It continues to amaze me how much 'dieters' have in common. Each story is totally unique, yet we share so many struggles! As you read Phyllis' story you may see bits and pieces of your own emotions and experiences. One thing I relate to the most is the extremity of her gains and losses and how MANY times she's tried again. And, as a WW leader I've seen so many colleagues leave as old habits continue to haunt them. It's not easy. It's life. BUT it CAN have a happy ending! Read Phyllis' story and let it encourage you as you write your own. Yes, you can begin one last time ... Kim
PHYLLIS' JOURNEY
I was a happy new mother of a little girl born December 1964. But I developed toxemia during my pregnancy and I gained 91 pounds! When I got home from the hospital it was a rude awakening because none of my clothing fit. I tried Weight Watchers, diet pills, Atkins and Slim-Fast – all to no avail. The next time I joined Weight Watchers, I had to leave as I was expecting my second child, a little boy.
I finally had a light bulb go off and I joined Weight Watchers ... and reached goal. I had lost 89 pounds and joined Weight Watchers as a lecturer. But my struggles continued. I started playing the yo-yo games and was gaining the weight back and had to resign.
This time, my 16th attempt at losing weight, I finally reached goal on March 20, 2010! I started at 249 and lost 89.8 pounds. I want to thank my wonderful husband, my family, Kim and her staff and all the kimmies for all their support and motivation.
I worked for Curves as a Manager and trainer for 9½ years. I've retired, but I still go to Curves 5 days a week. I also walk with my pedometer at least 10,000 steps a day.
For me, success is working out, tracking everything I eat, planning ahead, going to meetings and watching all Kim's meetings.
It's all about commitment. If you really want to do this you have to admit that it's not going to be easy. I felt if I said it was going to be easy I'd set myself up for failure. This is definitely a lifestyle change, not a diet.
Phyllis' motto: "Inch by inch it's a cinch. Yard by yard it can be hard."
We're always thrilled when someone gets to goal. It's one of life's mountaintop experiences! But when we see a couple working as a team, well, it's doubly thrilling! We're so happy for you, Andy. Renee...you're next! Whoo hoo!
I had tried joining a weight-loss program created by my insurance company at work back in early 2008. I started at 295 pounds, got down to 267, but was eventually dropped from the program due to lack of attendance. I had little idea about what to do and even less motivation to do it.
Then, in October of 2009, I joined Weight Watchers with my wonderful wife, Renee (who was re-joining). I was back up to 286 pounds.
The biggest environment challenge for me has been my workplace. IT guys aren’t necessarily known for stellar eating habits – and we live in one of the most unhealthy states in the country. There were constant food temptations from potluck buffet luncheons, coworkers bring-in donuts and biscuits & jelly, pizza parties, “tailgate” luncheons, you name it. And I was frequently invited out with “the gang” to *insert nutritional nightmare here*! It was difficult saying “no” at first to the sweets, and even harder to pick-out something resembling “on-program” at the buffets. But a couple of months in, when people got used to me turning-down donuts or eating a Lean Cuisine in my office, it became easier – especially when they (and I) started to notice the results.
The biggest mental challenge to me was getting it into my head that it’s ok to throw food away. I was part of the "starving kids in Africa" and “clean plate club” mentality. The thought of throwing food in the trash was akin to blasphemy! I really wish I was joking, but I’m not.
Thankfully, Renee and I started doing things together to help overcome the dinnertime challenges. Here are some of our tips:
• fixing smaller-portion dinners
• eating our salads first
• planning meals in advance
• saving leftovers for meals the next day
• tracking, tracking, tracking
• drinking at least 64 oz of water daily
• finding nutritionals for a few meals at local restaurants
It finally “clicked” for me in the form of a motto I heard from another WW: “Better in the waste than on the waist”.
The past seven months have not been without their daily tests, trials, and challenges, but being a guy on a really structured program, I was extremely fortunate and blessed to see consistent losses almost every week. Seven months after joining I reached my goal ... 209 lbs. All in all I lost 77 pounds and have gone from loose-fit, elastic-band size 42’s (and some 44 shorts) down to normal size-38 jeans.
I wouldn’t have lost a single pound if it hadn’t been for self-control (which I definitely don’t have in and of myself). It is the gracious providence of God that’s allowed me to stop, take stock of my eating habits, and make the necessary changes. God has surrounded me with great helpers and supporters: my family, a great WW group, you & all the “Kimmies” online, and (above all) my very own “head cheerleader” – Renee (user name: BettyNayNay) my darling wifey.
In my blogs, on TV and in my book, Finally Thin, I've never hidden the fact that my poor eating habits influenced my children. I think many overweight moms have similar experiences ... and feel the same guilt.
Statistically 70% of obese adolescents become obese adults. But it doesn't HAVE to be that way. I asked Aleeta if she wouldn't mind sharing her story to encourage those of you who are afraid for your children. Who feel guilty and concerned when you see them following in your footsteps. If you think that MY weight loss influenced my daughter's weight loss, you're wrong. She went first. Here's Aleeta's story ...
I was never tiny – just average – until my parents decided to homeschool my brother and me. Suddenly we were at home all day. Lunch was either a box of macaroni and cheese or an entire frozen Mystic pizza, followed by a bag or two of butter lover's popcorn (and of course I would lick the inside of the bag). We went through popsicles and cartons of ice cream on a weekly basis.
It actually took me longer than you'd think to realize I was a big girl. At 12 years old I was 5'2", 140 pounds, and still the smallest person living in my house. It started to hit me when I began going to our church youth group and started to realize the ease with which other girls moved - they could curl up on the couches, stand up to hug a late-arriving friend, then perch delicately on the arm of the couch to make room for more girls. They looked comfortable. Meanwhile I felt best when sitting slightly slouched in a folding chair (I felt I could move more gracefully without the plushy couch surrounding me), shirt carefully arranged in wrinkles down my front so the folds looked like they were more shirt than fat rolls.
I remember crying to my mom after a sleepover - my friends were all starting to get some sense of fashion and were all exchanging clothes. Everyone except for me. I cried to her that I was the largest of all my friends; no one else even came close to my size. Now I think back on that conversation and realize just how much hearing it must have hurt her as well.
The week of my 13th birthday, I had my first full physical with my new female pediatrician. It was an experience I'd rather forget. The doctor pulled out a chart of my weight history and had a great time pointing out the sharp upward turn the graph had taken that first year of homeschooling. She told me I was beyond chubby - that at 145 pounds I was fat - and because of it no one in life would love me. I was told my friends would say they liked me, and maybe someday I would have a boyfriend that would lie about loving me, but that unless I got healthy, true love and acceptance would be beyond my grasp. She said I would have a hard life, that even strangers wouldn't be nice to me - all because I was overweight. My mom did her best to console me after that traumatizing experience, but what can you really say to a young girl in that situation?
When I was 14 (and at my peak of 165 pounds), after purchasing my very first size 16 dress, something inside me clicked. I wanted to do something about this. I tried to do what I could - order one less taco, get a kids' meal instead of a value meal, have a water instead of a soda, try to squeeze in a short walk around my school schedule. For months I kept track of my daily weight in dry erase marker around the border of my vanity mirror: Day 1 - 165, Day 2 - 165, Day 3 - 164.5.... But being my age, in my family, that's about all I could do.
Until my first summer job.
My best friend and I had been riding horses since elementary school. The summer I was 14, we started working as counselors at the summer camps held at the barn. It was brutal - we were running around after hyperactive ten year olds, hoisting them up into their saddles, jogging around for hours each day leading the campers' horses around and around the outdoor ring in the blazing heat. Since neither my friend nor I could drive, anything we wanted to eat for the day had to be brown-bagged. Given my lack of great culinary history, I just started packing fruits, veggies, pretzels, and tuna sandwiches for lunch. My resolve was strongest in the mornings - I knew that by the time the afternoon rolled around I would be craving the stack of Spaghettio's hanging out in my cupboard at home. But once I was dropped off at the barn, I was stuck with whatever I had packed. It was being away from the house that enabled me to follow through with my new motivation.
By the end of the second summer, I was running next to the horses with one hand on the reins and the other holding up my already-taken-in jeans. Being away from the influence of home gave me the head start I needed to change some of the habits that had been ingrained in me. Today, at 24, I'm careful with my weight, but I don't have the draw for food that my mom has.
That was my turning point. And as soon as I had hit my goal weight, my mom had a turning point of her own.
Watch Aleeta doing a "scale demo" for her mom. Thanks Aleeta!
Holly and Max live on a small farm in the mid-west with their five children. She goes by the username armywife516 ... because that's just what she is. Her husband is a Major in the Army National Guard and is coming up on this FIFTH deployment! Here's Holly's story ...
In 2004 I found myself alone with 4 small children while my husband was deployed. I was carrying around 250 lbs on my 5'4" frame. It was such a hard time emotionally – and physically as well. I felt horrible and knew I had to do something!
I joined Weight Watchers® and lost 128 pounds over the next 15 months. Reaching Lifetime was such a huge achievement for me! I felt like if I could do it anyone could do it!
Over the next several years I had another baby (our fifth) and went through another deployment (our third), and gained about 30 pounds back after he got home. Even though it was no where near what I had to lose the first time, it still felt like a huge challenge. It was around this time I found Kim's site.
Her blogs and all the wonderful people I have met have made such a big difference in my life! Her live meetings always give me that extra push each week! I am 2.8 lbs away from being at my goal weight and I feel so happy and confident in myself again. As we prepare for yet another deployment I will continue to take care of myself so that I have the energy I need to get through it all!
SNACKS HOLLY LOVES:
Kim's Light Bagels® with WW cream cheese sprinkled with a tiny bit of cinnamon sugar
Fiber One® 90 calorie bars
Pretzels w/ WW cream cheese
Fresh fruit (especially strawberries, pears and apples)
Lite cheese sticks wrapped with some low fat deli meat
Fiber One® Yogurt
Sun Chips®
Sugar-free Cinnamon Roll Jello® (a new found treat!)
Last June I received an email from a young woman named Shelley. I hope that her story of struggle and success encourages you as much as it has me ...
Hi Kim,
My name is Shelley. I read your book in January and loved it. I found it to be extremely encouraging, inspirational, spiritual, funny, sad and filled with hope all at the same time. One of the most insightful sayings you had in there for me was "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." I repeat that one to myself alot. My children now have a mother who is more patient, more self-controlled, kinder, gentler and more loving.
In February 2008 I was 256 pounds and very unhappy. I was shocked into action by a photograph of myself. I was flabbergasted. Was that really me? Matthew 19:26b says "with God all things are possible". That left no room for excuses. So I prayed hard, worked hard and learned how to eat healthy. It wasn't easy, but it was well worth it. At times I wondered if anything was happening. Other times, the changes were quick and drastic.
On June 19, 2009 I hit my goal weight: 145 pounds! Praise the Lord! My husband, children and family are very proud of me. Since then I have lost another 12 pounds as I'm learning how to maintain. That is going to be a life long battle, but like Kim says, I'd rather struggle at goal than struggle to get to goal. My life is much different now. I now know that God will give me the strength to accomplish anything!
I am the poster child for yo-yo dieting. (I am changing that from now on to was!) I earned life time status at Weight Watchers sometime in the mid 1980’s but I never really got the gist of how to maintain. I gained all the weight back — and then some — by the mid 1990’s. Then, in December of 1999, I reached my goal weight again ... but once more gained it all back.
I have an old journal from January 1st 2007 that I wrote “This is the absolute last time I want to have to make a New Year’s resolution to lose weight.” By January 18th I stopped journaling — which means I stopped trying. The next entry was May 8th, 2007. It reads “Yes, that’s right it has been four months since my last entry and I’m still as heavy as ever.” As you can see, weight loss has always been an issue for me. Somehow I managed to keep myself from being more than 45 pounds overweight. As soon I was nearing the 50 pound mark I would panic and follow whatever fad diet was "in" at the time.
I rely heavily on food during times of stress and had several life altering issues hit me in a two year period. In November of 2008 my husband passed away. I was at an all time low in spirits and all time high in weight. My sister Wendy, who is my life line, rallied around me like a mother hen. She continually found projects and events that we could do together to help ease my pain.
In December of this year, Wendy dragged me to a book signing of some weight loss guru in the town right next to ours. That's when I met Kim Bensen. Kim told the story of how she began her weight loss journey at the same time her father passed away. I took this as a message from up above. If she could do it, then by golly so could I. I began attending her weekly meetings, watching Kim online, trying out new recipes and planning like I've never planned before, all the while hearing Kim’s voice saying, “You can do it”. The rest, as they say, is history. Maintenance is for LIFE.
[I just want say thank you to Kim, Penny, Peter, Mark and Matt!]
I've never met most of the people who send in their success stories to my website. But since I know Tammy personally, I wanted to share a few things about her before she tells her story. Tammy is a beautiful, quiet young lady. I admire her for two reasons. First of all she's a high school science teacher. I've spoken in her class before and, as much as I love teens, you just have to admire someone who teaches teenagers day in and day out. Secondly, Tammy has always been honest with me, and most of all, with herself.
Tammy was a WW member when I first became a WW leader and, for a while, she got some pretty lame advice from me. You see, I used to think that just because I was a quantity eater, everyone was. After all, who could possibly prefer a palmful of almonds to a gianormous bag of popcorn -- for the same amount of Points?! Tammy could! Instead of meeting HER needs, I kept trying to change her eating habits to match MINE. Without even knowing it, Tammy taught me that no two journeys are the same. And that we all have to find what works for US! Thanks Tammy! Muwuah!
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Given that my gym class nickname was “Waddles”, you can imagine my early struggle with weight. I wasn’t good at dieting, so I’d lose a few pounds, but then quickly regain.
In 2005 I joined Kim’s Weight Watchers meeting, lost 4, gained 4, and quit, continuing to gain. In June 2006 I was at my heaviest – 194 lb. I joined WW again… In August 2008 I reached goal, 55 pounds lighter. I thank God for the support I had. Family applauded long distance. People in our WW meeting encouraged. Kim was always upbeat and ready to listen. I learned to cook healthier, shop smarter, and enjoy what I was eating.
Maintaining my weight has presented its own challenges, especially this winter. Working to lose the few pounds I’ve hidden under bulky sweaters, I recently joined a gym and restocked my kitchen. I keep remembering one of Kim’s favorite sayings… “Nothing tastes as good as thin feels!”
One of the blessings of being a Weight Watchers leader has been the people I've met in the meeting rooms. I've seen so many come ... and go ... and come back again. But Guy was one who never gave up. He had a period of plateaus and struggles, but he persevered to the end. Many of you who lose the weight offer such gratitude to your weight loss leaders, but, in the end, it was each of YOU who did the hard work, YOU who walked out of the meetings and faced your own struggles, YOU who got to goal. It was just OUR blessing to have watched it happen. Way to go GUY!!!
Dear Kim,
Back in 2005, I tipped the scales at 250. I had tried every diet out there in the previous 10 years or so as my weight became a health issue, but nothing I tried “stuck”. At the start of 2006, I decided to try Weight Watchers for the fourth time, and some woman named Kim Bensen was the group’s leader.
I endured the same struggles as many who embark on a weight loss regimen—hitting plateaus, trying to fit some exercise in, staying the course even when temptations are high. But you were always there to provide sound advice and support, and made me and many others believe we can succeed in our efforts—and believing you can succeed is the most important part of trying to lose weight.
On Christmas Eve 2007, I hit goal at Weight Watchers, dropping about 77 pounds in just about 2 years. Sixteen months later, I still have just about all of that weight off, and my overall health has improved to the point where I’ll be participating in a 5K run this spring. What’s more, along my journey my wife Jennifer joined Weight Watchers, and she too has reached her weight loss goals—and even works for Weight Watchers now!
Kim, you’re what kept me going whenever the scale wasn’t cooperating, and I’ll never forget that—or you. And I know I speak for many when I say thank you for all you’ve done to make the world a little thinner.
I get hundreds of email each week, many of which are from some of you who have wonderful success stories of your own. They have encouraged me and inspired me so much, that I'd like to start sharing them with all of you. This first success story has brought tears to my eyes. Rachel is such a sweetheart -- you can't help but fall in love with her. Here's her story in her own words ...
Dear Kim,
On December 29, 2006 I joined Weight Watchers. At 246 lbs, I was almost 100 pounds over weight and
felt like I had an endless journey ahead of me.
To be honest I wasn't all that confident that I was going to be successful with this attempt at weight loss.
I searched all over the Weight Watchers website
for some sort of inspiration and motivation that I could do it.
After looking through the many impressive success stories I found yours. I thought your story was amazing and you became my inspiration. I printed out your story, posted above my desk and added push ups and sit ups to my nightly routine. I thought of you when I was discouraged and felt my struggle was too hard.
Two years later I am proud to say I have lost and maintained an almost
100 pound weight loss and on Saturday, January 10th I ran my first half marathon. I still have your picture/story and still do my sit ups and push ups. Thank you for being my inspiration when I needed it the most. Congratulations on your success! I wish you the very best.
PHYLLIS' JOURNEY
We're always thrilled when someone gets to goal. It's one of life's mountaintop experiences! But when we see a couple working as a team, well, it's doubly thrilling! We're so happy for you, Andy. Renee...you're next! Whoo hoo!
I was never tiny – just average – until my parents decided to homeschool my brother and me. Suddenly we were at home all day. Lunch was either a box of macaroni and cheese or an entire frozen Mystic pizza, followed by a bag or two of butter lover's popcorn (and of course I would lick the inside of the bag). We went through popsicles and cartons of ice cream on a weekly basis. 
Last June I received an email from a young woman named Shelley. I hope that her story of struggle and success encourages you as much as it has me ... 
.
In December of this year, Wendy dragged me to a book signing of some weight loss guru in the town right next to ours. That's when I met Kim Bensen. Kim told the story of how she began her weight loss journey at the same time her father passed away. I took this as a message from up above. If she could do it, then by golly so could I. I began attending her weekly meetings, watching Kim online, trying out new recipes and planning like I've never planned before, all the while hearing Kim’s voice saying, “You can do it”. The rest, as they say, is history. Maintenance is for LIFE.
