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As long as I can remember, even as a child, I have had a weight problem. I grew up in an era when there were no plus sizes, so my grandmother made all my clothes for me, until I was 16 years old. One store began to sell larger sizes that I could wear, and that was such an exhilarating day – to have a store-bought dress! But, it didn’t take away the pain that I was bigger than all my friends and that boys had no interest in me at all.
After years of yo-yo dieting, losing and re-losing 50 lbs., 85 lbs., and then 110 lbs. though all kinds of diets and commercial programs, my doctor finally talked to me about gastric bypass surgery. He was not pushing it, but knowing my failing history with dieting, he thought I should investigate it. Well, I did. What I learned was that following the surgery, I would forever be doomed to eating about 2 oz. a meal, or I could die. It was as simple as that. I had told him I would give him my decision by June 1, 2003. It was then, February 2003. During that time I half-heartedly dieted, still with no success. I was morbidly obese, and could not exercise. It was a vicious circle.
I still had not made a decision, but one night around the end of May 2003, I absolutely could not sleep one night, so I flipped on the TV. The program that came up was an infomercial I had seen many times before, but for some reason, I was glued to the set. I could not turn it off or change channels. It was as if God wanted me to see AND hear this information. What I heard was a program developed by Michael Thurmond that used real foods, nothing processed, and no gimmick pills to melt the weight off. What I realized was that his program would have me eating the way I’d have to have eaten after the gastric bypass surgery, and that I could lose weight without the pain of surgery, without the cost of surgery, and without the danger of surgery. Besides that, his program was money-back guaranteed. What did I have to lose, but weight?
That day I ordered the program and started on it June 12, 2003. Since that time, I’ve lost 123 lbs., almost 10 dress sizes, and 176-1/4 inches all over in 13 measuring spots. My journey is not over, and quite frankly, it will never be over, but my goal is to lose another 43 lbs. Even when I reach that goal, I will have to be on a constant vigil, because the demons are waiting in the wings for me at any moment. Friends and acquaintances have marveled at the physical changes in me, and have made comments on my determination and my will power. I just have to sit back and smile, because I have neither of those. What I have is God-power. You see, the night before I began this adventure, I prayed to God, first confessing to Him what a failure I had been in the past in losing weight and seeking His power and strength to lead me through the difficulties that lay ahead. I told Him I could not do this alone, ant that I truly was going to turn the process over to Him. From that moment, a burden was lifted from my shoulders, and I knew that with His help, this was going to set me on the path to better health. I am not in charge. God is. I truly believe he put Michael Thurmond in my path. That is not to say I have not had moments of weakness in the past 14 months. The demons are still waiting for me, but I keep coming back to prayer and letting God direct this journey with Michael’s help..
During this process, not only have I lost weight, but also my doctor has taken me off all diabetic medications and is planning to remove the last of my cholesterol medications this next week. All my lab work results have come back in the excellent range, since the 8th week of the program. Exercise is becoming an important part of my life. All I do is walk about 2-2/3 miles a day, but I could not do even 5 min. of walking until I had lost 80 lbs., which was six months into the program. Now I’m doing 40-minutes of paced walking daily, without feeling tired or exhausted. I have re-discovered the joy of cooking, the joy of participating in life and the realization that as long as God is in control, so will be my weight. I am so thankful to Michael that my tastes have changed and that I no longer have those terrible cravings that haunted me all my life.
>>>>>>>>>> I celebrated my 60th birthday in March 2003 and had been looking for a life change for my body. In the winter of 2003, my internist suggested that I might want to consider gastric bypass surgery. After researching it for several months and after seeing Michael Thurmond's infomercial, I realized his program would have me eating the same way I'd have to eat following the surgery, without the expense, the pain, and the danger connected to the surgery. My first experience with dieting was a 1000 calorie plan at age 16. Since then, my body has been a yo-yo, stretching from about 150 lbs. to its highest at 365 lbs. and size 34W. Somewhere in there "they" killed my thyroid with radioactive iodine and sent me home by saying, "You can never lose weight, but you will gain." That was almost a death sentence. About 12 years later, I did Jenny Craig, and loved it. I lost 110 lbs. and was well on my way, when I fell, injuring a knee. Just about the time I could get back to exercising, I fell again, landing on the same knee. No more exercise for a long time! I still having problems with it flaring up after too much walking. My husband of almost 27 years passed away on Nov. 1, 2001, and for a long time, I didn't really care what I looked like. But, I'm really excited about this program and the life changes I can make with it. No more yo-yo-ing!!!
April 2004 (88 lbs. / 143-3/4 inches): After being on the program since June 2003, I can honestly say this is a life-changing plan. I have found that my tastes have changed drastically, basically eliminating my desire for fatty, salty foods. My health has also improved dramatically, with all my lab tests falling well within the excellent range. I would encourage anyone with a severe weight problem to buy this kit and tell everyone you know what you are doing. That helps keep me honest, and when I don't report, my support group seems to call or email to find out what my results were for the week. Thanks to Michael Thurmond and Provida, I'm well on my way to a healthier, happier me!
Update (8-27-04)
Several months ago, I re-took the blueprinting questionnaire, and found out that I had changed from a Body type A to a type B. Recently, I've been losing about a pound a week, with about 50 lbs. left to reach goal, so at the urging of a friend, I re-took the test again, and found out that I had changed again.....this time to a Type D. My only exercise has been paced walking, due to other surgeries and injuries that have left me unable to do the bands. However, my body shape has vastly improved, and I would urge anyone who has a lot of weight to lose and who cannot exercise much to try this program. The eating plan really is the main component of your weight loss. I'm living proof of that!!! Now I am off all my medications except 1/2 of a lipitor and the synthroid, which I'll always have to take, and that is such a liberating feeling. My lab work is all within the excellent range and has been since the 8th week on the program. At the writing of this part, I have just finished my 63rd week on program.
Update (October 2004 - 69th week): When I started this program, I was so overweight that I really could not exercise. After 6 months and an 80-lb. loss, I began to do paced walking, but could do only 5 min. about 3 times a week. Gradually I added time, 5 min. at a time, and then added more days. Now, I am walking 40 min. a day in two 20-minute sessions. All together I am now walking 2-2/3 miles a day in that 40 minutes!!!! It has taken me about 8 months of walking to get to that point.
Also, I just got the report from my dr. who has taken me off the lipitor, leaving only the synthroid I'll always have to take. The best news was that he told me I am no longer considered to be a diabetic!!!
Update 1-13-05: I found out from the ophthalmologist that the pressure in both my eyes was now in the "normal" range, which is the first time in over 11 years that had happened. It dropped from 28 and 27 to 17 in both eyes!! In fact, he told me in all his years in practice (around 35 years), he had NEVER had a patient or even HEARD of a patient who had pressures lowered. At one time I was even on daily drops for glaucoma, but they did not help. I feel sure the weight loss and the fact that I'm off all added salt and preservatives has made a tremendous difference in my overall health. Also, after 15 years of constant joint pain all over my body, I am totally pain-free!!!! I am a huge advocate of SWBM, as you can see!!!
1-19-05 Update: Today I was at the dr.'s office. It was my consult visit before my colonoscopy on Feb. 1st (my first one!!) After he listened to what I'd been doing to lose weight, etc., and how I was cooking, he told me as we walked out, "I need you to do consult with my (and then he broke into a whisper) obese patients!!" After that, I followed him down the hall to the receptionist's desk and as he turned to leave me there, he said, "I just want you to know that you're my new hero!" Isn't that cool?
Can you believe the wonderfully positive changes in my health? That could be yours, too!!!
Update: 1-26-05 Today I finally hit ONE-derland!!!!
Update: 2-1-05 Today I had a colonoscopy, and the meds that I had to drink yesterday caused me to gain 10 lbs. overnight. (I'm not changing my avatar, though)
Update: 2-23-05 I lost 3 lbs. within 2 days, then 2 more lbs. the next week and last week I lost 2 more lbs. Now I have 3 more to lose to get back to one-derland!!! I will get there, even though I fell last Wed. and have not been able to exercise for a week.
3-25-05: I have not updated lately, but although I have not been losing pounds since my fall (I have not been able to exercise like I had been.), I have lost inches and another dress size. I guess my body is just leveling out. However, I am feeling wonderful and cannot imagine carrying around all those extra pounds. Now I have lost 129 lbs. (still have 2 of those pesky pounds I gained with colonoscopy meds to lose!) and 190-1/2 inches all over.
Update 4-1-05: I have finally lost the last 2 lbs. I gained with the colonoscopy meds. and am now back to 199. I also lost 3/4 of an inch. This week, my dr. cut my Synthroid (thyroid med.) in half, which is the lowest dose I've taken in over 20 years!!! This program rocks!
Update 4-21-05: YEA!! I finally got to change my avitar!! 135 lbs. gone (and a total of 170 lbs. gone since I retired in 2001!!!)
Update - 5-17-05: I've been losing inches lately and really need to lose about 25 more lbs., so today I re-took the body mapping quiz and it keeps coming back as a body type B, so I'm switching gears here in the middle of the stream!! It worked once before, so I'll try it again.
Week 101, weekly update: Lost 1-3/4 inches this week, but no lbs. That makes 196-1/4 inches overall.
Week 102: Lost 2 lbs. this week after changing from type A to type B!!!! That makes 137 lbs. down and 23 to go!!!
The rest of the updates are on my BLOG, along with all my favorite recipes. Here's the link: http://emaxson2.blogspot.com. Please visit and copy anything you find there. That's what it is for!! Happy losing.
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