‘I did not want to leave the way my mom did’
“Growing up in the ‘80s, we were not a healthy family. It was all canned and boxed food. My mom was a chronic dieter, raised by a chronic dieter. Fat-free, carb-free — we did all the fad diets.
“My mom passed away from breast cancer when I was 17. At the time, I definitely was not the epitome of health. I tried to get out of gym class as often as possible. If we were running that day, I was the kid who would say, ‘I don’t feel well. I need to go see the nurse.’ I had a lot of self-esteem and self-worth issues. It was just the narrative I had for myself. When you don’t feel like you’re worth the time and effort to lace up your shoes and go for a walk, then you don’t do it because it feels pointless. Getting into fitness and having to face my own issues, that created a whole new life for me.
“They say that anyone who’s lost a lot of weight has that one moment when everything starts to change. For me, it was when I was contacted by MD Anderson as a high-risk case because of my mom’s very aggressive breast cancer. They called after my second born and asked me to come in for all my screenings.
“I was a good 100 pounds overweight, but I blamed genetics. Everybody in my family was overweight, so I figured it was just my lot in life.
“There was this very sweet radiologist who went over all my results. Then he looked at me and said, ‘Mrs. Carlson, my main concern is your lifestyle.’ He said, ‘With breast cancer in particular, if you’re overweight, you tend to be more at risk. So if you’re not moving, eating a balanced diet, and getting some of this excess weight off, then it’s not a question of if you’ll get cancer, it’s a question of when.’ I cried, probably for about a week. Then I just decided I did not want to leave the way my mom did, and I started doing something about it.”
— Michelle Carlson
Michelle, who worked hard to lose the weight, became a trainer, nutritionist and self-described health nut. Learn more at michellecfitness.com.
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