A meltdown turned into a breakthrough for Bellaire resident Brigitte Radulovich.

It all started with a shopping trip to find a pair of ski pants.

Radulovich was in Breckenridge, Colo., with her husband, Mark; their son, Nicholas; and her in-laws.

“For some reason, I packed everyone’s ski pants but mine,” she recalled.

She told everyone to go without her the first day, and she would buy a pair. “I thought I would just pop into town, pick up some pants and be ready for the next day,” she said. “But it did not go that way at all.”

Radulovich perused the selection at a number of stores, but nothing fit. “I finally went to what felt like the last store,” she said. “I was already frustrated.”

The teenager on duty brought her pair after pair of pants; she finally found one that worked. It was a men’s XXL size.

“I started crying,” Radulovich said. “I had realized I needed to lose weight — but not that much. I felt miserable. I was so embarrassed.”

The extra pounds crept up on her. She never struggled with her weight growing up. She played competitive tennis and volleyball and was able to eat whatever she wanted.

Then, after her marriage in 2000, Radulovich started to travel internationally for her work in project management.

“My eating habits took a nose dive,” she said. “I gained a bit of weight here and there; my pants became snug. I started buying stretchy clothes.”

Snacking at night and eating carbs became the norm — anything that fit her busy schedule.

“You don’t really notice, because it’s gradual over time,” she said. “You stop thinking about it.”

When Radulovich and her husband were having trouble conceiving, she underwent six rounds of in vitro fertilization over five years.

Nicholas was born in 2010 — but the hormones and stress of the process took a toll on Radulovich’s health.

By the time she had her epiphany in Breckenridge around Christmas 2018, she weighed 230 pounds and was a size 18. She was also on her way to diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

When Radulovich returned home to Houston, a friend referred her to Lifelong Weight Loss, a nonsurgical clinic at 3100 Weslayan.

The facility is run by Dr. Rupal Mathur, a board-certified internal medicine physician who received her medical degree from Baylor College and completed her residency through Harvard Medical School at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Mathur practiced primary care for several years before deciding to transition her career to weight-loss medicine. As a primary care provider, the majority of her patients struggled with their weight. “It became very frustrating for me,” she said.

Instead of being able to spend time with the patients and getting to the root of the problem, she only had 15 minutes per appointment. Rather than discussing diet and nutrition, the physician found herself writing prescriptions for cholesterol and blood pressure medications.

Mathur discovered the Obesity Medicine Association, a network of clinicians dedicated to fighting the health effects of obesity. In 2017, she took a sabbatical, signed up for a fellowship and dove into research. She decided to start her own practice focused on weight loss. “It was the best decision I ever made,” Mathur said. “I found my passion.”

She chose the name “Lifelong Weight Loss” to reflect its mission to achieve long-lasting, healthy lifestyle changes.

On the first visit with patients, Mathur spends about 75 minutes reviewing history, food intolerances and motivation for weight loss. She delves into body composition, looking for carbohydrate sensitivity and blood sugar problems. She reviews lab results.

“I take all of that into account and create an eating plan that makes sense for the patient,” she said. “It can’t be unrealistic because then the patient won’t stick with it.”

Nutrition is key to success. “We want to focus on eating,” Mathur said. “That’s 80 percent of weight loss.”

While Radulovich was initially skeptical, she committed to trying Mathur’s recommendations for a week.

In that short amount of time, she dropped 8 pounds — mostly from water weight and cutting out sodas. “That came as a shock,” Radulovich said. She continued with Mathur’s plan and, in a few months, lost 40 pounds.

Her husband also decided to go to Lifelong Weight Loss and ended up weighing 35 pounds less by the end of the process.

“By changing our eating habits, we had more energy and felt happier,” Radulovich said. “This fog just lifted.” These days, instead of a size 18, she wears a size 4 or 6. She has lost 83 pounds, and her cholesterol and blood sugar are in check.

Most important, Radulovich said her son is picking up the couple’s healthy eating habits. “He makes salads and loves Brussels sprouts and green beans,” she said.

Lindsay Peyton is a Houston-area freelance writer.