Girl on a Diet: Rewritten
Written by Claire Zeitler
Well, hello there! It’s nice to be back! I’ve missed you all! Can you believe it was waaaay back in 2011 that I pitched an idea to AMI Magazine about my dieting journey? That was a long time ago, I was a different person, and I don’t just mean my name.
Let’s recap, shall we? You may know me as my AMI Magazine pseudonym, Bluma Abraham. Or as my married name back then- Rivki Abramovitz. I was a young married navigating life, going through infertility, and trying to lose all that Shana Rishona weight.
In 2012, I got divorced after 6 years of marriage and 3 rounds of IVF. My father passed away a few months after that. Victoria Dwek was completely left in the dark as to my whereabouts. I had gone off the deep end, and Victoria wasn’t having it. I just couldn’t pull myself together to write a weekly column.
Let’s review the stats. I was 26 years old, 5 feet 6 and a quarter inches tall, and I weighed 223 lbs.
I am currently 40 years old, the same height, and I weigh 185 lbs.
185 lbs! “So you lost the weight, eh?!” Not quite…. My life was completely out of control, and I developed terrible habits- mainly eating way too much and drinking too much. My weight eventually spiraled back up to my highest, 265 lbs. But this time was different- I had full-on, unmistakable diabetes. My fasting glucose was over 300 some mornings. My HbA1c was 10.6. It is only due to an amazing doctor I met in Miami who spent the time getting to know me and explained in gentle but firm language that if I continued on like this, I would end up losing limbs.
He put me back on metformin, which we know from my infertility days is not a fun drug. He prescribed me Janumet, but Obamacare wouldn’t give it to me. He argued with the pharmacists, telling them I needed approval immediately. They didn’t listen, but it was amazing to have someone go to bat for my health. I had to survive on insulin alone. I was up to 20 units every morning.
A few months of treating the diabetes with insulin and treating the subsequent nerve damage in my feet with gabapentin, I made aliyah, where I finally got on universal healthcare and was able to get the help I desperately needed.
A few months after making Aliyah, in July of 2024, I weighed 265. A man was interested in dating me, but he did not want a sick wife, so he made me promise to take care of myself. I started taking Ozempic on July 15th. I got engaged the following Sunday. We were determined to live a long and active life together, so I got to work. Added more steps to my routine, and Ozempic cut out my appetite completely. I lost weight extremely fast. From July 15th to January 15th, I went down to 218 lbs. I hit a plateau for a bit and revisited the drug with my endocrinologist. He moved me from the highest dose of Ozempic to Mounjaro. I started slow on that and eventually started losing again. I felt the side effects were less on this drug, though. The suppressant and the gastrointestinal issues were hardly noticeable, so I started thinking about food again. But I kept losing, and got down to 174 lbs! It was an amazing feeling, one which I hope to carry with me forever. I had never been in the 170s, probably since 6th grade. And then my arthritis started flaring up, and I was prescribed prednisone, and as a steroid, it makes women retain weight. So I went back up to 185.
This is where I am today. My goal is to get down to at least 159 lbs. Will it happen? Who knows, but I will do my best to lead a fulfilling, active life. As I sit at my desk, a mirror behind my laptop shows my reflection. I look a little “thick” today in the cheeks, and I don’t love that. I know what I look like at 174, and it feels better than 185. If not for anything else, I would like to achieve returning to 174.
These are my goals- to be energetic and active, and I hope you will stay with me here to follow along on my journey to health. Welcome back.