Breaking the Chains
Don’t wait until 2006! Lose weight now with NutriSystem!
When I was overweight, I hated the way I felt and the way that I looked. I was always too tired to do anything. I absolutely hated pictures. I always tried to be the one taking the pictures and not being in them. In fact, when I started NutriSystem, I refused to take a current "before" picture. I finally found one from Christmas 2004 (right), which was at my start weight of 247. I hated that picture! At that weight, I avoided people and going places. I didn't want to be seen by anyone I knew because I was too ashamed of how big I had gotten.
Hi, I'm Shannon ("losinandcruisin" on the member support boards). I am a work-at-home single mother to three wonderful children: 9-year-old Brandon and 4-year-old twin girls, Kaela and Kaelie. I am a self-employed medical transcriptionist, and I have been working at home now for 7 years. This is my weight-loss story.
As a child, I was overweight and teased because of it (kids can be cruel). However, as an adult, it wasn't until I had difficulty with my first pregnancy that I gained a lot of weight. Then life set in: busy schedules, caring for a newborn, going to college, and working at the same time. I slowly started to gain even more. By the time I was pregnant with my twins 4 ½ years later, I was 229 pounds (I'm 5'8"). But after having the twins, I didn't have time for anything, let alone eating properly. My son had just started kindergarten, I had two colicky babies to deal with, I was getting back to my business, and I was keeping up with a household. It was a struggle managing three kids, a business, and a household, all of which led to a lot of overeating and ordering out. My weight just kept creeping up, all the way to 247 pounds. I was horrified.
I really needed to get back to being the real me and give my kids their mother back; to be able to play with them and not get out of breath or be too tired.
Finally, one night I saw a commercial for NutriSystem. I talked things over with my mother Gail, and we both decided it was now or never. We both joined NutriSystem on March 14, 2005. We have been diet buddies ever since. And I've now lost 115 lbs.* and am 15 pounds under my goal! This is something that I am very, very proud of (and a great big pat on the back for mom, too, for losing 70 lbs.* so far!).
This program is so easy to follow, even on a tight schedule. There are so many things that you can grab and go if you need to. The food tastes great and is very easy to prepare. Plus, I always have fun experimenting with the food and creating new recipes with it.
Shannon is now able to keep up with her three kids, (L-R) Kaelie, Brandon and Kaela.
The support board has been a godsend. I love giving support and everyone has been there when I needed it, especially during a very difficult time in my life, my divorce. I have seen such an outpouring of caring, it's unbelievable. Without my board friends, I wouldn't have gotten this far on my weight-loss journey.
I think the most challenging thing for me was getting it through my head that I was actually losing the weight. We are definitely our toughest critics, and it's so much easier for someone else to see our weight loss. Even though clothes get big and sometimes fall off us, it's still difficult to realize how far we've really come. My moment of realization happened soon after I made goal, when I found a pair of my old jeans, which I thought I'd tossed. They were actually a size 22, one size smaller than I wore when I started. I tried them on and just stood there and stared. I could practically fit two of me into them! I've kept those jeans and am definitely not throwing them out. They are my little reminder that if I put my mind to it, I can do anything! Plus, I've had both family and friends just about walk right by me, not realizing it was me. But the best compliment so far that I've gotten is that I look like I did back in high school! That meant so much.
However, the most rewarding part about losing weight is the self-esteem that I got back. I am no longer avoiding people or places. I can't wait to go out and just enjoy being me instead of wondering if someone is staring at me because of my size. All of that fear is gone. I feel better than I have in more than 10 years.
My lifestyle has completely changed, too. I no longer just sit and watch TV at night. I can keep up with the kids and tire them out instead of vice versa. In fact, right after I met my goal I decided to race my son to the end of the driveway (which is over 250 feet long) one morning on his way to the bus stop, which is something that I could not have done before. Well, I would have beaten him, but the little stinker threw his book bag to me and I ended up finishing right behind him. All he could say was, "Wow, Mom, you got fast!"
Shannon says, "I'm feeling better than I have in more than 10 years!"
I'm also no longer hiding from pictures. I love having my picture taken now, and my "before" picture from 2004 is my little reminder of how good it feels to have succeeded. Shopping is now fabulous, too! I love to be able to go into a store and buy what I like and have it look great! My closet has greatly benefited from me losing weight. These little things have impacted me so much.
I plan on using the tools that NutriSystem has given me to keep the weight off. I have totally changed my lifestyle. I now carefully choose something off a menu when we go out to eat, remembering my NutriSystem diary's guide to eating out and portions. I didn't really think I ate that much before, but I now realize just how much I was really eating (probably enough for a small army). Portion control is really the key; I now know what a proper portion is. I've also learned to avoid temptation. I won't deprive the kids of the foods they love; I just avoid them. They aren't for me; they are for them.
This is so much more than a diet; it's a lifetime commitment to me. We obviously don't just "poof," get overweight. Our lifestyle is what got us there; now it's just time to get out of those habits and into good habits. NutriSystem helped me to do that. They have shown me how to really eat well.
Losing weight isn't easy, but what is easy is the way NutriSystem teaches you how to eat, how to watch portions, what foods to stick with and what foods to avoid. It teaches you a whole new way of eating. It also fits into a hectic schedule. The foods are very, very easy to prepare, convenient and taste great. Any mother's life is probably hectic. I know mine is with 3 kids. NutriSystem just plain fits. You can plan their meals to go with what you're eating and have quality time to sit down as a family and still enjoy a meal together.
I absolutely love what NutriSystem has done for me. It is has truly given me my life back. I feel great and look better than I have in a very long time. It is has given me the strength to get through a very difficult time. (I know that this really works because even while going through a divorce, I did not turn to food to make me feel better, which is something that I would have done prior to NutriSystem.) Everyone deserves to be happy and healthy, to feel great and to look great. NutriSystem just happens to be the perfect tool to get you there.
-Shannon
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* Results not typical
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