Lost 108 Pounds!
Before: 232 lbs.
After: 124 lbs.
Lost: 108 lbs.
was an overweight child by the time I was 10 years old. When I was born, I had a facial birth defect - a cleft lip and
one of my eyebrows was on the side of my face - so I always felt different. I was different, and there was a lot of
hurt and sadness around that for me. My weight acted as a buffer, and it kept people away from me.
Throughout high school and college, I'd go on diets and lose a little, but I always gained it back. Then in 1988, I went
on a cruise with Richard. I started using Richard's Deal-a-Meal program, and I lost 50 pounds. I thought I had it
licked! The holidays came, and because I was so sure I had it licked, I thought it would be okay for me to eat
whatever I wanted. I was wrong! I started gaining, and I gained back 40 of the 50 pounds I had lost.
For 11 years, I did nothing about it. I knew how to do it. I never tried the fad diets, diet pills, powders, or shots. I
always knew that sensible eating and exercise was the answer, but I didn't want to do it. Losing weight would take
my buffer away.
In 1999, I got a computer. I was 222 pounds, and I thought, "I wonder if Richard has a Website." I found it, and I
saw that he was still doing cruises. At that time, I was the primary caregiver for my nephew who had muscular
dystrophy. I told my sister, Jeannette, about finding Richard's site and the cruises, and she said, "Let's go!" I wasn't
sure I wanted to go, but we booked it. When I got there, I said, "I don't know if I want to exercise or talk to him,"
but I was there, so I went to the classes.
On one of the first nights of the cruise, Richard said, "You have to want this more than anything!" Well, I didn't know
if I wanted it or not. I didn't know if I cared. At that time, I didn't care if I lived or died, but then I thought, "What if I
don't die! What if I have a heart attack and live? Who would take care of me? I am the caretaker! What if I have to
live with the aftereffects of a heart attack and there's no one to take care of me?"
Richard then said, "This is the hardest thing you'll ever do. I still struggle with it. You don't have to be perfect. You
just have to do what you can do!" I thought, "I can do this! I can do my best. If I have to do this for a lifetime, I've
got the rest of my life to do it, and I can do it!"
Later in the week, Winifred, who was the nutritionist on the cruise, taught a seminar, and she said, "I want you to set
a goal for where you'll be in the next 6 months; then tell the person sitting next to you." I was sobbing. I turned to my
sister and said, "I'm going to lose 50 pounds in the next 6 months." That was the first promise I ever made to myself
for myself that I kept!
That cruise was my turning point. I was ready to hear, to accept, and to do something. I realized that it had to be a
lifestyle. It wasn't a problem that was going to go away. I knew I had to do it forever, but I also realized that I could
take baby steps. I knew if I slipped, I could just get up and go back to my program again.
Everybody's got excuses. "What if I take too much time away from my family? What if I get too attractive? How will
I find an hour a day to exercise?" I had to put those excuses out of my mind.
I had to talk to my nephew. I was his primary caregiver, and I sometimes had to move his foot as often as 4-5 times
an hour. I had to feed him. I explained that I had to take care of myself and lose weight. I told him I was doing it for
me, but I was also doing it for him, and that I had to do it above all other things, so we had to work it out. I became
more selfish. He wasn't always happy, but I stood my ground, and he compromised.
It was tough sometimes. He ate a lot of junk food, and because of his disease, he ate very slowly. I had to sit there
with him while he ate things like pizza, and sometimes while he was working on one slice, I'd have to put the rest
away to keep from eating it myself, but we worked it out!
He has since died, but he became one of my best supporters during this process. He was my task master and my
cheerleader. He encouraged me to work out. He would make tapes for me and say, "We're gonna do it!" I'd go in his
bedroom, and he'd put the tape in. He pushed me. He said it was good for him. "I can't move, but I can watch you
move and watch your body change!"
I used the FoodMover. I drank my water. I did Richard's tapes. I walked. I did toning. This next thing may sound
strange, but it was an important factor in my success. Richard always says you have to love yourself. In my head, I
was saying things like "you're fat," "you're ugly," "you're stupid," "you can't lose weight," "you'll never be able to do
this." If I had talked to a child the way I talked to myself, I would have been accused of child abuse! I realized I
needed to "reparent" myself.
I started saying positive things to myself, and I started posting positive thoughts over the mirror and on the
refrigerator. I wrote my goal weight on post-its and put them all over the house. I'd look in the mirror and say things
like, "Look at you! You're really trying." On my refrigerator, I posted, "There's nothing behind the door of this
refrigerator that's going to solve your problems." On my computer was the single line from Richard's Project Me
Passport, "I am worth it." I used anything that would help me feel better about me! I started giving myself manicures
and pedicures, and I started taking bubble baths and going on long, leisurely walks for fun and relaxation.
But also like a good parent, I made rigid rules and lovingly enforced them. For instance, if I found myself in the
kitchen late at night wanting to eat, I'd talk myself through that. "It's too late to eat now, sweetheart. Go to bed and
get some rest. You can have a good breakfast in the morning. I love you."
One day I was weighing myself. I hadn't reached any particular goal or anything, but as I stepped off the scale, I
started sobbing. I looked in the mirror, and I realized, "I love you. I really love you." From that day on, I have loved
me. I think that's what's going to keep me at my goal. I really care about me! The positive "reparenting" worked!
I take care of my needs now. I'm a licensed home based childcare provider for the state of California. In the past, if a
parent asked me to take a child an extra day, I'd say, "Sure!" Now I take a look at my schedule, and if that extra child
would make it too crowded, I say, "No, that's not going to work for me. It's a little crowded that day."
I didn't talk about the fact that I was on a weight loss program. When I was on Deal-a-Meal, everybody knew about
it. This time I only told my sister, my nephew, and my friend, Richard, who was my helper. I knew I needed their
support, but I didn't tell too many other people. I kept it close. When I had lost about 40 pounds, people started asking
what I was doing. I just said, "I'm eating better and exercising a little bit." I didn't want to share it at that point. The
Website and the chat rooms are my safe places, but out in the world, I really don't go there unless somebody could
really benefit from it. I did this for me and nobody else, and that's why it worked this time.
My friends and family, especially my sister, Jeannette, and the people on Richard's Website have been great support
for me. Richard was a curly haired little angel sitting on my shoulder. I'd write him, and he'd write me back! In his
first letter to me, he told me something that has been really, really important to me, and I say it to myself first thing
every morning. "If you don't quit, you can't fail."
I'm a different person now! I'm totally free. I have my own life, and I come and go a lot. As a person who works at
home, I was always alone before. Now you never catch me at home on the weekends! I'm active. I go to the gym
now, and I would never have done that before! I didn't feel like I belonged there, not because of the weight, but
because of my attitude.
I'm healthy now! My blood pressure was sky high - 254/177. Now it's under control with one small medicine. My
cholesterol was 300 at one point. Now it's normal. I had high blood sugar, and it's now normal. I have osteoarthritis,
but it's much better. It doesn't bother me at all.
My weight loss has given me a sense of mastery. I feel more accomplished, and I have more confidence. I'm in
training to be a childcare teacher trainer. I don't drive, but this year, I'm going to try to learn how to drive again. I
want to see a plastic surgeon to see if there's any more work they can do for my face, because it matters now. It
didn't before.
I'm more comfortable in my own skin. I accept things about me as a part of me - as part of who I am and what
makes me tick. I'm still a caretaker, but now I take care of myself, too. I knew this would change my whole life, and
before, I was terrified to change my life. Now it's like, "Okay, I'll try that!"
If you have weight to lose, just do something. Don't get caught up in the "ifs", like "What if I have loose skin?" or
"What if my metabolism is slow?" or "What if I don't lose fast enough?" or "What if my friends don't like me
anymore?" Don't use your fear as an excuse. Walk through your fear and just do it! Say to yourself, "I'm just going to
do what I need to do. I'm going to eat right, exercise, and drink my water. I don't care if it scares other people. I'm
just going to do it."
There is an incredible power and satisfaction in embarking on this wonderful journey toward better health and
self-esteem!
LYNN'S TOP 3 TIPS FOR SUCCESS!
1. Become a loving, nurturing parent to yourself. Give yourself positive messages. Stop talking to yourself in negative
ways. Post positive affirmations where you will see them often. Also make firm rules for yourself like a loving parent
would, such as no eating after dinner and exercising every day, no excuses. Nurture yourself with activities like
walking, taking bubble baths, or reading a good novel, even for just a few minutes each day.
2. Don't tell too many people what you are doing. This is your journey, and it is very private and special. Only tell
those closest to you who will be supportive. Come into chat or post on the bulletin boards about your success and
challenges. The support and understanding is here!
3. Embrace salads. They will fill you up, and they are really good for you. Try new some new vegetables in them.
Retry vegetables you thought you didn't like. Salad isn't just lettuce and tomatoes. Buy a rainbow of colors for your
salad. Cut up all the ingredients once a week. Use bits of fruit, cheese, and nuts in your salads so they don't get
boring. Try a variety of low fat dressings, too.
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