I have struggled with my weight my entire life. I was raised by a single grandmother who was a great cook. Weekend breakfasts often included homemade biscuits with ham and red eye gravy and rice. That has to be at least a zillion carbs! I was a book worm from an early age so the only exercise I got was in gym class. One of the more painful memories of my childhood was of having to order special gym clothes because I was too big for the standard sizes.
By the time I was 14 I tipped the scales at 185 lbs and wore a women’s size 18-20! By then my mother had moved to the DC area to escape an abusive relationship and met the man who was soon to become my stepfather. I rarely saw my biological father and really wanted my mother to get married to someone nice. They told me that if I lost 20 lbs, they would get married. They may have been just teasing me but I took the notion seriously. That was the moment when I went on the first of many diets.
That diet was self made and simple: no breakfast, a green salad and a diet soda for lunch and a single serving of whatever we had for dinner (as opposed to the seconds and thirds I usually had). I don’t remember how long it took but I lost that 20 pounds and got myself a new stepfather in the bargain! I was down to a junior size 15 and my grandmother no longer had to struggle to find age appropriate clothes for me.
The summer before I was to enter 10th grade in a new school, I spent in DC with my mom and stepfather. I experimented with different diets and exercise regimens and lost another 20lbs. By the time school started I was a size 10/12 and many of my friends did not recognize me! What a great feeling that was! In the process of losing the weight, however, I had become a diet junkie. You name the diet and I have done it all out of fear of going back to being that 185 pound girl again.
People in my life who have only know me as an adult think that I have always been the size that I am now. Few know of the many many diets and exercise programs or how many times I have gained and lost the same 15 pounds. All through high school, college, medical training, two pregnancies and raising my children I was either on a diet or putting on the weight that made me need the next one. I am the queen of the yo yo dieters.
In the early nineties I became a facilitator for a popular Faith based weight loss plan and taught weekly classes on the use of its methods. I had lost weight by learning to eat tiny amounts of food only when I was physically hungry and stopping when I was full and wanted to share that message with others. I loved it because you could eat whatever you wanted! You see I really LOVE food! 
I learned over time that, while I could keep my weight down with these strategies (basically portion control), I have not been blessed with genes that will allow me to ignore the content of my food. So at the age of 57 and after hundreds of diets I found myself with the diagnoses of not only hypertension but pre-diabetes as well.
In an effort to “run” from the diseases that were chasing me, I joined a local fitness group, Sisters in Motion, and started walking and running on a regular basis. I became more conscious about what I ate and continued to practice portion control but the more I exercised, the bigger the portions got. I started doing races and fell in love with the half marathon distance and started doing several of them a year as an interval walker/jogger (which I call wogging). Training to do all those races and averaging one half marathon a month emboldened me to eat foods that had forbidden myself in my less active years. So even with all that activity I started gaining weight again! At the same time I had family members and patients looking to me as a role model. Some role model!
I started this blog to share my current journey of seeking to find my way toward the healthiest me I can be, for the rest of my life. I desire that not only for myself but for those of you who choose to come along. I will seek to share healthy lifestyle tips not only about achieving a healthy weight but about all of the aspects of healthy living. In this blog I am not offering medical advice so much as offering information, encouragement and coaching to those of you are seeking to be healthy in body, mind and spirit. I am looking for partners in the struggle.
Yvonne Moore
#ymoore4health
“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.” 3 John 1:2 NLT
ymoore4health 
Great blog!! Thanks, I am a partner to getting Victory in this area of my life!!
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Wow! So great! Incredibly transparent. Can’t wait for more!!
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This is so relevant! Thanks
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Dr. Moore, thank you for sharing your story, much of which is my story. Even with a similar health diagnosis – diabetes. The desire to be healthy along with the proper diet and appropriate exercise is the key.
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This is a wonderful read and I am encouraged now even more to continue on this fitness journey….Yay You!!! Looking forward to more of your blogs.
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I enjoyed your blog and reading about your health journey. You’ve always encouraged your patient’s to be concern with our health. I appreciate you for going over and beyond!!
Happy Blogging
Warmly, Stephenie Washington
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Great post!! Thank you for describing my life since age 35!!! Yo-yo dieting and diet meds have consumed my life since that age and now those diseases you mention have definitely taken over!!! Can’t seem to find the discipline to do what I know is right!
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Dr. Moore this was a very good article on your personal testimony. I’m happy and excited for you, as well as your sincere desire to help those of us who should,need to and want get physically healthy. Your blog will certainly be an inspiration. Happy New Year, though you won’t be delivering babies, here’s to a New Beginning of delivering people from unhealthy food habits.
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Thanks for sharing. It changes MY perspective to think of this process as either fighting disease it feeding it. Wow. Your story is UNspiring.
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Awesome! This story blessed me!
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Thanks for sharing your story. I’ve heard bits and pieces of it but never knew the entire story. Thanks for encouraging and motivating us to do better, especially when we know better. I look forward to reading many more of your inspirational blogs. Here’s to a healthy, wogging new year to you!
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Thank you for sharing. You are definitely an inspiration for me. I look forward to making 2018 a healthy year for me as well. I look forward to joining you in this process.
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So excited you are doing this blog! Can’t wait to continue to follow along and do better myself to get to a healthier me!
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Thank you for sharing, I will look forward to your tips to help me stay on the health track.
God’s blessings!!!
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Dr. Moore, Wow! First off, I’m super proud of you, your journey, and your willingness to help others so freely. I am inspired to do better with my health and eating habits. I have hypertension and type2 diabetes. I have started better eating habits, but I must incorporate more exercise. I’m ready to be an active participant on this journey!
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Thank you so much for sharing your story. I think I told you once, that you are the one who motivated me to exercise more, by reading all your FB post about wogger walks and marathons. That encouraged me to become more active and focused on my weight. It’s now been 2 years that I have been consistent with working out. I try to workout 4 -5 times days per week. It took about a year before I started to see results. I went from a size 10 to 6. I can’t wait to read your blog on Living a Healthier Lifestyle.
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I am sooooo happy you started this blog. I know you will be an inspiration for all of usZ
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I loved this Dr Yvonne! It has inspired me to do beyter. I had no idea you experienced weight issues and I am so glad you are willing to share your life experiences. I am eventually planning to leave social media but would love to stay connected to your blog thru email.
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I would hate to lose touch with you. You’ll have to PM me your contact info!
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Are we twins? You just described my life to the “T”. Thank you for being transparent! I look forward to following along with you as I embark on my quest to fitness. Looking forward to your future blogs! Be blessed!
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Wow! You have always been someone I admire. Am ready to keep up with you in getting healthier. I have lost 30 lbs but need to lose about 20 more. I also started this in the effort to become healthy. Have been able to stop taking BP med. Not doing exercise like I wish. My goal is to get that going. Thanks for starting this blog
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Thank you for sharing this special part of your life. You have inspired me to “schedule myself” into my hectically, busy work schedule. For years, I have been married to my profession. It’s now time to be married to “me!” Best wishes and God Bless in 2018.
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Yvonne, thanks so much for sharing. Girl, you always looked so slim and trim in high school.
My weight struggle started after the birth of my second and last child in 1989. I have made several life style changes trying to control my weight including joining a fitness group and portion control.
Looking forward to reading more.
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Thank you Dr. Moore for sharing your story, and for giving me the motivation to try and change my outlook on how l view food and my health. This blog is so inspirational!
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Thank you, I hope it helps!
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