Biz Bellatini is a 56-year-old recipe tester from Chicago, Illinois.
I never had weight issues growing up. I was a four-season athlete, so I trained for about three hours every day, year-round.
I was exercising too much and not focusing on good nutrition. Instead, my breakfast consisted of Dr. Pepper and Susie Q snack cakes, followed by some muffins before lunch. It wasn't like I was eating healthy. Because there was no need. He weighed 150 pounds when he graduated from high school, which was a weight I was happy with.
During my freshman year of college, I played field hockey, which kept me in shape. But after a year, my school discontinued its field hockey team, and then my relationship with my body began to change.
As it turns out, you won't be able to eat like I do and maintain a certain body shape if you don't exercise regularly. So, I started gaining weight slowly, gaining about 10 pounds a year.
When I graduated college, I weighed 210 pounds.
In my early 20s, I ate everything.
I worked downtown so there were a lot of restaurants to enjoy. On a typical day, I buy a large muffin and a snack on my way to work, and then also an egg sandwich and a sweet coffee drink. Lunch was usually pizza or pasta, with extra dough dipped in cinnamon sugar as a side dish. At night, I ate luxury items like hot dogs and tacos, and often had popcorn or ice cream after meals.
I didn't realize how much weight I was gaining until one morning when I got in my car to go to work and noticed my stomach was touching the steering wheel. I remember thinking, “Who was in my car?” before understanding sinks in.
I decided to try WeightWatchers. And for a while, that plan worked.
Shortly after I realized this in the car, my sister and I joined WeightWatchers. In 15 months he lost 70 pounds. This was really exciting for me. However, it was also difficult to implement the plan, considering that I was very passionate about it. Breakfast was usually baked oatmeal with fruit, and lunch was a salad. I changed the protein every day to keep it interesting. Dinner is usually a healthier version of what I used to eat, ditching the fatty ground meat I used to make for tacos and opting for ground turkey breast instead. Portion sizes are also smaller.
But when my husband got sick, I could no longer prioritize my health.
In 2007, my husband developed several serious medical conditions, including colon cancer and congestive heart failure. His needs came before mine. He became stressed and emotionally consumed and ended up gaining back about 50 pounds of his lost weight.
My husband passed away in 2014. After her husband's death, I went off and on with her WeightWatchers, usually around the beginning of the year, but within a few months.
Every January, I was setting myself up for failure. I told myself I needed to walk 10,000 steps every day, eat well, and drink a gallon of water every day. If you can't achieve one of those goals, that's all you can focus on and you'll quickly quit.
I also set unrealistic goals for myself. My birthday is in March, so in January I said, “I'm going to lose 20 pounds by my birthday.” If I only lost 8 pounds, I would get frustrated and quit WW.
I knew I needed to break this cycle in order to become the best version of myself.
After years of on-and-off weight loss journeys, I decided to make a sustainable change in 2022. I was 53 years old at the time, and I knew that the longer it took me to do something, the harder it would be to lose weight. But this time I wanted to do it right.
The first rule I quit was to set a time period for losing weight. I no longer have a goal of how fast I want to lose weight, so it's easier to keep going. By my birthday in 2022, I had lost 7 pounds. In the past, I might have said it wasn't working for me, but I kept going anyway. I found that I was working at a pace that was comfortable for me.
Biz Valenti shares her weight loss progress.
I have lost 41 pounds since starting WW again.
In the 20-plus years since I first tried it, the program has evolved, but what's changed the most is my approach. I learned to make his WeightWatchers a lifestyle. I used to do this program during the week, eat whatever I wanted on the weekend, and then hit the brakes again come Monday. That wasn't an effective strategy for me. Now I am more consistent with what I eat.
I also realized that the reason I keep going to WW is because nothing is off limits. I've found that when I'm on a low-carb/paleo diet or any other “restrictive” diet, my brain gravitates toward the foods I told myself I couldn't eat. Instead, WW embraces everything, but in moderation.
I'm a recipe tester and work with food all day. We also regularly participate in events that bring together delicious food. I used to put everything on a plate as if it was my last meal. I learned to eat a little bit of everything instead of a lot because I don't want to deprive myself.
I also learned to tap into what I craved. If I go to a restaurant that is famous for its hamburgers, I buy a hamburger and eat a portion of it. I used to get a shrimp cocktail because I had zero Weight Watchers points, but I wasn't happy with it.
Biz Valenti enjoys walking with his dog.
Ultimately, I learned to live life on my terms instead of focusing on what I don't have.
I started a blog called My Bizzy Kitchen in 2008 where I posted recipes about things I made. Over time, those recipes gained traction, and her followers on Instagram started asking her for ways to make certain popular foods lighter.
I have so much fun finding healthier ways to tweak my favorite foods and love sharing what I learn with others.
I try to eat consistently healthy, but I also try to have some flexibility in my diet so I can eat when I want. I often look at my calendar to see what events are coming up that will cause food to get out of hand. Then give yourself permission to have fun.
I finally learned what works for me and these habits are now second nature. But we didn't do it all at once. I learned that just by taking small steps, I can move towards my goals.
