Keep it in the Family - March 2009

Lorraine Brown
Weight Watchers Member

My story begins at the end of October 2007. I decided to join Weight Watchers together with my friend and eldest daughter. My BMI at that time was 43 – this put me in the morbidly obese category. My main reason for joining was health, as I knew that medically I was a walking time-bomb. I have children aged 19, 15 and 7, and I made the conscious decision that I want to be around for them for many more years to come.

Within a week or two, I was well on my way to success. I stuck religiously to the programme, bought myself a tread-mill and had a whole new outlook on life.

Some facts about myself:

I am 44 years old
I weighed in @ 131kg
I am 1.75m tall
I now weigh 79kg
I have lost 52kg in 16 months
I was a size 24
I am now a size 14

I am now in my 2nd week of maintenance and am probably one of the happiest people alive. I am so proud of what I have achieved over the past 16 months. What has made the journey even easier, is the fact that my friend and daughter stood by me all the way. It was wonderful to attend class each week with your buddies by your side. As a matter of fact, we are all 3 at goal weight now. In fact, my husband and all our family and friends were a great tower of strength to me. That just goes to show that in unity there is strength. I look forward to my class each week, as I have made so many new friends. Just to share your ups and downs with people who have something in common with you, is a huge part of how successful you will be in this programme. My Weight Watchers friends are my therapy for the week.

My whole family has benefited from my new attitude towards healthy eating and just life in general. My son has lost 13kg, my husband 9kg and my eldest daughter 21kg. We are living proof that changing your lifestyle is something the whole family can do together. You don’t need to isolate yourself and cook separately. Everyone loves my new cooking techniques and dishes I prepare.

My relationship with food has changed so much. I now know that I do not have to eat all the food today, there will always be food tomorrow. Also, food was a “security blanket” for me, which I no longer need, as I have fixed myself from the inside out. I truly believe that Weight Watcher’s findings to balance Food, Emotion and Exercise is the key to losing the weight. Once you find a healthy balance between the food and emotions that normally drive you to food, you are well on your way to success. Exercise also rounds off the whole package, as the “feel good endorphins” that are released truly keep you focused.
I am ever so grateful for the opportunity of having been able to take on this wonderful and fulfilling journey, which I know will never reach its destination, due to the fact that I am going to keep traveling this road of success.
Sharing my weight loss story, has inspired so many people, which in itself keeps me going each day. I have daily contact via email, phone, etc with family and friends (even people I have never met) who just want a helping hand to get them going on this healthy road. It is wonderful to be able to give of yourself freely each day and sit back and be part of all the success that others are now also achieving, due to me taking that one single step on this life-long journey.

THANK YOU WEIGHT WATCHERS for being instrumental in SAVING MY LIFE !!!!