MySwimPro

How I Lost 75lbs Swimming & Reclaimed My Life

Swimming took my broken pieces, and mended them back together. It was like I was a puzzle with all the pieces out of place, and swimming made me whole again.

My name is Patty Deters, and I am a MySwimPro Ambassador from Colorado. Swimming, and the MySwimPro app, has helped me reclaim my life mentally, physically, and spiritually. I am forever thankful.


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Losing Touch with Swimming

As a child, swimming taught me discipline. As an adult, I felt like a broken person, but swimming helped me find confidence and peace. 

I started swimming when I was 9 years old, and swam all 4 years of high school and college. My sophomore year my dad died, and the swim team helped me get through that.

I stopped swimming after college and I eventually got married, had 3 children, and devoted my life to ministry and family. Over the next 10 years, I put on 100 pounds, got rheumatoid arthritis, and was scared I was going to die young. 

Related: How I Lost 75 Pounds with MySwimPro and Changed My Life Forever

Starting My Journey

In 2015 my son got out of surgery and I took him to a gym, where I met a young trainer who wanted to help me lose weight. I laughed in his face, because I had tried so many weight loss plans with no success. But he persisted, and I gave in. 

About 3 weeks in, he found out I was a competitive swimmer, and he asked me why I wasn’t swimming. I said, “I’m too big.” I did not want to be in a bathing suit. He said I should be doing what I love. 

My advice — for life and swimming — is to talk about what we can do, not what we can’t do.

At that time, doing something for myself was a foreign concept. I spent years taking care of others, and suddenly I had time to focus on myself! So I got in the pool, swam 50 yards, and was so exhausted I had to stop. But not a person in the world could take the smile off my face! 

I started swimming once a week, pulling workouts from the book “Swimming for Total Fitness” that I had used in the past to find workouts. It was from 1980! There was a lot for me to learn: I had to get used to swimming with goggles, do proper turns, and practice and prepare for a meet.

I thought to myself, there ought to be an app for swimming! Thankfully, I found MySwimPro.

How I Lost 75 Pounds Swimming

Related: How to Lose Weight Swimming

Since I started swimming, I have lost 75 pounds and feel amazing! I swim 3 or 4 times per week, and use the MySwimPro app on my iPhone and Apple Watch to track my workouts.

I signed up for MySwimPro’s Coach subscription and started out using the Workout of the Day once a week. Eventually I moved on to the swimming Training Plans as I got stronger and began incorporating fins, a snorkel and other equipment into my workouts. I watched the technique and drill videos in the app to improve my stroke and work on my weaknesses.

I am not sure I would’ve kept swimming if it weren’t for MySwimPro. It was so easy, and there’s so much support from MySwimPro’s global community of swimmers. All of a sudden it was like I had fans in the stands rooting for me again!

With the help of MySwimPro, I swam the 400 IM again at age 57 at the National Senior Games. That’s by far my proudest swimming moment!

Losing Weight, Gaining Confidence

Each time I swim, I leave any worries outside of the pool. It’s amazing what it’s done for me. 

In addition to my weight loss, swimming helps me manage inflammation, and keeps my lungs strong, which is important for people with rheumatoid arthritis.

Most importantly, swimming immediately brought my smile back. If my hands hurt because of arthritis, I could always swim. If I started mad, I always ended up laughing. Each time I swim, I leave any worries outside of the pool. It’s amazing what it’s done for me. 

As a child, swimming taught me discipline. As an adult, I felt like a broken person, but swimming helped me find confidence and peace. 

Related: Swimming is My Moving Medicine

My advice — for life and swimming — is to talk about what we can do, not what we can’t do. So often in life we think we’re the only person going through something. I started blogging about my journey and was surprised at the response. A lot of women, like me, felt broken and wanted to put the pieces back together to reclaim their lives. 

To have gained so much confidence through swimming and share that with others is incredible. If I can help one person see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s worth it to me.

Inspired by Patty’s story? Follow her journey on Instagram at @pattysfitnessjourney. Get 20% off MySwimPro Coach with code PATTYSWIMS.

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