.

At the end of summer 2025, I went alcohol free. I’ve drank a few times since, on vacations, and honestly, probably won’t next time. I don’t miss it. 

I started Wegovy in December. The scale is moving again. Sixty pounds down.

My knees are still arthritic, but not screaming out in pain.

It took about 6 months for me to hit my stride, but for the past year, exercise is part of my daily life.

I do group fitness classes in the studio, work out at Planet Fitness a couple times a week and have a home gym and office gym, so there are no excuses!

 I’m not going to try to fool you into believing it was easy. It was hard. But that’s ok. Because I can do hard things!