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Jan 15

South Lyon woman struggled all her life with weight. Now she’s lost 135 pounds. – Livingston Daily

Lose Weight Comments Off on South Lyon woman struggled all her life with weight. Now she’s lost 135 pounds. – Livingston Daily

Christine Hoke uses some free weights at a Wixom Planet Fitness.(Photo: JOHN HEIDER | hometownlife.com)

As many people were making New Year's resolutions to lose weight, Christine Hoke hadalmost reached her goal.

After a lifetime struggling with her weight and periodically tipping the scales at more than 300 pounds, she has dropped 135 pounds.

I am thinner than when I got married, and even thinner than I was in high school, Hoke, a 1986 Brighton graduate, said.

The 5-foot-7 South Lyon resident was a size 12 in high school, but now she is a size 10 and down to 190 pounds and counting.

Hoke credits Weight Watchers for giving her the tools to finally get the weight under control, a program she began less than two years ago after her doctor told her she was turning diabetic and because of her excessive weight and her age, her knees were going to give out.

I thought, Holy crap, my mom is in the nursing home and my husband has health problems and Im taking care of him and Im having a hard time getting off the couch and my knees hurt. Whos going to take care of me?

Most of her family is heavyset, but she was by far the heaviest. And finally, shed just decided no one was going to take care of her but herself.

She had reached 300 pounds a few times over the years, usually in 5-year cycles, which was always her tipping point. In 2000, she lost 50 pounds and then gained it back with pregnancy. After she gave birth to her son in 2002, she thought she would lose the weight again, but it stayed. In 2008, she joined Weight Watchers,lost 88 pounds, but gained it back.

You get down so far, start living life, and think, Im happy with myself and you walk away, she said. But unfortunately, I need that support.

Christine Hoke of South Lyon as pictured on April 1, 2018, at more than 300 pounds. In less than two years, she has lost 135 pounds.(Photo: Courtesy of Christine Hoke)

In 2013, she decided to join her husband in getting gastric sleeve surgery, in which a large portion of her stomach was removed. The surgery forces patients to alter their eating habits, not only in the amount of food that can be consumed, but also in the kinds.

I thought, Well be thin together. I thought the surgery was a basic magic cure-all and end-all, that it would keep me from eating all this food, but it was not, Hoke said.

She still craved and consumed sugars and carbs, much of it in liquids, and Hoke felt ill-informed post-surgery about how to handle her cravings. The weight came back, helped from high-calorie drinks and pizza, which she called her downfall.

Food is an addiction and when you are heavy, you cant get away from the addiction, because you need food to live, she noted.

Now shes back to Weight Watchers and says shes not going back to yo-yoing weight ever again. She has a food plan for life.

In her return to Weight Watchers, she lost 11 pounds in the first week just from taking out lattes and smoothies.

Christine Hoke works out at a Planet Fitness in Wixom on Jan. 10, 2020.(Photo: JOHN HEIDER | hometownlife.com)

When she hit 85 pounds lost, she was afraid of plateauing, but she flew right past it. Andthe numbers kept droppingas sheshed125 pounds in a year.

In Weight Watchers, points are calculated for food, and devotees stick to one of three plans that keeps them within their point total. She attends support group meetings once a week at which she weighs in, and she also uses a phone app to calculate points.

An accountant, she enjoys the math, but laughs as she said her doctor told her she is the only CPA she knows who has lost weight during tax season.

While there are no forbidden foods in Weight Watchers, just ones that have to be accounted for, Hoke avoids things like pizza which she calls her red light food, something that once she starts down a path toward, she has a hard time stopping, so she just doesnt go there.

She admits liking her whiskey and indulged a bit in that and pie over the holidays, but said its all about portion control and banking points for when a special day is coming up. Its also about not beating yourself up when the occasional slip-up happens.

Weight Watchers emphasizes forgiveness for bad days, she said, as well as self-awareness of what the underlying issues are for weight gain. Hoke said instead of turning her back on stress, she communicates her feelings more now with her husband, her co-workers, her boss. When something is bothering her, she deals with it rather than reaching for food in reaction to an assumption that someone dislikes her or perceives her a certain way.

That change now is reflected not only in her appearance and physical health, but in her mentally positive attitude as well.

People say Im a different person, there is a light about me, I am radiant and that is because I dealt with my issues instead of eating them, Hoke said. You can talk to people and dont have to go home and eat that bowl of ice cream.

Instead, she goes home and has salmon or sushi or a nice, leaf lettuce salad without a serving of guilt and she takes a walk on the trails in South Lyon.

She is hoping to lose 10 more pounds and get down to her ultimate goal weight of 180 for a lifetime.

Her advice to others wanting to lose weight is to find that one thing your reason why and write it down. Hers is to be healthy. And now she is, both physically and mentally.

All her vital signs are good, and she is taking care of herself instead of wondering who will.

I just feel so much better, Hoke said. I feel lighter in mind as well as in body. I feel younger, and I am definitely happier."

Contact reporter Susan Bromley at sbromley@hometownlife.com or 517-281-2412. Follow her on Twitter @SusanBromley10.

Read or Share this story: https://www.hometownlife.com/story/life/community/hometown/south-lyon/2020/01/15/woman-credits-weight-watchers-weight-battle-losing-135-pounds/4452407002/

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South Lyon woman struggled all her life with weight. Now she's lost 135 pounds. - Livingston Daily

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