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120-lb. weight loss gives Cardston mother a spot on ‘Today’ show |
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Written by Sherri Gallant
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Saturday, October 17 2009, 9:18 PM |
A Cardston mother of five who lost more than 120 pounds and became a triathlete will appear on NBC’s “Today” show Monday to talk about her journey.
Patricia Beazer, 37, is scheduled to be part of a regular segment in the morning news program called “The Joy Fit Club.” The network asked her to appear after her sister-in-law contacted the show — without Beazer’s knowledge — when she heard they were looking for people who’d lost 100 pounds or more.
“I’m not really one who likes to talk about herself,” said Beazer. “I’m kind of reserved that way, so this has been difficult because it’s happened really fast.”
Patricia and her husband Duane’s children are 13, 10, eight, five and two years old. It was during her last pregnancy that Beazer’s prenatal physician sounded the alarm about her weight, which had reached 265 pounds.
“He did all the regular tests and they all came back normal and fine, and he said, ‘well they’re normal — for now.’ He knew and I knew that if I didn’t make a change that I was going to have some serious health problems. When you’re 120 pounds overweight, there are so many things that can go wrong.”
She was advised to sign up for a Chinook Health program in Cardston that teaches people how to adopt healthy lifestyles, but she wasn’t too keen about the idea.
Beazer grew up in Lethbridge as Patricia Appleton and went to the University of Alberta for her teaching degree. It was during her years in university that weight began to creep up and hang on.
“I probably put on about 10 to 15 pounds a year, just living the student lifestyle and eating whatever was fast and easy and cheap, and I wasn’t exercising. So before I got married I was 50 pounds heavier than I was in high school.”
When the babies started coming, she put on 15 extra pounds with every pregnancy. By the fifth child, she developed thyroid problems and felt exhausted all the time, but decided to take the plunge and sign up for the program. Beazer lost 20 pounds while still pregnant, but after her daughter was born, the thyroid issue stalled her progress until after she finished breast feeding. By then, she was worn out and apathetic, but knew something had to change.
“I realized that if I didn’t do something, I would probably be a pretty useless mom to my kids. Or worse — no mom. So I just decided I was gonna give it my all. I started the program and just kept plowing through.”
She’d weigh in and go over her daily food journal at weekly meetings with a nurse who led the program. Small, short-term attainable goals were set, and she surpassed them all for the first six months. She started out simply, increasing activity and improving eating habits gradually.
“And here I am, two years later, doing a half Ironman.”
An Ironman Triathlon consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26-mile marathon run — in that order, without a break. Beazer did a half Ironman in September, in Washington state. Her dream of completing a full Ironman will have to wait until her youngest is a little older, because of the amount of time involved in training.
Beazer shares her new-found knowledge with the community. Last spring she started the Cardston Kids Marathon, which encourages children to become more active by following a fun, simple running, walking, or rolling (wheelchair) program. Working with the school, walked logged miles through daily activities until they completed at least 25.2 miles (a marathon is 26.2 miles). Then a race day was held for everyone to complete the last mile together. Almost 700 kids signed up and as they crossed the finish line, each received a medal. The marathon will become an annual event.
She also created a kids’ triathlon clinic, meeting with children three times a week to talk about healthy eating and encourage them to try new foods, go for group walks and runs, and take bike rides.
The Today Show runs Monday at 8:15 a.m. on Shaw cable Ch.16.
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