As a child, Amanda York had what she, her parents and her doctors thought were migraines. But since the headaches only happened every six months or so, no one was overly concerned.
On York’s first day of middle school, though, they realized migraine headaches weren’t the cause of her pain.
“I was 11 years old, and I remember I was very excited to go to my first day of sixth grade, and then I had one of these episodes during the night. I woke my mom up and I said, ‘I think I have a brain tumor,’” she tells TODAY.com.
York’s mother assured her it was probably nothing, but she called their pediatrician, who recommended an MRI. York had the scan done, and she and her mother went home to wait for the results.
When the results came in, the doctors wanted York back at the hospital immediately. Her prediction was right — she had a brain tumor, called a craniopharyngioma, the size of a golf ball, located in the center of her brain. The pressure from the tumor was what had been causing her headaches, and she likely wouldn’t have lived more than a couple of days if they hadn’t caught it.
The tumor had taken over her hypothalamus and pituitary glands. It was close to her optic nerve and carotid artery. They needed to operate, even though the surgery came with a 50% risk she would lose her eyesight and a 30% risk she wouldn’t survive.
York made it through the 9.5-hour surgery, and her eyesight was spared. She was hospitalized for close to six weeks as she recovered. “I was grateful to be alive,” she says.
York underwent an most 10-hour surgery to remove a brain tumor that had taken over her hypothalamus and pituitary glands.
She started menopause at age 11
The procedure caused major hormonal changes. “I went into menopause when I was 11 years old. They told me I would have hormonal complications, but my family and I had no idea what that would mean. I went into the hospital at 98 pounds, and went home at 160 pounds. A year after surgery, I was 250 pounds,” she says.
Along with the weight gain came high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, high cortisol and sleep apnea.
Hormonal changes from brain surgery caused York to leave the hospital 60 pounds heavier than when she was admitted.
Her family looked for ways to improve her health
York’s mother knew she needed to find ways to stay healthy despite the hormonal shifts. “My mom pivoted me into a life of health and wellness,” she says.
She started working out with a personal trainer before and after school back in the late 90s, when strength training wasn’t nearly as popular is it is today, especially for girls. She made healthier food choices.
“I channeled all of my abilities into things I could control. I couldn’t really control what was going on in my body, but I could put good things in it, and I could work out,” she says.
York’s mother introduced her to fitness and healthy eating as a teenager.
She didn’t lose weight, but she gained muscle and she was seeing mental-health benefits. Her blood pressure and cholesterol levels weren’t as high. She wasn’t craving high-fat, high-sugar foods.
Still, four years after her brain surgery she needed double knee surgeries because of the excessive weight gain. “I was told I would never squat or run again,” she says.
Despite living a healthy lifestyle, hormonal shifts from surgery caused York to battle weight gain into adulthood.
She revamped her workout routine
York’s weight stayed between 200 and 250 pounds throughout her teen years and into adulthood — she is now 38. She was still lifting weights, and she started taking cycling classes, which she liked so much she became an instructor. “Playing good music makes cardio fun,” she says.
She joined Life Time in 2016 because she wanted to socialize while she exercised. “I’m not a person to put on headphones and go lift weights on my own. I want to meet friends for a class and do something together,” she says.
Life Time transformed the way she thinks about fitness. “When I walked through the door, I weighed 250 pounds, and I believed that high-intensity exercise was my only option. You weren’t going to catch me in the yoga room or doing Pilates,” she says.
While high-intensity exercise can be great, she realized she needed to find a balance. “It can drive up your cortisol, epinephrine and stress responses. You have to find a way to bring them down,” she says.
“I started taking yoga and seeing incredible mental health and wellness benefits positively impacting my life. Now, I’m focused on my strength. I’m focused on my overall mental health and mind/body awareness. Yoga keeps me grounded so I can better deal with stress in daily life,” she says.
She sees the value in mixing up her workout routine. “I don’t think there is a format I haven’t tried. For me it’s got to be a challenge, but I also want to find a level of fun or joy in what I’m doing,” she says. She’s even teaching aqua aerobics at Life Time, a class that’s close to her heart because it was one of the few classes she could take when she started, due to her size. And in early March, she taught as part of Life Time’s fundraiser for the Children’s Miracle Network hospitals.
Despite being active with strength training and high-intensity cardio, York’s weight fluctuated between 200 and 250 pounds into adulthood.
She made a drastic change to her diet
By 2018, York felt like she was doing everything she could. She was working out, she had found a doctor she was happy with and she was on the right hormonal medications. She decided to take a hard look at what she was eating.
“For an entire year, I went on a very restrictive eating protocol. It was something I would never do long term,” she says. “It was done under my doctor’s supervision.”
She eliminated processed food. She ate a lot of leafy greens and high-protein vegetables and some fish, chicken, beef and eggs. She limited carbs to 30 grams a day.
“I made my own coffee. I knew the chickens that were laying my eggs. I knew the local growers that were growing my fruits and vegetables. I prepped, made and packed everything,” she says.
Joining Life Time transformed the way York thinks about fitness and taught her to find a balanced, well-rounded routine.
In four months, she lost 40 pounds and within a year she lost 100. Ultimately, she lost 130 pounds and her weight stabilized at that level in 2020.
Maintaining a healthy weight means she doesn’t need to be so strict about what she eats. Now, she aims for healthy eating 80 to 90% of the time and choosing other foods the rest of the time. “If I want to have an ice cream sundae, I’m not going to worry about it,” she says.
York loves cycling classes so much, she became an instructor.
She’s proof that a difficult diagnosis doesn’t have to be devastating
York found ways to improve her strength and her health despite the challenges she faced.
“I’m a living testament that just because you’re given a diagnosis, it doesn’t have to be the end of anything. Listen to medical professionals, but understand that they know what they know. They don’t know your resilience, your determination or your ability to think outside of the box and find a different way,” she says.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
