My Weight Loss Story

I asked Catherine to share her weight loss story and she promptly posted it in her blog. Now it's my turn to share.

I started gaining the weight when I moved here from the Philippines 15 years ago. The 10 pounds I gained was a gradual and slow process. A year and a half after my first child was born, I joined Weight Watchers at work. I got 2 co-workers disgusted and quit WW because they thought I was an insult. I looked skinny to them. (That was their excuse!) After losing 12 pounds or so, some thought I had gone too far. I walked out of a WW meeting because I got so sick of some people's excuses for not taking the weight off, and I never came back again. I was a lifetime member until then. Well, the weight started creeping back in, and some. Two more pregnancies later, I was at my all time high of 132 pounds. I wasn't about to go on any "diet". I already know the program- I know what I needed was a lifestyle change. But like Catherine, I never thought of myself as "fat". Yet, I also avoided parties and gatherings just because "I could never find anything to wear."

I was doing a liquid fast one day last July, which also meant taking it easy and not doing much around the house. I just think that when the body is weak is a good time to feed our spirit, so I would spend time in prayer and reading during fasts. I was looking for a particular book about fasting at home but I couldn't find it. I pulled out a book called Go Natural instead. This is a book that I picked up 2 years ago- flipped through the pages, put it aside, and didn't open again 'til that day in July. The author kept talking about the McDougall diet which at that time I've never heard of. Curious, I went online to see if the local library carry this Dr. McDougall's books. In a couple of days I was reading his 12 Day Program.

Now I have to add that before reading that book, our family was already "eating healthy"- or so we thought! We shop at Whole Foods, buy organic food, avoid hydrogenated fat like a plague, don't drink cows milk, and only eat free-range chicken breast for meat at home. Before this day, being vegetarian was like climbing Mt. Everest for me. But I really think it was the fasting that open up my heart to it. It gave me courage. By the end of the day, I was clearing my fridge and my pantry of junk. No mercy, bags after bags of junk. The next day, I had the most fulfilling day at Whole Foods Market. My husband had also agreed to support me in this 12-Day Program. After all, it's less than 2 weeks of not eating meat- big deal! He didn't know I had more in mind than that.

Day 2 of the program, the cook in me came out. It was so liberating. That's when I realized that I dreaded being in the kitchen because I dreaded handling meat. I never looked back. On the other hand, hubby was getting irritable, he said. Meat withdrawal, I suppose! But he stuck to it- he was doing it for me.

But other things were also happening. We started feeling light and having more energy. I don't get headaches anymore. My toddler's skin problem was no longer. I could go on and on. By then, dear hubby knows this is more than a 12-Day program. Even family and friends noticed the changes right away.

In the first month, I lost a total of 10 pounds, 20 more to go. By Thanksgiving, I've achieved my goal. I've gone from my biggest of size 12, to 8 to a size 4. When the scale hit 100 lbs, I knew it was time to add more nuts and seeds to my diet.

The whole time, I never felt deprived at all. I never called it a diet- it's a lifestyle change. I was (and still am) constantly eating, and yet the pounds kept coming off. And I feel good about it, not just for me and my family, but knowing that I'm being a positive influence to others and a good steward.