First, here’s what Debra Ramos couldn’t do: Pushing yourself into a booth at a restaurant. Bend over and tie your shoelaces. Climb the stairs without being out of breath.
And this is one thing she did. I lost 116 pounds and kept it off without using weight loss drugs.
Ramos, 55, of Glendora, said the death of her father, Victor, in 2018 spurred her into action and decided to change her life to be there for her mother, Dolores.
Until then, Ramos had grown up as the only daughter in a family of eight sons. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Covina, she said her relationship with food felt normal. Her mother ran a home and her father ran a small gas station and later an auto shop in El Monte.
“We were always told, ‘You have to clean your plate,’ but we never thought to think, ‘Are you a trash can?'” We just did it. ” said Ramos.
Ramos said she slowly gained weight after attending Vanna Elementary School and St. Louis de Marillac School in Covina, graduating from St. Lucy Convent High School in Glendora, going to college and marrying her husband, Robert. Ta.
“When I met my husband, I had to learn how to cook, and I used butter,” she said. “I’m sitting more and I’m more comfortable. We’re going to do the easy things.”
Debra Ramos, 55, of Glendora lost 116 pounds without the help of weight loss drugs. After her father’s death, her determination to get healthy, apps, and Weight Watchers spurred a change. “I learned to save myself,” she said. (Photo provided by Debra Ramos)
By the time she reached her 50th birthday, Ramos said she was prediabetic, had high cholesterol, had three bouts of bronchitis, and was switched from an inhaler to a nebulizer to manage her breathing problems.
At my heaviest, I weighed 286 pounds.
“Gradually, I was put on more and more medications,” she said. “The weight kept creeping up. Then I saw a picture of me from when I went on a cruise. I knew when I looked at myself from a certain perspective and realized it was completely different.
“When I got back, I got an email from Blue Shield about an app called Wellvollution. I took a little quiz and it matched up with Weight Watchers. That was June 2019. That email changed my life. It saved me, no doubt about it.”
Ramos joined the gym, and although he didn’t notice any dramatic changes at first, he felt stronger.
“I quickly started learning about how to use food to soothe yourself rather than nourish your body,” she said. “Up until then, I had tried every diet imaginable and nothing worked because I hadn’t learned anything. I tried to accomplish something quickly that took me 25 years. I was there.”
The Wellvolution app helped her track her weight loss in ounces rather than huge gains.
“Without realizing it, I lost the first 50 pounds and it changed my life,” Ramos said. “I was able to cross my legs. I hadn’t done that in years.”
And just when she felt like she was coming into her own, the pandemic threw her a curveball.
“I stopped working out because I had a hernia and had surgery, and then the pandemic hit right after that and it felt like the end for me,” she said.
During lockdown, she and her husband first started running around the Glendora area.
“After I ran the first mile, I threw up,” she said.
The couple got on their bikes and cycled part of the San Gabriel River path. Ramos said he needed an inhaler the first time he tried to ride a mile on his bike. But she kept doing it.
“I started to enjoy exercising and learned how to view Weight Watchers as a lifestyle and not just a diet,” she said.
Debra Ramos, who is proud of her pink bike and matching basket, said she needed an inhaler the first time she tried to bike a mile on the San Gabriel River trail. Currently, she is traveling 60 miles from Glendora to Seal Beach. (Photo provided by Debra Ramos)
Ramos said it’s something most people may not be aware of and needs to consider.
“Weight Watchers is like therapy,” she said. “I have meetings on Saturdays, and it helps to see people so dedicated and so open about their struggles. Some have been doing it for 20 years. It’s so powerful. It’s a community.”
Now, having lost 116 pounds, she can bike 40 miles round trip from her home to Seal Beach, goes to the gym five days a week, and can no longer sit in front of the TV. Please always do that. ”
“I feel so much stronger again. As a heavy person, people judge you and don’t understand why it’s a very physical place and it can be another place to get out of. “Hmm,” Ramos said. “Weight Watchers helped me find my strength, because I did this. I did this one ounce at a time. I never gave up.”
Best of all, her weight loss victory means she has daily contact with her mother, Dolores, now 91, who lives in San Dimas. Surrounded by her children, in-laws, 25 grandchildren, 44 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great-grandchildren, her mother still cooks and makes rice bowls twice a week. Masu.
“On the weekends, we eat lunch, go to church, and shop at TJ Maxx,” her daughter said. “We are planning a trip to Costa Rica. I want to live as happy as she does. And my father would be so proud and happy that I am healthy. He will be happy for all of us.”
Ramos still says she wasn’t afraid to fly on a plane even when she was at her heaviest, and that “even with the wrap extender, I could barely buckle my seatbelt,” which she describes as off-the-scale. Celebrating victory.
“So many things have changed for me,” Ramos said.
She and her husband attend rock concerts without worrying about the seats being too small. They play Frisbee golf near Azusa or Sierra Madre. They visit their favorite restaurants, including Crust and Crumble Bakery, The Mediterranean, Spaghetti Eddie’s and Diplomat Jr. in Glendora, and The Village Vault for breakfast.
“When I want an In-N-Out, I decide what I’m going to eat, whether it’s treating myself or having Hershey’s chocolate nuggets,” she said. “The important thing is balance.”
“One of the things I would say to people is look at what’s available to you and find out what insurance they offer,” she said. “Never stop trying. There is something out there for you. I never forget that I was once a size 24. I worked hard to get here. Be healthy. is your reward.”
Anissa V. Rivera, columnist, “Mama’s the Word,” Pasadena Star-News, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Whittier Daily News, Azusa Herald, Glendora Press, West Covina Highlander, Sun – Dimas/La Verne Highlander. Southern California News Group, 181 W. Huntington Drive, Suite 209 Monrovia, CA 91016. 626-497-4869.
