How Shannon Lost 100 lbs. With Diet.com
by JohnMc

(155 votes)

"I am a single mother of a gorgeous 6-year-old, she is my inspiration for getting fit! I don't want her to grow up with a chubby mommy!"

With that from-the-heart motivational message that she posted on her Member Profile page, Diet.com super slimmer ShannonKristine kicked off her amazing journey -- a journey that now has her more than 100 pounds removed from her starting weight of 262 pounds!

"When I started this journey, I set the goal of 140 pounds and thought there was no way in *you know where* that I would get down to 140 but thought it was something fabulous to shoot for.... well after losing 100 pounds I have decided to officially lower my goal weight to 130!" Shannon tells Diet.com.

"I have played around with this idea for a while, and considered shooting for 130 but not officially lowering my goal *just in case* I didn't get there I wouldn't be too disappointed. WELL I know I can do this! I know we can all do this. In the end I realized that if I didn't lower my goal I am just selling myself short.

"So here it is... in PRINT... that my official goal is 130 pounds. I will meet this goal no later than Christmas Eve 2008. The weight loss is coming slower now, but it is surely still coming week after week, and so I know that I am capable of hitting this goal!"

The first time we featured Shannon, she was down a sterling 74 pounds. Once she rolled by the 100-pound mark, we knew we had to turn the spotlight her way again.

Let's start with the basics.

Shannon's Diet Profile

What motivated me to join Diet.com:
Wanting to not be fat for the last few years of my twenties! I was just browsing and I liked the community feel so I joined just in time for the January Fresh Start challenge. I have been more motivated since I have joined this site than ever before!

My Diet Personality
Eating: Swing Eater
Exercising: Fresh Starter
Coping: People Pleaser

To learn your habits and take action to improve them, click here.

What diet program I am currently following
Low calorie living and working out. No fad diets, no pills, just me and healthy living baby! Also a support system is a huge part of my current plan!

My starting weight: 262
My goal weight: 130
My current weight: 156.6
Weight loss since joining: 105.4

What other diets I have tried
I have tried a little bit of everything and obviously it hasn't gone well ;)

Diet topics you can ask me for advice on
Low calorie living and how to incorporate exercise into your busy life! It took me a while to figure this one out ;) Motivating others to increase your own success is also one of my new specialties!

My advice to other dieters
ALWAYS moving forward, NEVER looking back! You are able to achieve far more than you ever think possible! You can do this!!

Shannon accomplished her amazing trim-down using the tools and knowledge served up by the only diet program that has worked for her.

"Diet.com has all of the tools that are necessary for long-term successful weight loss," Shannon says. "I have access to a dietitian, a trainer, a doctor, as well as thousands of people to root me on.

"I have used the site to track my meals, find recipes, and hold myself accountable through blogging.

"The support from others is what really has kept me going. I have NEVER successfully stuck to a diet for as long as I have with my support team on this site."

Shannon knows she will accomplish all her goals with the help of Diet.com.

"At my heaviest, I weighed 262 pounds... and I was shocked because I had never felt like I weighed that much and I had never had a weight problem before!" says Shannon, a fun, feisty 5-foot-4 former athlete.

"But those days are gone and I really notice the changes now. I don’t get tired as easily. I can walk up and down stairs without huffing and puffing. I feel like I have a ton of energy now and I have built up my stamina."

Shannon has experienced quite a personal revival.

"I was really depressed for the past 5 years, but that's all changed and I'm not on medication anymore -- the doctor took me off it!" she notes.

"I am a completely different woman and I view things so differently. Thanks to Diet.com I like healthier foods now and I don’t feel a need to eat every hour."

As the pounds shrank, Shannon's self-esteem ballooned. She did so well with the Fresh Start Challenge, she was named the overall winner of the two-team, 500-member event.

"My life no longer revolved around fast food." she recalls. "I was losing inches, building muscle and feeling better overall."

Winning the challenge sure was fun... but not nearly as fun for Shannon as finding the energy to bond with her 6-year-old daughter.

"We can now do fun things like go to park, take walks, go to the beach and enjoy after-school programs," says Shannon, 28. "Before, I would get home from work, sit down and watch TV with my little girl. Now we go outside!"

So what was Shannon's "a-ha moment"... that pivotal happening that triggered a desire to regain control of her weight and life?

"I realized my whole twenties had been filled with being overweight and unhappy," she tells Diet.com. "After Christmas 2006 I decided I needed to take on what I needed to take on. That's when I came across Diet.com.

"The Fresh Start Challenge is the catalyst that elevated my Diet.com experience into the winner it is!

"If I weren’t on the Diet.com website I probably would have given up by now. I made friends on the site. They check in to make sure I am staying on track.

"Diet.com has given me a place to be open and honest with my current situation. I can’t think of another situation where I would be as open -- this site made me face the facts."

Shannon upgraded to a Premium membership shortly after she joined Diet.com. Having access to our registered dietitian and diet doctor has had a huge impact.

"Blogs, recipes and access to professional people working to give me advice… it's heaven for a dieter," she says. "Other sites have online message boards where people give advice without being qualified."

Are you ready to get serious about your weight like Shannon? Click here and we'll help you find the health and happiness you deserve!

January 5, 2009

How Patty Lost 69 lbs... And Keeps Slimming!
by JohnMc

(25 votes)

There are two big reasons super slimmer Patty is down a sensational 69 pounds and moving steadily onward towards her ultimate weight loss goal.

Patty, who's also known by her username of ollieseh to her peers here at Diet.com, has never wavered in her commitment to hitting the gym for regular workouts. She's continually changing up her routine to push herself to new heights of intensity and to retain the variety that keeps fitness fun.

And, even more importantly, she's never silenced her blogging voice nor slipped out of view from her fellow Diet.com members for any length of time.

"I couldn't have done this without Diet.com," Patty notes. "Being accountable to myself and my friends here at Diet.com is the key."

"I am now at 211; by New Year I will be under 200 -- that's been one of my goals all along.

"I have tried to set realistic goals and to mix it up as I go."

The picture at right shows Patty posing in the living room of her home on Kitchener, Ontario. The image below left shows her at her starting weight of 280.

The transformation has been much more than physical.

Patty has learned may things along the way, including how to support others on a path to wellness and how to tweak her favorite recipes so they retain their taste but not the high fat or high-cal counts.

She tells Diet.com that she knew she was over the hump when she survived the recent Canadian Thanksgiving without giving in to the many food temptations. Instead, she deftly replaced her traditional treats with healthier versions.

"My family did not even know what I had done -- they enjoyed the foods along with me," she says.

When Patty isn't whipping up a new variation on an old standard like turkey and stuffing, she's keeping a food and exercise log on Diet.com.

"Since starting here at Diet.com, I have rarely gone over 1,500 calories a day -- not even through Canadian Thanksgiving in October - and I even had turkey, pumpkin pie, stuffing and sweet potatoes."

By tinkering with tradition, Patty actually lost weight over the holiday. She's more confident than ever that she'll keep right on losing for as long as she wants.

"I do fitness three times a week for 90 minutes at a time," she says. "Back in April when I started I was doing 10 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes with weights.

"Over time I have steadily built up my endurance. I hated the elliptical when I started, but now I do 30 minutes at the random setting.

"I still meet with my trainer periodically, but I have learned to change my own workout. In fact, I love the Diet.com workouts by fitness pro Stephen Cabral.

"My trainer saw me doing one of Stephen's routines that i found at the Diet.com site and she thought I was 'cheating' on her with a new trainer!

"They're awesome videos... I print out Stephen's blogs and repeat the exercises at my gym."

Patty wanted to include the image at right. It may not be a close up or a shot that shows off her trimmed down body, but to her it shows her sporting a healthier figure in her black overcoat.

It's little things like this unposed photo that keep Patty on course.

"A lot of little things add up to huge things," she says. "There are things I don’t have to think about anymore… like walking in a restaurant between tables and not worrying that i will bump someone.

"I feel great. I feel like my body will cooperate. I don’t avoid stairs. I am a way more confident person -- and I think I look that way to others too."

Another little change: Patty no longer has to have her steering wheel moved up or her car seat slid back to accommodate the 69 pounds that she's sent packing.

"I've had to have the settings of my work station re-set," she says. "Also, I am wearing heels that I couldn’t wear before because I felt too awkward and clumsy. I don't avoid going clothes shopping now!"

"I was a size 24 to start -- and had one pair of 26 pants -- but am now wearing a 16!"

"I do like going in a store and trying on things. My kids are really proud of me."

Patty's transformation has made a positive impact on her children Kristen and Michael. It's also making a difference to people she doesn't even know -- the frustrated men and women who frequent the Diet.com site and read her motivational posts.

Patty has words of advice for those just starting out on a diet.

"Do it healthy -- track your food and exercise right away. And be sure to take the Diet.com Personality Quiz.

"I found it extremely helpful. It gives you great tips to do along the way so you slowly get into changing your behaviors for a lifetime!"

Patty, 47, has made great strides on her way to a goal weight of 150. And she has no plans to walk away from the horse she rode in on!

"I don’t think I even looked at other sites," she notes. "What hit me about this site was the diet personality aspect. I needed to know what I needed to do and I found it here at Diet.com.

"It's a lifestyle change… not a diet. A diet means at some point I am gonna be done and on my own.

"I get a lot of motivation from the website. 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."

Become a Premium Member of Diet.com today and we'll send you a free copy of Retrain Your Brain, Reshape Your Body by Dr. Georgia D. Andrianopoulos. This bestseller worth $17 will enable you to identify the parts of your brain that are causing you to gain weight, jump-start weight loss with 20 easy-to-use tricks and tools, and create your own brain-training program tailored to your patterns and personality type!

November 3, 2008