From Flab To Fab - How I Lost 58 Pounds

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

Carmen S. had the will to shed more than a few pesky pounds. eDiets had the way to help her do it. By working with the leading online weight loss program, the 37-year-old mom of two has dropped an incredible 58 pounds and gone from flab to fab.

Carmen's success comes on the heels of her one-year anniversary with the eDiets. Over the past 12 months, shes dropped from 205 to 147. Instead of wedging into those unsightly size 18s she dreaded wearing, Carmen is now showing off her firm, new figure in her comfy old size 10s.

Just last February, Carmen was downright miserable at 205 pounds. Not only was she exhausted most of the time, but the Nebraskan was also overwhelmed with frustration, which stemmed from her inability to get into all the cute clothes she used to wear. Carrying around 200-plus pounds on her 5’7” figure had become a living nightmare. But just when she thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did.

“When I first started trying to lose weight, I was doing it for my kids. But after I got into it, it became about me,” she says.

When it came to the weight loss game, Carmen had spent most of her life on the sidelines. Although she threw her hat in the ring seven years ago by trying a controversial diet pill, the extra pounds returned with a vengeance. Carmen still didnt know how to eat right. Her love of baking (and eating) sweets only made things worse.

Ten-hour work days left Carmen little time to worry about dinner. Before eDiets, Carmen rarely thought outside the box, instead serving up ready-made entrees from a package. For Carmen, the most important element to losing weight was getting back to the basics like fruits and vegetables.

Carmen followed the convenience plan for breakfast and lunch, but stuck to the recipes at dinner time. Hubby Calvin took care of dinner for himself and their two teenage sons, so that Carmen could concentrate on her own meals. To eliminate her prep time, she would purchase pre-cut broccoli, cauliflower and other vegetables.

Since her work shift starts at 5 a.m., Carmen has to do some careful planning to ensure she still follows the meal plan.

I pack everything in a bag for breakfast and lunch and then eat during my breaks. When I get home, I have my snack while making supper, says Carmen, who builds refrigerated semi trailers.

Carmen doesn’t let her unusual work hours keep her from doing what has to be done. For instance, she wakes up at 2:30 a.m. to exercise every morning before leaving for work. When she isn’t doing aerobics videos, she does the eDiets toning exercises recommended by her personalized fitness plan.

Throughout her weight loss journey, following a regular fitness regimen was the most difficult aspect for Carmen.

“I was never a person to exercise. When we had to do the 600-yard dash in gym class, you would rarely see me running it.”

But Carmen overcame her distaste for fitness and remained consistent in her workouts over the last year. Her efforts weren’t in vain; the pounds began to melt away one by one until she’d lost more than 50 pounds. Not only did Carmen lose weight, she gained energy.

It was more than her shrinking waistline that kept her motivated. Carmen had the constant encouragement of her fellow eDieters, who she stayed in contact with every day. Recently, Carmen’s work schedule changed, giving her even more time to devote to her co-dieters on the 30-Something Board and the Weekend Challenge. In addition to participating in the support groups, Carmen attends the online meetings and shares her diet wisdom with eDieters just getting started on the program.

“They are encouraging when I feel down, and they celebrate when I lose weight,” she tells eDiets. “Being a mentor helped me stay on track, because I couldn’t be supportive of other people if I wasn’t sticking to the plan myself. It’s become an inspiration to a lot of them when they find out it can be done.”

“I’m actually eating fruit. I used to buy it and forget about it. Now, I actually eat it all. I make healthy fruit salad with low-sugar canned fruit and potato salad with fat free mayonnaise. I look for things to take to potluck dinners that are low in fat and sugar.”

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