How I
Lost 161 Pounds Weight Loss Success Story
From
eDiets - The online diet, fitness, and healthy living resource Are
you struggling to lose 10 pounds? Well, imagine then having to lose 10
pounds... and to have to do it 16 consecutive times!
That’s right, 160 pounds, the weight
of an average person and a female bighorn sheep. Impossible?
Naaaaaaaaaaaa... Not according to vivacious Vanessa F. This weeks
super-stunner is the stuff that diet dreams are made of.
Since joining
eDiets in August 2001, 24-year-old Vanessa has made
the stunning transformation from frumpy to fabulous. Her weight has plunged
from 311 to 150 pounds and instead of squeezing into size 26 clothes, shes now
slipping her 5'10" frame into slender size 7s.
Vanessa, an online merchandiser for
Ice.com, was no stranger to dieting. Starting at age 12, she had tried
virtually every diet known to woman (and man). From the Cabbage Soup Diet to
the 3-Day Diet, nothing was too quirky or offbeat for this desperate dieter.
While the weight would often come off quickly, the aftermath was a whirlwind of
despair. Vanessa would pack back on every last pound she shed... and then some.
Vanessa was the victim of yo-yo
dieting and more than double her healthy weight. A big part of the problem: her
struggle with emotional eating. After the birth of son Joshua, now 5, her
weight woes only worsened.
“If I was happy, I’d celebrate by
going out to eat,” the curvy-again Canadian says from her office in
Quebec. “If I had a horrible day, I would indulge. My life revolved around
food. But it doesn’t anymore.”
Having had her fill of diets, Vanessa knew
she needed a major lifestyle overhaul. The bad habits had to go. Skipping two
important meals -- lunch and dinner -- hadn’t been her only downfall. When
she did eat, it was fattening fast food from McDonald’s and Burger King.
Vanessa was at the point she never wanted to say diet again, but she
desperately needed to lose weight.
 Then, while taking a quiz online, she
stumbled upon an ad for eDiets and decided to pay the weight loss website a
visit. The yummy menus, the individualized shopping lists and the super support
boards immediately caught her eye. These were the tools she had lacked for so
long. With nothing to lose but weight, Vanessa signed on to become a member of
eDiets - the leading online weight loss program.
“It was like a Weight Watchers meeting
from home, but even better," she raves. "The meals were planned out. I
didn’t have to think about what I was going to eat, which is very hard.
When you’re an overeater, you put so much into the thought process about
what you’re going to eat.
“eDiets helped me change my thought
process. When I think about what I’m going to eat, a rice cake or fruit
comes to mind. Before, I never ate fruit and vegetables. When I want chips, I
go for the Baked Lays. I got used to eating that way. Now, it’s my
lifestyle... and I didn’t have to omit anything.”
 At first, following the plan was a challenge for
Vanessa. It wasnt just a matter of changing her diet; she needed to change her
mind. As the days went by, she got into a routine that guaranteed slimming
success. She would keep a copy of her weekly meal plan and check the meals off
as she ate them. She read the tip-packed newsletters religiously and soon began
receiving support on the bulletin boards from her fellow eDieters.
It was a recipe for success. Vanessa was
soon seeing the pounds melt away at a healthy rate of two per week. It was the
biggest obstacle she had ever overcome. What surprised her the most was how
well eDiets fit her life -- she didn’t have to stop living while she was
losing.
“I can go out to dinner and eat
Chinese," she notes. "I’m so used to having stir-fry that I don’t
want the General Tao’s Chicken. I work in an office, where they have
Danishes every morning. But I realize if I put that Danish in my stomach, I
won’t be able to digest it. I’d rather have fruit that makes me feel
light and lively, not junk that I won’t be able to digest.”
 Once she got rolling with her diet program,
Vanessa became serious about a fitness plan too. She started slow by taking
walks with a few friends. From there, she joined a women's gym. She even
enlisted a personal trainer to keep her on the right track.
She refused to let the extra pounds weigh
her down. The moment she hit 20 pounds down, Vanessa began Tae Bo classes.
Today, physical activity is a key element in her life. Vanessa somehow finds
the time to do Tae Bo on Mondays and Wednesdays, Power Turbo on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, aerobics once a week, weight training with her trainer once a week,
and yoga or Pilates once a week.
All her hard work has paid off. Not
only is Vanessa in the best physical shape of her life, shes also more
confident than ever before.
Vanessa admits there was a mental
transition she had to make, especially when men's feelings toward her turned
from “Hey Bubba” to “Hey Baby!”
Vanessa says, “I had always been a
happy-go-lucky person. I hated the fact I was overweight. I hated myself for
it. But I’m okay with it now. I keep a picture of myself on the fridge to
remind me that’s what I looked like before.
"I am still the same person inside; I just
look very different on the outside. I’m completely comfortable with
myself." |
