My weight has been a constant battle my whole life. I've been on and off diets, lost weight, gained it back, plus more. I never knew that dieting was a huge part of my problem. At my heaviest, when I left the hospital after having my now 3-year-old daughter, I was 318 pounds.
In June of 2007, my husband and I decided that once and for all we were going to lose weight. He started on one of the "systems", while I began a different program. I started my journey at 271.5 pounds. On September 8th, I was talking to one of my bosses on the phone and he was telling me that he and his wife had begun a new eating plan, a lifestyle change, and had been very successful. They were 5 weeks in and his wife had lost 20 pounds. In the 3 months that I was on the other program, I had lost a total of 14 pounds. Something just wasn't right.
My boss sent me to www.mybodymakeover.com. I spent a couple of hours reading the site, did my blueprint, and started reading the forums. I was quickly convinced that the 6 Week Body Makeover made perfect sense and from the success stories I could see that it WORKED. I hit the "buy" button and began waiting for my box to arrive. I spent more time than I'd care to admit reading the forums while waiting for my kit to arrive. It arrived on Friday so I had the entire weekend to get familiar with the details of the program and to get prepared. I cooked all weekend and was ready to begin Monday morning.
September 17, 2007 is the day my life changed once and for all. I started on the plan that morning weighing 257.5 pounds. I was completely committed and determined to get to goal by my 39th birthday July 1st. I had read the black book in its entirety, and knew that the way to reach goal quickly was to start committed to staying on plan and to stay on plan.
I lost 11 pounds that first week and there was no turning back! The first 6 weeks, I shed forever 29 pounds. After 3 months, I was 55 pounds lighter. After 5 months, I was down over 80 pounds. And on April 7, 2008, I reached my goal with 100 pounds lost on plan in under 7 months. I have lost almost 90 inches, and have gone from wearing 20/22W pants to wearing 4's and 6's!
During my reduction, I stayed on plan except for one meal, and always drank my water. I cooked in bulk on the weekends, and was always prepared for whatever the week brought. I took my meals everywhere - to work, to church, to dinners at friends' houses - I even made a business trip with my food packed in my checked luggage so I could stay on plan. I will never forget the look on the flight attendant's face when I whipped out baggies of ground turkey, green beans, and rice and proceeded to have an on-plan meal on a flight that didn't even have beverage service.
My friends and family have been amazed by the transformation. My mother is now Living Lean after losing 45 pounds; my husband has decided to join me on the program to lose his last 30 pounds (he's lost 20 of it so far!); my mother-in-law will be joining us on plan soon. Various friends and coworkers are also now on-plan. They know that the 6WBMO works - I'm proof!
The greatest reward has been seeing my daughters, ages 3 and 5, make healthier choices in foods. And, yeah, it's really nice to hear them refer to me as their "skinny Mama!"
Thank you Michael Thurmond for teaching me how to turn my life around and giving me the tools to stay healthy - for life. Thank you NBU for all of your support, accountability, encouragement, and motivation! I would never have done it without you!