She Had a Bad Back and Doctor’s Orders to Lose Weight. How One Woman Dropped 80 Lbs. with ‘Little Exercise’

For years, Karalene Aday tried nearly every diet and even underwent gastric bypass surgery — yet lasting success never came.

The 58-year-old from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, says her turning point arrived when routine lab tests revealed serious health warnings. “I had complete labs done and everything came back high and not right,” she recalls. “My doctor told me the whole answer to this is to lose weight.”

Aday’s chronic back pain made traditional exercise difficult, so she began researching alternative approaches. “I came across the Mayo Clinic Diet and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ I don’t even think of it as a diet — it’s more of a lifestyle,” she explains.

She started the program in May 2024.

The plan offers eight different meal options, each designed to be simple and sustainable. Aday began with the keto-based version before switching to the “simple plan,” which, she says, truly lives up to its name.

“For breakfast this morning, I had a cup of cottage cheese and some grapes,” she says. “For lunch, I plan on having a salad with chicken in it. And for dinner, I’m gonna make portobello mushroom pizzas. Fruit and vegetables are unlimited.”

Paired with the GLP-1 medication Zepbound, which she uses to quiet “food noise,” Aday shed 80 pounds in just 16 months. “I’ve never been able to maintain it before, and this is so doable,” she says. “My labs are golden compared to a year and a half ago.”

Six months into the program, Aday required foot surgery to remove a cyst, but she continued to manage her weight loss despite limited mobility. “I do try to walk,” she explains, “but with foot surgery and my back and everything else, I’ve had very little exercise.”

Even during difficult times, Aday found strength in community. When personal challenges mounted — including the death of her mother — she leaned on support from the Mayo Clinic Diet’s Facebook group. “I have just had one challenge after another, and normally I would have turned to food,” she says. “But when my mom died, I reached out to the group and said, ‘My biggest cheerleader’s not here.’ ”

The response overwhelmed her. “I had about 250 replies from other members just cheering me on,” she recalls.

Now maintaining her weight, Aday hopes her story inspires others to view weight loss differently. “Rather than looking at whatever diet it may be, look at it more as a lifestyle plan,” she says. “It’s your new way for the rest of your life.”

And her biggest piece of advice? Patience. “The weight doesn’t come on overnight, and it’s not gonna come off overnight,” she says. “If I could give myself advice back when I started, I’d say: be patient. Give yourself some grace. If you hit a plateau or you gain, it’s just your body adjusting — keep going. Don’t give up.”