Air Force Vet Flying High After Losing 40 Pounds

From eDiets - The premier online diet, fitness, and healthy living resource

It wasn’t like she hadn’t put some effort into shedding the extra pounds. Donna, also known as eDieter DBUECHLER, had been dieting since turning the big 4-0. When two decades crawled by with little success Donna enlisted with a proven winner, eDiets.com. The other diets had worked temporarily, but each time she gained back everything she lost... plus more. The retired combat nurse was desperate for something to nurse her back to good health.

Not only was she depressed and discouraged, but she also lived in constant fear that her weight would continue to soar. Her concerns heightened when she went on antidepressants and hormone replacement therapy, both of which boast weight gain as a common side effect.

When Donna saw an ad for eDiets, she vowed this would be the last weight loss plan she would ever try. This past March, she said goodbye to those fly-by-night fad diets and hooked up with the real deal: a diet grounded in common sense... a diet costing a mere $10 a month.

Seven months after becoming a member of the leading online weight loss program determined Donna is 40 pounds lighter and proud to be a veteran fly girl.

“Now I am below Air Force standards and now I can get back in my Class A (service dress) uniform which I am very proud of," she raves.

“Before, I wouldn’t even wear it when I could squeeze into it. I wouldn’t wear it because I didn’t want to embarrass the uniform or the Air Force. Now I wouldn’t be an embarrassment to them.”

Donna currently works as a counselor team leader at a veteran center and is working towards a Ph.D. in psychology. She says years of avoiding certain food groups and following fad diets had left a bad taste in her mouth. She wanted a program that made sense. She also wanted something that was convenient.

“That’s what I like about eDiets. There are no foods that have to be avoided," she says. "Everything has calories listed so it’s easy to keep track of. It’s a convenient way to eat healthy and it makes sense.”

Being overweight had been a real downer for Donna who enjoys skiing and rock climbing. Those activities were put on the backburner as her weight inched closer and closer to the 200-pound mark. Although she walked two miles, four times a week, it wasn’t enough to whittle her waistline.

Instead of putting her exercise equipment and scale to good use, she avoided them like the plague. My, how times have changed. Donna now awakens, rushes downstairs, takes off her clothes, gets on the scale and weighs in. Then she slips into her workout wear and gets to it!

These days she works out six days a week walking, riding her stationary bike or doing floor exercises. One of her biggest motivators has been the encouragement from her fellow eDieters on the 50(ish) & Fit support boards (especially the Grand Canyon Hike threads).

When she first joined eDiets, Donna never expected to find friendship and motivation from a computer-driven program.

“I wouldn’t know any of these people I've met online if they walked in the door," she says. "But they are some of the most incredible people in the world. Sometimes I do the exercises and walk because I don’t want to have to tell them I did nothing today. They have a real place in my heart. They are a neat, neat group.

“I’m not the kind of person that uses support groups so I’m astounded at how important these people have become to me.”

The strength she’s gotten from her fellow dieters has helped her lick her weakness for sweets, especially anything chocolate. But one of the greatest tools she has in her pocket is self-discipline -- it has helped her stay on track.

“I feel wonderful," Donna notes. "We have lots of animals and we buy these big bags of food that weigh like 50 or 60 pounds. I can flip one of those bags over my shoulder and carry it in where I couldn’t do that before. I bend over and tie my shoes without having to take deep breaths. Before I couldn’t breathe when I was down there. But now I feel on top of the world.”

The old Donna -- the in-shape gal who could zip around on her motorcycle or go rock climbing without a second thought -- is finally back. Shes ready to take on more challenges and maintain the healthy lifestyle shes adopted seven months ago. Having overcome many obstacles, determined Donna says theres no doubt it can be done.

“Don’t ever let anybody tell you that because you are on hormones or antidepressants you can’t lose weight," she says. "It’s not true because you can lose weight.”

Take it from this super slimmer who continues to fly high with eDiets. She’s been there, done that and has the 40-pound loss to prove it.

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