I Didn’t Diet, I Changed My Life
By Jessica Fred
I am a weight loss success. I joined Weight Watchers after my second child was born. I started the program April 19, 2003 at 270 pounds. I am 5'6" and have an average build, so I was a fairly large woman.
I have always been larger than average. I remember being bigger than most of the other children throughout my childhood. I had a major growth spurt the summer before entering the seventh grade, putting on about 40 pounds over three months. I was huge in proportion to the rest of my classmates who were starting the seventh grade. I had a hard time fitting in with other girls and although I loved to play basketball, I quit after seventh grade because it was too much work and embarrassment.
I started my own weight loss program when I was about 15—when Slimfast was popular. I started on shakes, but I soon decided that portion control and exercise was a better alternative to yucky shakes twice a day. I was very motivated and successful. I lost about 60 pounds over two years. Unfortunately, the weight didn't stay off. I started waiting tables and old eating habits started to come back and I became too busy to do the exercise that had helped me slim down. By the time I graduated from high school, my weight had started to climb. I went to college and packed on more pounds and my weight continued to climb year after year and with two pregnancies, until I joined Weight Watchers.
I started Weight Watchers with a plan and broke it down into small goals. I lost 10 pounds in the first three weeks and was on a roll losing an average of two pounds a week until the last few months before reaching my goal weight of 148 pounds. I fulfilled my goals and became a lifetime member of Weight Watchers on November 23, 2004. I used the tools the Weight Watchers program supplied, but I didn't weigh in every week for various reasons. I weighed in once every three or four weeks to keep myself on track, and I had great success with the Flex points system.
I have incorporated lifestyle changes into my eating habits and have added regular exercise into my daily routine. Occasionally, I struggle with emotional eating habits that wreak havoc, but I know how to cope with my binges and get back on track. I now want to help others lose the weight that holds them back in life. I'm even thinking about becoming a personal trainer and weight loss consultant. I think my first step will be to work for the Weight Watchers program because I believe it is a wonderful life changing plan that allows people to succeed at losing weight and maintaining it for life.
I could go on, but this is just an overview of my weight loss success. Obviously, losing over 120 pounds has changed many things in my life. I have definitely gained confidence and self-esteem. I know I will never gain the weight back. This time, I didn't "diet," I changed my life.