Patty Reveals How She Lost 31 lbs!
Patty spent a lifetime of leaning on food to weather the good times and the bad times.
Now that Patty has embraced Diet.com, there are a lot of good times ahead.
And the good times don't revolve around food and fat!
Patty -- who Diet.com regulars may know better as ollieseh -- is down a sensational 31 pounds. Sure our Canadian friend has a ways to go to reach her goal weight, but she's a good bet to get there thanks to her renewed mindset when it comes to food and healthy behaviors.
Her starting weight when she began her weight loss program was 280. But as you can see from the photos, Patty, 47, has made great strides on her way to a goal weight of 150.
Patty's road to wellness kicked off this past Easter when she got a phone call that changed her life. The mother of two tells Diet.com that she knew she needed to lose weight. But it took the call from a local gym to give her the nudge she needed to take action!
"They told me I had won a free membership -- me, someone who had never wanted to go into a gym," says Patty, a fundraiser for a religious organization headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario. "I always feared I would look and feel stupid... but thanks to the call I had to go -- I had an appointment.
"All the way there I kept telling myself 'I can't believe I'm doing this' but inside I knew it was what I wanted to do."
Patty quickly grew to love the facility. She felt comfortable because gym members were all ages, sizes and genders.
Now that she had the fitness part of her life under control, Patty worked to rein in her eating.
"During lunch hour at work I'd surf the net," she says. "I knew I wanted to do something eating wise.
"I had always played the stupid game of 'see how fast I can lose' and then I'd either get discouraged or lose motivation with the diet I had chosen.
"I vowed that this time I'm not doing a diet!"
Patty found what she was looking for her at Diet.com.
"I don't think I even looked at other sites," she notes. "I needed to know what I needed to do and I found it here at Diet.com.
"This time it's a lifestyle change... not a diet. A diet means at some point I am gonna be done and on my own."
Patty admits that not too long ago she was a couch potato who hated to sweat.
"I now workout several times a week and I eat several times a day... smaller consistent meals," she says. "I am closely tracking my eating and exercising.
"I used to save up calories and eat a lot at dinner. Now it's 5-6 meals and snacks a day."
What Patty doesn't monitor closely is her weight. She knows her daily eating plan keeps her in the 1,500-calorie range. She only allows herself to step on a scale once every few weeks. And when she does climb upon a scale, her trainer is there to record the weight.
While Patty hits the gym three times a week, she finds time for Diet.com daily.
"I get a lot of motivation from the website," she says. "It helps me with my personal journey to realize people weigh more than me... some have lost more than me... some weigh less but are struggling.
"There is a really good mix on the Diet.com website to keep me motivated. And a lot of encouragement from the community."
Patty's short term goal: "By January 1, 2009, I am not gonna be in the 200's anymore!"
By losing 31 pounds, Patty has shed more than 10 percent of her body weight. It's stats like these that keep her motivated to stay the course.
"I have decided that this is a lifestyle -- I have great energy," she says.
"I'm very clear of realistic goals. I try not to let my head run away with me.
"Diet.com helps me immensely. I love reading the boards and blogs... I learn a lot from the things posted by the experts.
"Reading what others do helps me to see what I shouldn't do -- and what is working for others. It keeps me doing what I need to do."
Patty loves getting and giving encouragement. Other great Diet.com perks: Access to professionals and meal planner tips.
"Diet.com helps me live the life I live," Patty says.
Patty's attributes her weight gain to an accumulation of stress and bad eating habits.
Her minister husband and she tended to a lot of people with a lot of problems -- and they tended to bring the emotion home where food was used to ease the pain.
"Our cheap entertainment was food; we both enjoyed cooking," Patty says.
Sadly, Patty's husband Clive died in 2007 at the age of 48,
Since then her purpose has been to feel better.
"I've learned what I can and can’t control in life," she says.
"Clive taught me that life is a mystery to be lived, not a problem to be solved. That didn't apply to us. But I am living it now. Clive taught me well how to live positively and optimistic."
Patty does have a new problem to contend with: a shortage of clothes that fit properly... because she lost so much weight!
"It's a dilemma... but a good one," she says.
"My advice to anyone overweight who is still holding back on starting a diet: You are missing out on so much more that you could have.
"If your excuse is no money think about how much you have to pay for blood pressure and diabetes medications. If you had to pay for them they would find the money. So why not find money the money for a gym and for a Diet.com membership... and skip the meds?
"It's been a lifestyle change for me and I don't want to go back!" |
