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Angela Davis Is Living Healthier, Losing Weight With 'Just The Basics'

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – It wasn't too long ago that WCCO anchor/reporter Angela Davis had chronic joint pain and needed medication to control her blood pressure.

She was experiencing what many adults do: a stage when it gets harder to hold off weight gain.

"I was never an athlete in high school or college; I was just always sort of naturally thin," Angela said. "It wasn't until I was in my 30s that I think I started to notice the weight starting to just come on its own. And then (my husband and I) waited until we were in our mid-30s to have children, and then it really became difficult."

With a busy life at home and work, the extra pounds made things even more difficult.

"Something was always aching," she said. "Something was always slightly swollen. Things were always making noises."

Then, something really got her attention. She was assigned a story about the rigors of firefighting, which she wanted to experience first-hand.

The Minneapolis Fire Department offered an opportunity to put on about 50 pounds of gear and take part in a simulated fire rescue, but they gave Angela a health check first to make sure she wouldn't be in danger.

"Turns out, I wasn't healthy enough to participate," she said. "I couldn't do everything because my blood pressure was so high. Basically, that day I couldn't do my job because I was too unhealthy. That was definitely a turning point."

The changes since then have come in ways that might seem contradictory to someone who's exhausted. By finding time to add new challenges, she said she's taken away many of her stresses.

"I'm a lot more relaxed," she said. "I'm a lot more mellow. I'm a lot more focused."

She works out three or four days a week with trainer Jason Burgoon in northeast Minneapolis. He's someone Angela met on another story.

It was about one of Jason's clients, Dawn Bryant, who was featured in People Magazine for losing 130 pounds.

"What I remember from that day is Angela being very intrigued at what was going on," Burgoon said. "I'm so proud of her. I couldn't put that to words."

"I'm in my mid-40s," Angela said, "and I'm in much better shape than I ever was in my 20s or 30s."

She's also eating better, which is equally important, keeping track of her daily patterns through a cell phone app called MyFitnessPal.

"I can tell what trips me up and what causes me to have a bad day," she said, "and I can tell, okay, this is why I had a good day, because I had a good breakfast."

She packs a healthy lunch for work, but does still sneak in a few cookies as a small treat.

"A lot of people have asked about, 'Is it a weight loss program? Is it a pill or certain diet?' And it's not, it's just the basics," she said. "It's just eating less and working out more."

Her knee pain is now gone, she's off her blood pressure medication and she's lost about 20 pounds in six months.

"People keep asking me: 'What's your goal?' I don't have a goal weight," she said. "I'm just moving forward."

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