How Shannon Lost 100 lbs. With Diet.com
by JohnMc
"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
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Down 59 lbs: How Kim Keeps Losing!
by JohnMc
EDITOR'S NOTE: Kim B. is a big fan of Diet.com Challenges. She credits last year's Fresh Start Challenge with jump-starting her weight loss. Now down 59 pounds and feeling great, Kim is here to let you know how she lost the weight and is keeping it off! To join the new Weight Loss Challenge and win great prizes, click here.
When I last interviewed Diet.com member Kim B., our super slimmer was down 26 pounds and primed for better days.
After bearing down and burning off another 33 pounds for a grand total of 59, Kim is just three pounds from her goal weight.
But more importantly, she's miles away from the tired and bloated old Kim.
2008 was a banner year for Kim. Not only did she enjoy weight loss success, but she also grabbed the top prize in our Fresh Start All-Star Team Challenge.
And if that weren't enough good news, in 2008, Kim became "the sexiest grandma" in Michigan when her oldest daughter gave birth.
"I really got rolling," Kim tells Diet.com. "I switch it up frequently so my body can't get used to a workout. I'm even working out with a weighted Hula Hoop!"
Kim finds exercise inspiration on the Diet.com bulletin boards and blogs. She turned up the heat and started doing more cardio after seeing others enjoying success that way.
"I was reading the blogs and noticed that’s what people who were dropping a lot of weight were doing," she says.
"The Diet.com challenges have played a major role in my success. I participated in all three this year. I even started a few of my own at work!"
Other lifestyle changes include "water, water, water" and a cutback in alcohol.
"I used to take a cooler out on the boat. Now I only drink on special occasions."
And how has losing 59 pounds affected Kim?
"I don’t feel so self conscience when I am out and about -- I even went to the beach in Florida. I wore a tankini but next time I will be in my bikini!"
Kim is happy with her weight loss, but she knows she needs to work more on her toning.
"I know I can't get a 20something body, but I can tighten my jiggle areas," she says.
Kim, who weighed just shy of 200 pounds when she started at Diet.com, says she will be happy when she hits her goal of 135.
"I am so glad I found Diet.com -- I praise it everywhere and I don’t think I would be where I am if I hadn’t followed the challenges and got involved with the things on the site."
IN HER OWN WORDS
At the conclusion of the recent All-Star Challenge, Kim wrote a narrative that spelled out her journey to a healthier weight. Here is part of that narrative.
I am amazed at how much I have transformed my life these past nine weeks. At the very second that I thought that I could not do one more lunge or squat, a determination and drive came over me that I must say, some days, I'm not sure where it came from! I had struggled to see fast results in the past, and I would have always just given up. Before, giving up was my only option that I thought I had. Today, giving up would never even enter into my mind! Today, giving up is not an option!
I cannot even imagine the "old" Kim now. I don't know that fat girl in my "Start" picture. She was sick and unhealthy, fat and tired, sad and frustrated, but she still kept devouring foods that would go on to make her fatter and even more unhealthy. It's amazing the damage we keep doing to ourselves. I believe the Fresh Start All-Star Challenge was the necessary kick that I needed to continue my weight loss goals and to keep me on track.
I learned many things throughout this challenge. I learned that my shy days of hiding in the corner are OVER! Way over! I learned that I am done sitting on the beach with sweats and a long sleeved shirt, afraid of ridicule, stares and laughs from the skinny people! I'm not done living and those around me are just going to have to accept me for what and who I am, because I do now.
I'm not perfect, but I've learned that there are many people on Diet.Com that don't care. They accept me for who I am, faults and all. And to find that so many people have opened up their arms to me has just been such an emotional ride to be quite frank. Why? Because acceptance from others was rare.
Oh, I get it. Because I had so many hang-ups about my weight, it was tough for anyone to want to be a friend to me. Friends have been few and far between. I mean, I don't blame people, my self-esteem was not to be found. Who wants to be around someone like that? I justified my "alone" time by thinking that I didn't deserve friends. I always knew that I was a good person. A big-hearted person. Why didn't anyone want to share it? Again, I get it now. This Challenge has opened my eyes to all of my denials and destructive lifestyle ways!
I cannot be happier! Actually, I don't think I can even describe the emotions I am feeling right now. I keep staring at my "Start", "Middle" and "After Fresh Start All Star Challenge' pictures. I am simply in awe of what I look like now. I mean, I don't mean to be vain or self absorbed, I just cannot believe the transformation. My "dream" of losing those 50+ pounds was so overwhelming to comprehend several months ago.
Sure, I didn't lose 100+ pounds like Tracie or Shannon, but I feel just as accomplished as them. My personal accomplishment of losing over 50 pounds FEELS like a hundred pounds lifted off of my shoulders! I have certainly felt the pressure bearing down:
The pressure to fit in.
The pressure to be thin.
The pressure to win.
The pressure to feel good in my own skin.
All of the above!
Here is my advice to current and prospective Diet.Com Members:
1. Blog when you can.
2. Ask questions. There is definitely someone on this site that can help you out.
3. Journal daily.
4. Use the Trackers! (Most important tip!)
5. Find a Diet.com Buddy or buddies and lose the weight together.
6. Find out what the successful dieters are doing. Trust me, they have figured out a thing or two about weight loss and don't reinvent the wheel, use their tips and diet advice.
7. Don't take anybody's comments personal. People don't know what that one trigger is that might offend you. Nobody means it, but it does happen on rare occasions.
8. Find different foods to try. Re-try a healthy food that you have disliked in the past. Perhaps you'll like it now. That has happened to me time and time again. And, you will increase your
food options so boredom does not occur.
9. Speaking of boredom, if you start to slip due to boredom, change up your routine. Although this might not work for everybody, I change my fitnessroutine every 2 weeks. It is what I have found that works for me. Do what you can to chase boredom
away.
10. And finally, make it FUN! Exercise, eating healthy and changing your lifestyle for the better need not be painful. Take it one day at a time enjoy this adventurous journey that you are on!
Thank you for all of the support that Diet.com has provided to me. NOBODY pushes me towards success better than Diet.com. I love you Diet.com!
START YOUR SUCCESS STORY! To get a weight loss plan perfectly catered to your personal needs, click here and become a Diet.com Premium member! |
January 5, 2009
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Never Be Fat Again: The Science Behind Slimming
by JohnMc
MIT-trained chemist Raymond Francis got tired of dead-ends with doctors and took his health – and weight – issues into his own hands.
His first book was Never Be Sick Again. He's back with his mind-boggling new effort: Never Be Fat Again (HCI).
Francis has found the answer to the obesity plague that has left 2-in-3 Americans overweight! Using basic science of how your body works, he’s come up with a 6-week plan he says will permanently break the fat cycle.
"What makes Never Be Fat Again fundamentally different is that, unlike most weight-loss books, it actually promotes permanent weight loss," Francis says.
"It is an established fact that weight-loss diets don’t work. This is because most weight-loss books are scientifically and nutritionally unsound, and many are so unsound, they are dangerous. This book provides a revolutionary understanding of overweight. Never Be Fat Again identifies overweight as a serious chronic disease — a disease caused by massive cellular malfunction—resulting from nutrient deficiency and exposure to environmental toxins.
"The book proposes the NBFA Lifestyle to address these causes. By addressing the true causes of overweight disease, permanent weight loss can be achieved... without counting calories or feeling hungry or deprived. Best of all, overall health dramatically improves while the pounds are being lost."
Francis says the biggest problem with most approaches to weight loss is that most approaches focus on cutting calories.
"We know that this doesn’t work over 90 percent of the time," he says. "When you cut back on food, you increase food cravings. Even if you lose weight in the short term, it comes right back, and yo-yo dieting is dangerous and permanently harmful.
"Never Be Fat Again focuses on eating foods that supply cells with the nutrients they need, while avoiding toxins that we know will pack on pounds. In this way, hunger disappears and pounds melt away naturally and effortlessly.
"Further, most approaches fail to address the mental, physical, genetic and medical dimensions of overweight."
Francis says it is not how much you eat that matters, but what you eat.
"No one needs to feel hungry," he says. "You can eat as much as you like so long as the food is nutrient-rich and free of toxins. To achieve permanent weight loss, we must supply our cells with all the nutrition they need while avoiding toxins that interfere with our appetite and weight-control mechanisms."
Francis says identifying toxicity as a major cause of overweight is a breakthrough in weight loss.
"To permanently reverse overweight, or any other so-called disease, it is necessary to address deficiency and toxicity and restore cells to normal function," Francis says.
"By eating a diet that does not supply cells with all the nutrients they need, our appetite and fat storage controls are turned on. When the body knows it lacks nutrients; it turns on the appetite and tells us to eat. The problem is we typically eat more high-calorie, nutritionally-deficient foods, which add to our calories and pounds but keep the appetite turned on because we still lack nutrients. Likewise, the body senses the lack of nutrients as starvation, and it instructs the cells to store fat in order to protect us from the famine."
So how does toxicity cause us to be overweight?
"Certain toxins, such as aspartame, glutamates, prescription drugs and pesticides, can turn our appetite controls “on” making us hungry all the time," Francis says.
"In addition, they turn our fat-storage controls on. When these toxins are acting, even if you cut calories, you will still pack on pounds because you will be storing fat regardless of what else you do. Tragically, most diet books allow, and even encourage, consumption of foods that we know contain these toxins."
Francis says sugar is a deadly poison that may be the largest single contributor to the epidemic of chronic and degenerative disease plaguing America.
"Sugar is a major contributor to overweight," he says. "It is one of the deadliest poisons we are exposed to on a daily basis, causing both deficiency and toxicity. It causes nutritional deficiency because it is just empty calories, delivering no nutrients, while it consumes precious nutrients as the body tries to metabolize it.
"The toxicity comes because it sets off a cascade of chemical reactions in the body, producing chemicals that have a toxic effect on us. Every time you eat sugar, the effect on your body is like a 50-car pileup on the freeway — toxic spills, wreckage, injuries, chaos. Permanent injury is done from which you will never recover. Sugar wreaks havoc on your DNA, immune system, hormone system, cardiovascular system, nervous system, and cellular health—it ages you."
So what can the average person do right now to lose weight?
"Very simply, cut out processed foods," Francis says. "Cut all the empty-calorie foods containing sugar, white flour and other processed grains. This includes breakfast cereals, breads, cookies, cakes, chips, sodas and most packages foods.
"Eat primarily a plant-based diet consisting of organic fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, lentils, sprouts, nuts and a small amount of animal protein for those who desire it. Start a consistent exercise program, and work on the psychology that affects their weight." |
August 18, 2008
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