Meet Jackie from Kim's Trumbull Meetings ...

July 26, 2011 8:12 AM

For as long as I can remember, every January I promised myself I would lose weight. Diet Center, Nutri System, and Weight Watchers are just a few of my many failed attempts. I would lose at first, only to regain what I lost and then some. I love sports and the added weight made it more difficult on my body. June of 2009 is when I stopped trying to diet. The scale kept going up and my hopes of ever getting to goal went down. Clothes were getting tighter and I was approaching my all time heaviest.

Back in 2007 is when Kim Bensen entered into the picture. I was in our church lobby looking at different motivational tracts when I saw Kim's story "The Miraculous Loser". I grabbed 2 copies. One I kept in my Bible, the other in the glove compartment of my car. I must have read them over 100 times wondering if I could ever be successful and overcome my addiction to food.

My prayer was answered in God's timing: In October 2008 Kim was speaking one afternoon at my church. I got out of work early to go listen. She was funny, sincere, encouraging, and most of all compassionate to those of us who were struggling with weight. I talked to her afterwords, and I left with a feeling of hope.

In 2009, I signed up for her weekly eNews. Then, by God's design, I saw Kim was having an open house on Jan. 6, 2010. I wrote the date, time, and place on my calendar. I even did a practice run to make sure I knew how to get there. I prayed and ate a lot leading up to that date. I was still asking "God is this where you want me to be?"

On January 6, I sat in the parking lot and before going into the meeting I made 2 promises to myself and God.
1) Never miss a meeting-no matter how bad I did the week before!
2) Be an active participant in the program.

When I walked through those doors for the first time, I could hear God say, "YES, this is where I want you to be." I didn't show a loss every week, but that was ok. I needed to know I could make mistakes, but those mistakes can be erased with more planning and daily activity.

The LOVE, SUPPORT, and ENCOURAGEMENT from Kim, her staff, and ALL the KIMMIES has made the DREAM JOURNEY of getting to goal a reality for me! I have kept my promise and have not missed a meeting since January 6, 2010 and now being at goal, I will still come every week. Being an active member in the meetings has blessed me more than I could have ever imagined.

In all I lost 61.2 pounds. I feel more energetic and self confident and look forward to clothes shopping. I can chase my nieces around a softball field or tennis court without losing my breath and having 911 on speed dial, haha.

The key to my success was watching the Thursday night meetings. There is so much info and inspiration in the archived meeting videos. After watching them I always felt less of a struggle and it kept me from binging. Having a buddy to lose weight with was perfect when I needed to talk about the struggles I was facing, but also in celebrating the victories I had overcome. Kim and Penny are GREAT CHEERLEADERS for all those weekly weight loss victories that helped keep me going.

Kim says it, and I believe it (and am proof of it) "Come on, Now it's your turn!"