I Lost 52 Pounds With Dr. Phil and eDiets

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

Our featured dieter from Wisconsin easily shed 37 pounds with the leading online weight loss program. Then over the past few years she lost her focus and regained the pounds. It wasnt long before her weight peaked at 218.

Poor Sue was downright miserable, so when a co-worker suggested they join the Weight Watchers at-work program, she agreed. However, it didn’t take Sue long to realize there’s no place like home. Meetings once a week weren’t going to cut it -- she needed 24/7 support to keep her on track.

She also wanted more bang for her buck. After three months on the popular "brick-and-mortar" program, Sue came to her senses and rejoined eDiets.

"With Weight Watchers I didn’t really get the menus," Sue, a 45-year-old medical transcriptionist, tells eDiets. "I didn’t like points and counting things. I thought it was stupid. I didn’t think it was something a person could do for the rest of her life. I wanted something that prepared me for living in the real world from day to day. With eDiets you get that.

"It was like coming back to an old friend when I rejoined eDiets in January 2003."

eDiets proved to be just as comfortable the second time around. With her personalized meal plan and around-the-clock support, super-determined Sue shrank from 203 to 151 pounds over the past year.

Nine months into the eDiets experience, she took advantage of the Shape Up! Program inspired Dr. Phil McGraw. In addition to learning healthy eating habits, the mom-of-two relied on Dr. Phil to help her understand the psychological aspects of losing weight.

The easy-to-follow menus, the supportive chat rooms, Dr. Phil, and her Sweet Valentine’s team on the Creative Challenge support board all played key roles in Sue's slimming success.

The decision to rejoin eDiets was a no-brainer for Sue. It had been discouraging to watch her weight creep back up. She never imagined she could be that heavy again. But she was. Her self-confidence plummeted as her BMI reached an unhealthy 31.

Sue despised the plus-sized garments she again had to wear. The beautiful clothing that once covered her fit figure hung in her closet as a reminder of what used to be... She dreamed of being able to wear her coveted size 10 Calvin Klein jeans once again.

But Sue’s woes went beyond a mothballed wardrobe. She could barely make it up a flight of stairs without getting winded. When she crossed her legs, her feet would fall asleep. She longed to get physically fit in time to enjoy her retirement.

Thanks to eDiets, she's returned to a happier place and time. She has learned how to enjoy healthy foods in reasonable portions. For lunch, she might feast on a sandwich of high-fiber bread, low-fat cheese and low-fat ham or turkey. Or shell have a salad with a medley of vegetables, along with a piece of fruit and 32 ounces of water.

Because she works from home, Sue is careful to schedule healthy snacks throughout the day. The between-meal nibbles keep her from bingeing. She takes a snack break at 10:30 a.m. and then again at 3:30 p.m. Even though she may sneak a cookie every now and then, it’s a far cry from the six to eight cookies she used to gobble in one sitting.

Her favorite eDiets dinner recipe is the Tomato and Broccoli Casserole. When she is pressed for time, she whips up a baked potato with reduced-fat sour cream, broccoli and bacon bits. Regardless of what she eats for dinner, Sue never feels like she’s overdone it.

"I like that I don’t feel stuffed afterwards," Sue says. "I can have an on-plan meal, get up and walk away and I’m satisfied. Before I started losing weight, I’d have portions that were way too big. Then I’d get up and go to the cookie jar. I’d feel so stuffed. I don’t like that feeling anymore.

"Afterwards I didn’t have any energy. Now after supper, I clean up the kitchen, come down to my computer to do my daily posts on the Creative Challenge and get on the treadmill or do my Walk Away The Pounds video. I dont feel like the meal I had is weighing me down and sapping all of the energy out of me."

Since re-linking with eDiets, exercise has become a big part of Sue’s life. She works out five to six times a week, doing 45 minutes on the treadmill. She also uses resistance bands and an exercise ball. As the weather gets warmer, she’s looking forward to long walks with her 12-year-old daughter, who rides alongside mom on her scooter. Sue says it helps her pick up the pace.

Using the Shape Up! program has been inspirational. Sue tapes Dr. Phil's TV talk show every day and watches it while she tackles the treadmill. Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution helped her get past the negative self-talk that had been dragging her down.

"Dr. Phil’s book helped me with the right thinking," Sue says. "Negative self-talk was part of the reason I would gain the weight back in the past. I feel focused now. I have the right internal dialogue so I can continue on this. It’s going to be a permanent way of life. Dr. Phil says you have to take unhealthy habits and replace them with healthy ones."

That’s exactly what Sue has done. And throughout it all, she’s had support on her side. Sue remains part of the Sweet Valentine’s team. There she speaks with others going through the same experiences. No matter what time of day it is, she can post or join one of the chat rooms and find like-minded eDieters.

"One day of support a week just isn’t enough<," she says. "I like group support on a daily basis. I just recently started visiting the 40-Something support board as well. I started making new friends. The choices are endless on eDiets. You can find support for any situation you are in."

Sue recently retired her size-18 jeans and size-20 shorts forever. At 151 pounds, she’s easily slipping back into her favorite Calvin Klein jeans... the ones she feared she’d never fit in again.

"I’m proud," she tells eDiets. "I don’t feel I need to wear baggy clothes to hide the fat. I can wear nice clothes and feel good in them again."

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