Losing 60 Pounds Changed My Life Forever Weight Loss Success Story

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

But that's the sensational chain of events that has occurred since Washington lobbyist Betsy Jaffe linked up with eDiets two and a half years ago. Betsy was overweight and in search of healthy recipes. She was also embarrassed and unable to conceive. Our featured dieter found a lot more than just good food and a great way to drop a few pounds.

Betsy, who fellow eDieters know as BETSYJAFFE, now says her problems could be traced back to the weight she piled on over the last six or seven years. Before her recent weight woes the 32-year-old eDieter had never carried much more than 110 pounds on her petite 5’3" frame. That changed after the death of her father when Betsy turned to food for comfort. Emotional eating upped her weight to 200 pounds. Betsy could no longer rely on her metabolism to get her through.

Upon seeing a banner ad for eDiets during an internet surf, she joined immediately. Today, Betsy is 60 pounds lighter (her scale now reads 140 pounds) and the proud mom of 9-month-old Maya. Betsy calls her bundle of joy her "eDiets Baby." Betsy also boasts of the companionship she's found in the eDiets community. She and her online friends have since met several times in person.

We'd have to say a miracle baby and a bunch of new pals are great perks for a mere $10 a month.

The push that brought Betsy to eDiets? The day she tired of squeezing into size-16 clothing.

“Working in public relations, image is important,” she tells eDiets. “I felt very out of step with my colleagues.”

Betsy knew her bad eating habits were partially to blame. She traveled frequently and that meant dining out on a regular basis. Instead of making smart choices and practicing portion control, Betsy says she sampled the specialty of wherever she happened to be. It didn't help that she always finished what was on her plate. When she was at home, she enjoyed cooking, but most of her specialties were heavy on the fat content.

She looked to eDiets for help in changing her eating ways. From the get-go, she knew the plan would fit her lifestyle. Working 80 to 90 hours a week left her little time for meetings at a brick-and-mortar weight loss program like Weight Watchers. She needed a plan that would work with her... and for her.

“On one hand, I liked to cook and was always looking for new recipes. On the other hand, when I’m at the office or on the road, I need to have access to quick, easy meals,” says Betsy, who got the best of both worlds on the eDiets combination meal plan (frozen entrees AND recipes).

Perhaps the biggest change for Betsy was implementing an exercise regimen. She couldn't walk one block when she started her eDiets plan. A year later, Betsy completed a 60-mile charity walk to raise money for breast cancer research. These days, the slimming superwoman balances her routine between aerobic exercise and strength training. She walks on the treadmill. She does exercise videos. She does intervals, which involves running for a few minutes then walking for a few minutes.

Despite a hectic work schedule, Betsy always makes time for physical fitness. Even if it's only a lunchtime walk, she works in exercise six days a week. The little things add up, says Betsy who most always parks further away from work or a store and takes the stairs instead of the elevator.

It’s also the little things that have helped Betsy conceive. Doctors initially thought she had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), a syndrome considered one of the leading causes of infertility. But after dropping 50 pounds with eDiets, Betsy was finally able to get pregnant.

Throughout her pregnancy, Betsy continued her eDiets membership for the support. She says the baby weight melted away after birth, enabling her to pick up where her diet had left off.

When she joined eDiets, Betsy figured the bulletin boards were a perk she wouldn’t want or need. But after perusing Support Central a few times, she was hooked on the feel-good messaging.

“I started roaming around the support boards and I was intrigued by what I saw. I thought I was the only person in my position. There was a whole world of people out there with the same problems as me.”

Since her first post more than two years ago, Betsy has become one of the most active members in the eDiets community. Not that long ago, she served as moderator of The Ultimate Challenge bulletin board. She has also served as a mentor for new eDieters and she even won a "SAD challenge" earlier this year.

“It’s so easy to get off track when you’re trying to lose weight," she says. "It’s like juggling a lot of balls. The more help you can get, the more likely you are to stay with it... not just in the short term, but for life.”

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