My efforts to heal osteoarthritis naturally include healthy nutrition with a focus on clean, simple food. Lifestyle changes like better sleep, less stress, modest daily exercise, plenty of water, help not just my crumbling hip but also my overall health. Weight loss has been a lifelong struggle for me since my late teens. Countless extreme diets, childbirth, menopause, and 47 years of office jobs certainly didn’t help.

With the diagnosis of stage 4 “bone-on-bone” osteoarthritis in my left hip, accompanied by the recommendation to get a total hip replacement done, I was finally scared enough to seriously get a grip on myself.

Over the past two years I lost 44 lbs of excess weight. I now fit into clothes that I’ve last worn fourty years ago. My hip hurts less, but I’m not fully recovered there yet. I love looking in the mirror, and I’m taking more selfies than ever before. Is that vanity? I call it pride.

Here’s a side-by-side comparison of me going from chubby cheeks and double chin in 2010 to big, bright eyes, laugh lines all over, and silver hair in 2026.