Living Proof
My unhealthy eating habits had finally caught up with me, and I found myself unable to do many of the things I loved without sweating profusely and feeling like I was going to pass out. As someone who had always been very active, and as someone who enjoys doing outdoor activities like hiking, getting to the point of weighing over 300 pounds prevented me from doing many of the things I had grown up enjoying. I even had to stop things like giving blood to Red Cross on a regular basis because my blood pressure was above what they would allow for blood donors.
I knew I needed to make a change, but it seemed like nothing I tried stuck. I had tried on multiple occasions to just eat better on my own with varied results, but the one common thread was that I always gained the weight back, and usually ended up gaining back more than I lost. I was stuck in a cycle of wanting to lose weight, but being in such bad shape physically that the exercises that I could do were limited.
I first heard about the Weigh Station several years ago through my brother and sister-in-law, and saw both of them drop a significant amount of weight by following their guidelines. I also started to see other people around me that were a part of the program, and having great success with their weight loss and keeping the weight off after they lost it.
In October of 2010, I finally made the decision that it was time to get serious with my weight loss. When I went in for my initial visit, one of the first things that caught my eye was seeing Philippians 4:13 on the wall, a scripture I’ve lived by for years now. When I started my checkup, I was amazed to climb up on that scale and see 323 pounds looking back at me. I was also amazed by how friendly and encouraging the staff was, even in the little things like telling me they pray for everybody who’s a part of the program. I’ll be honest, the first week of the program was awful! My body tried everything it could to reject the changes I was trying to make, but I was determined to make the changes regardless, and it’s been manageable, and relatively easy ever since then.
The best advice I can give concerning the food is to find variety and get creative within the guidelines. I discovered a lot of ways to prepare fruits and vegetables that I never would have dreamed of a year ago, and I also discovered that the more things I’ve tried, the less I feel like I’m missing out by not eating the things I cut out. The other thing that helped me was exercising. I started out walking as much as I could on the treadmill, which wasn’t much at the time, and gradually and continually increasing the workload by adding things like weight lifting again. I love that I can go hiking up hills now and not even start breathing heavy! As of right now, I’ve lost approximately 125 pounds and my blood pressure has been at a healthy level for months now.
If you’ve struggled with weight loss or learning healthy eating habits, I highly recommend the Weigh Station. They teach you healthy eating guidelines, encourage you to get physically active, and they keep you accountable every step of the way. I’m living proof that the program works if you’ll just determine to stick through it no matter what!