Four years ago, Michele Rice-Nelson was balancing being a full-time caregiver for her mother, who was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s disease, with parenting her then 6-year-old son — and she was completely overwhelmed.
Struggling with her own chronic pain caused by a degenerative spinal disease that forced her to retire recently, Rice-Nelson (who also has three grown children) would steal in late at night after putting them both to bed and eat: boxes of crisps, tins of straws for cheese, Skinny Pop bags.
“It was my way of coping and my escape,” she says. “I didn’t have time for myself.”
Before she knew it, she had gained 80 lbs., reaching 271. The extra weight worsened her spine and left her dependent on a cane or wheelchair. At her son’s school day in June 2022, she had to watch from afar, sitting in a wheelchair.
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Michele Rice-Nelson.
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Her turning point came that summer when her doctor told her she was pre-diabetic. Both her parents had the disease, and her father lost his legs, his sight, and then his life because of it.
She joined Nutrisystem in August 2022. Their meal plan “set everything up for me. I didn’t have time to think,” she says.
She started walking her dog regularly (she walks 7,000 steps in a typical day) and has now lost nearly 100 pounds.
This year, she was on the court and watched her son compete. And when her mother died at the age of 91 earlier this year, she was in a stronger position as she mourned the loss.
“Even in my sadness, I can feel joy,” she says. “Things don’t bother me. Once you take care of yourself, everything else will fall into place.”
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Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education