Patricia Goffeney’s Inspiring Journey

— by Margie Doyle, updated Jan. 12 at 11 p.m. —

Patricia Goffeney, 100 pounds lighter than when she joined Weight Watchers

Six years ago, without stepping on a scale, Patricia Goffeney knew she weighed over 300 pounds. Finally, after a consultation with a visiting doctor who insisted that Goffeney was diabetic (she wasn’t), she knew she had to turn her life around.

This was not a straight-forward, steady progression; the journey came with roadblocks, setbacks and detours. But today, with humble gratitude towards those friends who gave her heart, time and support, she not only maintains a healthy weight, but has reclaimed the control, achievement and joy of her life.

Her mantra has been: She turned her dreams into plans and her “can’ts” into “cans.” That phrase, she says, “has helped me through many rough times.”

She started by investing in dietetic consultations at Island Hospital in Anacortes, paying $300 out of pocket. She reasoned, “If I’m going to want success I have to put something out for that.” She gained tips on how to look at food on your plate, dividing it into sections, using smaller plates. “It was the only thing I did for two years, and I lost about 50 pounds.”

Well, not quite the only thing: she’s always enjoyed swimming, and during the summers would swim daily across Cascade Lake. But arthritic knees kept her from walking or running.

But after losing 50 pound, in December 2012, following the indulgences of the winter holidays, Patricia gained 7.5 pounds. “It doesn’t sound like a lot, but after losing 50 pounds, it made quite an impact.”

Then Weight Watchers formed again on Orcas Island, led by Carol Kulminski and Beth Baker, and Goffeney’s determination was reinforced.

“I joined at the onset of the Weight Watchers program knowing that if I didn’t and all my friends joined and they lost weight, I would be jealous. Therefore I knew the program was going to offer results and I didn’t want to be left behind.”

Along with the  Weight Watcher’s program, Patricia came to terms with her addiction to sugar.  “When you acknowledge an addiction, you’re admitting you’re powerless in the face of it and seek you’re higher power.” She adds, “But you have to have food. You can’t just walk away from it.

“My choices in food had brought me to the point of destruction.” The key was disdaining processed food in favor of fresh, raw, organic food. “It’s easier to go whole and fresh because you can eat more of those kinds of food.”

In January 2013, Patricia weighed in at 257 pounds.”But I love success and I’m competitive. I had an end goal and I knew I could do this.”

She devised a menu that worked for her: usually hard-boiled eggs and apple, Laughing Cow cheese snacks, soup and salad, chicken breast, and fruit make up her daily menu. She’s eliminated bread, and many fats and sugars. “Cutting out bread was huge, as was eliminating vegetables in the nightshade family — such as tomatoes, bell peppers and potatoes —  which I realized triggered my sugar cravings.”

Patricia’s coach, Carol Kulminski says, “Everyone is different and Weight Watchers advocates making healthy choices that make the program liveable for them. Their new brand is to ‘change people’s relationship to food’ and everyone makes their own choices with guidance and support from WW.”

In November 2014, Patrica Goffeney and her coach Carol, celebrated Patricia’s loss of 100 pounds. “There’s a fulfillment wand with the Weight Watchers program,” says Goffeney. “I knew Weight Watchers could get me to my goal. There I could trust that I was honored, and respected and private, because I knew and believed in the program.”

In between there were a lot of highs and lows. After the first six months she lost 30 pounds. Then her “other” business of repurposing agricultural feed bags and selling them at the Saturday Market meant she couldn’t attend meetings one summer, and she only lost two pounds. But those are deceptive numbers, for she was active all the time, and the fat transformed into muscle.

That fall she lost another 10 pounds, but then her mother passed away and with the holidays her sugar addiction resurfaced.

“So it was back to homemade soup,” and a refocus on her goals. Yet she still wasn’t walking or regularly exercising. Then her friend Carol Anderson made a pact with Goffeney to walk every morning. They started with short routes, and pushed each other up to three miles a day. “Carol was instrumental, as was our dedication to each other, ” says Goffeney. Now walking 5-8 miles a day is routine for Patricia, although Carol had to drop out eventually.

The  discipline, effort and perseverance paid off  last October when Goffeney participated in and completed a half-marathon race.

She started training with childhood friends and others, and committed to a 6-day per week schedule. “Cameron Krein offered instruction for me to build strength and was always an encouragement. Before leaving Orcas for the half-marathon, he told me,’Just remember, you’ve already done the work’.”

In describing the race, she recounts the most uncertain and emotional moments for her:

“The 9th through the 10th mile were the most difficult for me. Coming down a hill into the 11th mile my knee was locking. This is when the fear of not completing set in.

“At the 11th mile marker I received major encouragement from former winners and volunteers. They were on a platform with loud speakers and we could hear them at least two miles away. They were giving high fives and telling me I could make it!

“At that point I hit flat ground and I realized that it was the hill causing the major pain in my knee. I was now on flat ground encouraged and filled with hope to continue — after all I had made it this far!

“The power and the love is just overwhelming. To be told, ‘I know you can do this and I believe in you’  is so powerful and reinforcing. I knew I’d be okay. It was the most powerful, moving moment of my life, and I was feeling no pain.”

Patricia was not alone on the course. She was helping another woman who had fallen near the end of the half-marathon course. “I was bolstering her up for she couldn’t put any weight on her feet. At that point I recommended that she walk in her stocking feet. So she took her shoes off and we discovered that both feet were bloody. She mentioned to me that this was her third half-marathon and that this had never happened to her before. She pointed out her daughter and son-in-law up ahead of us, [so] I stepped up my pace to flag them down and told them their mom needed help getting over the finish line — and she made it!”

So did Patricia who ran across the finish line. She took “maybe” a day off training and now is back to walking four to eight miles a day around the island, rain or shine, varying her courses.

Now with her improved physical and emotional well-being, Patricia Goffeney is looking forward to a new home in Seattle, a new career  and new relationships.

Last month, she traveled to Florida to see her son for the first time in five years. This month, she is helping the transition as she leaves her job as OASIS High School Office Manager. She’s also looking for a place to live in Seattle, before her next move to try out new jobs through temporary agencies. Her next goal is to  become a certified Weight Watchers trainer.

She says, “To carry a whole extra person on you is your armor. I no longer saw myself as a happy person. I’ve not changed, but I have made changes and I want to share and motivate and inspire to let other people know they can do the same.

“I knew it would be a journey and that I could reinvent my story to open up closed minds and windows to live the life I’m living now. I want my words and example to help and inspire and give somebody hope.

“I’m not just going through the motions anymore. My heart is more visible, showing more joy, and now I want to speak from joy and live from joy.

Note: In an effort to attract new people and not conflict with Saturday activities, we are changing the meeting to Monday’s: weigh-in is 5:30 p.m. and the meeting starts at 6:00 pm at the Funhouse.

“What I speak is clearly what I’m living, that’s the beauty of my life right now.”