Kyle Shepherd on Listening to Her Body and Rewriting Her Story

By VOICE-TRIBUNE Photos by Kathryn Harrington 

In this Q&A, Kyle Shepherd shares the personal journey behind her body transformation, a journey that came about slowly but with growing urgency. “What comes to mind is that quote often attributed to Anaïs Nin: ‘And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.’” For Kyle, that turning point came in her late 40s, carrying 265 pounds on a 5’1” frame and beginning to feel the toll, physically and emotionally. “I still moved well and wore it decently, but my body constantly ached,” she recalls. “I was looking down the barrel of an early death or at least a lower quality of life than what I wanted for myself.” 

With honesty and compassion for herself, Kyle opens up about her decision to have gastric sleeve surgery, not as a shortcut but as a supportive tool. “It helped, but it didn’t do the work for me,” she says. Kyle’s discipline, effort, and choices are what carried her through. Over time, she made lasting lifestyle changes, cutting back on sugar, listening to her body, and making movement a consistent part of her life. “My lifestyle adapted, and that’s what creates lasting change.” 

Kyle also speaks gently and openly about the realities that often follow significant weight loss, including the challenges of excess skin. “Some people say to wear it like a trophy, and while that’s a nice spin, the reality is it’s also a burden,” she says. With care for her well-being, she chose to have skin removal surgery in two areas and jokes that she’s still saving up for her thighs. Through it all, Kyle shares her story with warmth and vulnerability.

Voice-Tribune (VT): What was your mindset going into this journey? Were there things you did to emotionally or mentally prepare yourself ahead of time? 

Kyle Shepherd (KS): I’ve always been someone who researches before making big decisions. But the truth is I had to make a change — my quality of life was already suffering, and honestly, I feared death could come sooner rather than later. When you’re 5-foot-1 and 265 pounds (yeah, yikes, I know), it feels like walking around with a ticking time bomb. I had been prediabetic for years and knew I didn’t want to cross that line. Now, navigating perimenopause, the only thing I would’ve done differently is start sooner. The bloating and inevitable weight gain from my hormones leaving the party are battling against me, but I ride it out — and if I could go back, I’d give myself the gift of more time with my estrogen! Haha. 

VT: When it came to cosmetic surgery, what helped you feel confident in your decision, and how did you know it was the right step for you? 

KS: Excess skin can be a battle scar — it can be worn like a trophy, as all the weight loss sites say. But I also wanted to truly enjoy the results of all my hard work. I didn’t want to wave goodbye to a neighbor and feel like I was also waving goodbye to the entire continent of Australia! Removing the skin from my stomach and arms felt like a different kind of triumph. I was putting in serious effort at the gym and making gains, but with all that extra skin, I couldn’t see the progress. I wanted to see the fruits of my labor. I’m only six weeks post-op and still swollen and just getting back into heavy lifting, so I’m hoping to see those gains come back soon. I’ll probably never look super thin — especially at my height — because everything is just packed into a more compact frame. We have to make peace with what we are given. There is no treatment to make me taller. I am what I am. The skin removal has made a visible difference, especially in my arms. Thank you, CaloSpa! Thank you, Baptist Health, for my gastric sleeve! As for the effect on my self-esteem? I’m not even sure I can put it into words. It’s been immense. And not because of the vanity, but because of the investment and literal sweat I put into myself! Knowing I did the work, said the necessary no’s, and made the changes for ME! 

VT: Body image can be such a complex and personal thing. How has your relationship with your body shifted through this process? 

KS: There were times I swear I had the opposite of body dysmorphia — I never thought I looked that bad. But I felt bad at that weight. Even now, there are days when I catch a glimpse of myself on a low day and think, “Have I even changed at all?” That’s when I pull out an old photo, sometimes just of my face, and the massive weight loss there alone reminds me how far I’ve come — and to stay the course. I can honestly say I treat my body with far more care now than I ever did before. I give it rest when it needs it, I fuel it more mindfully, and I try not to speak negatively about myself or my body. She — my body — went through this with me, and we’re in it together. She kept her end of the bargain by not entirely breaking down when I neglected her all those years, surely I can maintain my side. Our minds are incredibly powerful. Once we learn to harness that power over our circumstances, moods, and behaviors, we can make a lasting impact on our lives. 

VT: You’ve been beautifully open about your experience. What made you feel ready to share your story publicly? 

KS: We all have struggled. When genetics and weight are part of the equation, those of us carrying that burden often face an even tougher battle, on top of life’s typical challenges that most face. If my struggles can help spark change in someone else or let them see that I can do it later in life, then so can they — that’s all I can hope for from being so raw and honest. 

The only advice I’d give — even though you can reinvent anytime in life, even later like I did — is do it sooner rather than later. Give yourself more time to enjoy life in your new body! And for goodness’ sake, do it before perimenopause or menopause, so you’re not battling hormones on top of the general maintenance that comes with it all. That maintenance is a lifestyle. I’ve learned that “no” is a perfectly acceptable word — and saying “no” to a donut (which are in my office every Friday!) is powerful. The more you say no, the easier it gets — and each small win builds your strength for the next literal or metaphorical donut. It’s never easy, but it’s always worth it. Most things that are truly worth it usually are. 

VT: What did healing and recovery look like for you, not just physically, but emotionally too? 

KS: The first few years were exciting — the weight was falling off, but only because I was truly listening to my full cues. Around the two-year mark, though, things even out.. Your life becomes more routine. You’re no longer actively losing weight as your body finds its natural state, which is usually a few pounds above your lowest weight. That’s when the real test begins. The excitement fades, people stop commenting, and even you start to settle into your new normal. That’s where the rubber meets the road — it becomes less about motivation and more about discipline. You have to choose your new lifestyle over and over again, even on the hard days. Motivation will not be available to you every day, but discipline will. 

As for skin removal, healing meant strictly following my doctor’s advice. When they told me I couldn’t work out for five or six weeks, I was nervous. Exercise has become such a core part of my life, not just physically but mentally. It helped keep me grounded. But after getting a new stomach and new arms, I was incredibly motivated to return to the gym and continue shaping the body I’d worked so hard for. For me, healing and recovery came down to one word: discipline. Over and over again — discipline, discipline, discipline. 

At 5’1” and having lost 120 pounds—then gaining about 10 back on this more compact frame—it became clear to me that no matter what I did, my height would always limit how I appeared. Once I accepted that and let go of trying to be some version of Barbie with what God gave me, everything shifted. When I started to feel the benefits of working out, it finally clicked: Vanity is never a good enough reason to prioritize yourself. But taking care of this incredible machine God gave us? That is. 

VT: Was there a moment during your transformation that really stands out — something that made you feel proud or seen? 

KS: Running across the Big Four Bridge and feeling like I was flying for the first time was the standout moment for me. I swear I was floating, not tethered to the ground. It was pure freedom. 

Another moment was more external, but meaningful in a different way. As a middle-aged woman, people often talk about becoming “invisible,” and there’s truth to that. I don’t always feel it, but sometimes it’s definitely there — that sense of being looked past. So when I’d go to the gym and young men would chat with me about lifting or share a laugh, I did feel seen. I think there’s a certain energy you put out when you start to feel confident. For me, lifting weights and running no longer feel like things I do — they feel like who I am now. My trainer, George Wiggins at WTF (haha) made me love kettlebells again and TRX! 

VT: How did the people around you — friends, family, or even online supporters — respond as you went through these changes? 

KS: I would catch people staring — it was kind of funny. Then one day I found myself doing the same thing to a friend who had lost a significant amount of weight, and in that moment I realized why others looked at me the way they did. I also received a lot of gratitude from people for being open about my journey. Some see surgery as a defeat, but I never did. I always knew it wasn’t a magic fix — I had done the hard work, not the scalpel or the doctor who performed the surgery, so I felt no shame in being honest about the process. For skin loss, my doctors celebrated with me at CaloSpa — knowing I’d put in the work and this was a reward I was giving myself. 

To this day, people still ask, “Did you lose it naturally?” And my response is always, “What does naturally even mean?” I did the work. I said no when it was hard. I paid attention to what went into my mouth. I got off the couch when I would have rather rested. I ran in the rain, passed on the donut and counted calories in and out. What about that isn’t natural? 

VT: Looking at where you are now, what would you tell your past self at the beginning of this journey? 

KS: I’d tell my past self: “Buckle up — you’re about to lose a lot more than just weight, including some skin you won’t be needing anymore. There will be moments where you’ll wonder why you started (the itching after skin removal), but trust me, it’s worth it. It will also be more rewarding than you can imagine — as you basically fly across the Big Four Bridge during a run in the rain, or you try on a dress and barely recognize who is looking back at you. You’ll face setbacks (perimenopause bloat, struggling to eat all the protein!), self-doubt (can I keep this up?), and pain — especially through the surgeries and healing — but you’ll also discover strength you didn’t know you had. Paramount to it all, you’ll learn that your worth was never tied to your weight. You will learn that removing the skin won’t remove the scars of neglecting your body and therefore yourself, but it will help you reclaim your body in a new way. Keep going. Every struggle will shape you, not just your body, but your spirit too. You’re not just changing how you look — you’re becoming who you’ve always been meant to be. For me, that is a jogging weightlifter.”