Sarah Cecil lost
57 lbs!
Before: 190 lbs.
After: 133 lbs.
Lost: 57 lbs.
will be 10 years in May - and I am a stay at home mother. We have 3 boys, ages 13, 4, and 2. Fortunately,
I'm the Energizer Bunny! My kids play soccer and basketball, and they do gymnastics, so you'd might as
well just call me "Mom's Taxi"!
None of my kids are overweight, but they think the kitchen is open 24 hours a day. They even get up in
the middle of the night and eat! I used to eat when they ate, but I was the only one who became
overweight because of it!
When I was a kid, I was pretty much a normal weight. I had my first son in 1990, but it was after I got
married in '94 that I started gaining weight. I was in school working on a degree in Special Education. I
needed to lose about 10 pounds, so on February 25, 1994, I bought Richard's Deal-a-Meal. That was
Richard's program before the FoodMover. I remembered watching Richard on TV when I was a kid, and I
liked that he didn't seem to just be interested in seeing someone lose weight; he seemed to care about the
whole person.
Needless to say, I did not stick with the program. By 1996, when I had finished college and started a career,
I had 16 pounds to lose. I pulled out Richard's program again, and on February 15, 1996, I signed that
promise page once more. I started trying to incorporate a healthy routine into my daily life as a mother,
wife, and teacher, but again, I lost focus and set it aside. When I packed up my Deal-a-Meal to move in
May of that year, it didn't come out of that box for 4 or 5 years after we were settled in our new home.
I had my second child in 1999, and that's when I really got into some bad habits. I hated to cook, so we
ate out a lot. I would eat fast food and run to soccer practice. Those Big Macs, super size fries, and super
size cokes were really good! My attitude was that we knew we were going to have more kids, so I thought,
"Why bother losing weight when you're just going to gain it back again?"
When I was pregnant, I ate whatever I wanted, and I didn't exercise at all. After my third son, who is now
2, was born, my weight was up to 190, and I was wearing a size 20 or a 2XL. I was very disappointed with
myself for letting it get so out of control. I had finished having children, but I still looked pregnant! I
wasn't sick or anything, but I had gotten very tired and lazy.
In May of 2002, Richard was on QVC with the Blast Off the Pounds program, and I thought, "Okay, it's
time get healthy. You can't eat Big Macs the rest of your life! You have to learn to like veggies!" I needed
an update from Deal-a-Meal, so I ordered the program. I decided while I was waiting for it to arrive I
would dig my old Deal-a-Meal out of the moving box it had been packed in and start using it!
My FoodMover was delivered after only a few days! I was anxious to jump on board and start eating
healthy and exercising. I found it so difficult to find time to exercise. It seemed like the kids were always
clinging to me while I tried to work out! I'd say, "Move it! I'm falling over you," but they would hang
onto my legs like heavy weights as I tried to do knee lifts! I got frustrated and quit. "Why bother? It's too
much trouble!" My family was still very active, and it seemed like we were always eating on the run, but I
continued struggling to incorporate the program into my daily life.
On November 6, 2002, I joined Richard's Clubhouse. I really enjoyed reading his Message of the Day and
using the chat rooms and the bulletin boards, plus it was somewhere to go daily. I'm still addicted to it!
The people understand where you've been and where you're going and how hard it is. Talking with others
really helped me get more motivated, and it helped me start figuring some things out. For instance, I
asked how you find the time to exercise with the kids around, and they said, "Well, you get up an hour
before they do!" "Oh, yeah!" I thought. That had never occurred to me, especially since I loved to sleep! I
expected to miss that hour of rest, but I found that using it to exercise actually gave me more energy and
left me ready to tackle the day's activities. It was, after all, time for "me"!
Still, I had not fully incorporated the program into my life. I would use it on and off, depending on how
stressful the day or week was, but after several months of that, I did manage to lose about 20 pounds!
Then soccer season kicked in. I got away from the Clubhouse for a few months, but I did maintain my
20-pound loss! I believe that because I had become so much more aware of what I was eating, I continued
to watch my portions during that time, and that's why I was able to keep the 20 pounds off.
At the beginning of the summer of 2003, I started getting more serious about the program. I got up
early and did the Blast Off videos. I got more involved at the YMCA, and 2 evenings a week I took the abs
class and the Pilates class. "I'm going! See ya'!" I'd shout to my family as I was leaving. I got back into the
Clubhouse and the chat rooms then, too!
In July of 2003, Richard was on HSN with the SlimAway Everyday program. I liked the binder and the
way it was laid out. It looked very organized, and it seemed to have so much information! It also came
with a 30-day meal plan and recipes that looked easy to cook. Once again I said, "Time for an upgrade!" I
ordered the program. I also called the testimonial line on HSN, and I got to talk to Richard! It was so
exciting!
By August, I had lost a total of 32 pounds, and I had gone from a size 20 to a size 14! I started doing the
DVDs that came with the SlimAway in the mornings before the kids got up. I still had a few pounds to go,
but even though I was exercising and eating healthier, I seemed to be maintaining at 158.
After talking to some of my Webbie friends, I decided to start a file with Richard and begin sending him
my food sheets. That really helped me be more accountable, and I learned so much. I thought I was
making some good fast food choices, but Richard gave me feedback that some of those things were loaded
with fat! He also gave me other great tips. I had never thought of using veggies and fruits for snacks!
I had always wanted to meet Richard, so when I discovered that he would be at Caesar's Casino in Indiana
at the end of August, I made plans to go. He taught 2 classes there, and I took both of them. It was so
exciting! As I waited in line that day, I also met some other Webbies! When we introduced ourselves, I
said, "Oh! I talk to you all the time!"
I left Indiana feeling very inspired and very motivated, and that's when it all clicked! When I got back
home, I started exercising every day. I went to the Y and started running - not walking - RUNNING on
the treadmill! I even learned that it is just as fast to go home and cook a healthy meal as it is to go to a
fast food restaurant!
On November 10, 2003, I made it to my goal weight of 135! I'm now at 133, and I'm wearing a size 8
petite! That's down from a size 20! I think I lost about 16 inches. I used to look about 9 months
pregnant! I still have a little pooch, but at least I don't look pregnant!
The biggest change I've made has been the exercise. I didn't do anything before. I used to nap with the
kids in the afternoon, but not anymore! I have so much energy, if I get any more, my friends will shoot
me! I drag them to exercise class with me, and they say, "You've already worked out today! Why are we
going to the Y?" I could never make it around the track before, but now I run a mile to a mile-and-a-half
every day, and that's on top of doing a video!
Nicole Alexander (CyberNic1) and I have a challenge going! If she does better than I do, I tell her, "That's
just because you get a grade for yours!" Lynn Maysenhalder (ThinLynn) and I have a "300 Crunches a
Day" challenge going! It's just another way to keep us motivated. Some people would say I'm addicted to
and obsessed with the exercise, but I tell them, "You just haven't gotten here yet!"
I have watched myself become happier and more confident. I've gotten more involved with groups outside
my circle of friends. I'm participating in more activities at our church and at the YMCA. I'm teaching a
Toddler Fitness Class at the Y, and I'm starting a support group for weight loss there, too!
I'm less stressed. Maybe it's a psychological thing, or maybe it's just because I don't feel the weight of the
57 pounds I used to carry around! Maybe it's just because I'm in better shape and I have more energy.
I'm now working on my AFAA Certification to teach aerobics and fitness! I'm studying that book, and
it's so technical, I'm going, "Huh?" Now I have to figure out how to READ with the kids!
My goal now is to stay "a healthier me"! That was my motto. I even have it written on stickers on my
FoodMover! I'm on maintenance now. Losing it was easy, but it's hard trying to keep it off. I hardly ever
eat fast food anymore. If I do, it's a little garden side salad to tide me over until I get home and can fix a
healthy meal. I'm still working on eating healthier snacks. Snack time is my biggest struggle. I have a
cookie at least once a week, but I don't do it every day, and I always account for it! I try not to overeat,
but if I do, I add a little more exercise. Sometimes I go into the Clubhouse and confess, "I did terrible
today!" People will say, "That's okay! Just pick yourself up and keep going!" That really helps.
I make out a meal plan each week using one of Richard's food sheets. I also list my specific exercise plan
on it, and I hang it on the refrigerator. That way, I don't have to think about it! I just do it! It keeps me
from saying, "What do you feel like doing this morning?" Sometimes my answer would be, "Well, I don't
feel like doing anything." This way I can just say, "Well, you've already written it out, so this is what
you're doing!" It's the same way with the food. I don't have to be tempted with too many choices when
I'm hungry, because I've already made the decision about what to have.
I'm so happy that my story has helped inspire other people. I have friends who have ordered the SlimAway
Everyday program, and they are beginning their own journeys toward a healthier lifestyle! My husband
isn't real heavy, but he needed to take a few pounds off, and he's started using the FoodMover. So far, he's
lost 13 pounds! I can tell that the changes in my lifestyle have made my kids more aware of healthy
eating. The other night, my 4-year-old took his Batman belt off and strapped it around the refrigerator.
He said, "Well, Mommy, now you can't cook, and now you can't overeat!"
If you're trying to lose weight, be patient. Make a meal and exercise plan and follow it. Take it one day at
a time. Stay focused, and you can do it! If you want to "hear it like it is," join us in the Clubhouse chat
rooms between 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern time, and you'll make lots of new friends and get lots of support
there, just like I did!
SARAH'S TOP 3 TIPS FOR SUCCESS!
1. Be patient.
2. Remember where you've been and where you're headed.
3. Remember that slow and steady wins a healthier YOU!
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