NOD down 50 pounds, inspiring others

Photo By Staff Sgt. Danielle Bolton | Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes. At Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, motivation comes in a 200-pound, five-and-a-half-foot nurse of the day. Known by fellow coworkers as the shrinking woman, Edna-Mae Flanagan has lost 50 pounds, but to her, it’s not about the weight; it’s about the lifestyle.  

CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, UNITED STATES

02.23.2016

Story by Danielle Bolton 

Naval Medical Center Camp Lejeune

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes. At Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, motivation comes in a 200-pound, five-and-a-half-foot nurse of the day. Known by fellow coworkers as the shrinking woman, Edna-Mae Flanagan has lost 50 pounds, but to her, it’s not about the weight; it’s about the lifestyle.

Her journey began July 2015.

“I didn’t own a scale. I just woke up one morning and decided I would eat right and walk,” said Flanagan, nurse-of-the-day at the Multiservice Ward. “I did that for about a week and then got weighed in on the [emergency department] scale.”

A week later she weighed in again and had lost two to three pounds. That was all she needed.

“I went and bought a scale that day."

Flanagan works the night shift. When she gets off, her day is not over.

“My first walk was hard. I did three fourths of a mile. The rest of my walks have been between two and four miles,” said Flanagan. “I would be really active here and then go home and sit.”

While the first few walks were difficult, neighbors and strangers alike have been a source of encouragement.

“I’ve had people in my neighborhood stop me while I am walking and encourage me."

Strangers honk their support.

"I think people are more supportive of people who are trying to better themselves.”

Flanagan explained that four weeks after her journey began she went to a doctor appointment where they were astonished.

“I had lost 10 pounds,” said Flanagan. “At that point, all I had done was change my portion size and walk. Then I started getting recipes off Pinterest.”

Flanagan, who has been married for 20 years, says her husband John is a source of encouragement.

“He is learning and he is starting to make healthier choices when we grocery shop. The best was when my husband was bragging about my portabella mushroom pizza,” said Flanagan, whose husband is no longer border-line diabetic.

Her husband won’t step on the scale, but his doctor has noted significant weight loss.

“He has lost 25 pounds and he’s not even trying.”

Flanagan attributes her food choices to a website that taught her how to replace ingredients in recipes.

“Instead of pasta we use spaghetti squash. I educated myself and now I try to educate others,” she said.

Flanagan has a phone app that allows her to track calories. This has helped her learn that sometimes you are just not getting enough.

“I look at it as if I am not on a diet. It was a lifestyle change, but I don’t deprive myself of anything,” she said. “While I don’t deprive myself, I do consider portions.”

One of the ladies Flanagan works with was having a hard time losing weight. She started tracking her calories and realized that she was not taking in enough calories. Her body registered as if it were starving itself, so it stored the calories as fat, said Flanagan.

The American Cancer Society has a free calorie counter that takes gender, age, weight, height and activity level in account. It provides the appropriate amount of calories an individual should be getting. It then offers suggestions on how to healthily lose weight.

“I know that you can’t force any one to do this. They have to want to do it,” said Flanagan. “There are a couple ladies on our floor who are really trying.”

Flanagan says that she wasn’t always a larger woman. Flanagan was dancer from two years old to 18, however once she stopped dancing things changed.

“I stopped dancing but kept eating like a dancer,” said Flanagan. “I love to dance and I do even as a larger woman, but it’s easier when you have less weight.”

Weight loss isn’t the only thing that has seen significant change. Flanagan says this journey has affected her on many different levels.

• Date Taken: 02.23.2016
• Date Posted: 02.23.2016 10:48
• Story ID: 189772
• Location: CAMP LEJEUNE, NC, US