Most people know Kathy Bates because of her acting skills. After all, movies, such as Misery and American Horror Story, just wouldn’t have been the same without her. These days, Kathy is attracting attention for another accomplishment. She lost 60 pounds and she didn’t follow the latest fad diet to do it.

According to Bates, she lost weight using “mindfulness, just knowing when to push my plate away.” Bates explained, “My niece told me this little secret – I guess it’s no secret, it’s a biological thing – that at some point when you’re eating, you have this involuntary sigh and that’s really your brain and your stomach communicating that you’ve had enough. The trick is to pay attention to that and push your plate away.” It must have taken some time to accomplish because it didn’t happen overnight. Along with being mindful, she stopped eating junk food and drinking soda.

Kathy says that she developed lymphedema after her breast cancer went into remission and she said, “I’m feeling great. I’ve lost a lot of weight.” Lymphedema is a painful condition that causes swelling because of a collection of lymph fluid. It is something that tends to happen in the legs and arms and it can be crippling. She feels that losing weight has helped. “I have never been in such good health,” she said. “I just had a physical. I’m doing great … I feel like a completely different person. I can move, I can walk. I just wish I had done it years ago.”

I have to say, this woman is quite an inspiration. Her example proves that you are never too old to make a change in your life.