Mike loses 159 lbs.* in less than a year on NutriSystem
Growing up, I was a typical Ohio farm kid, food-wise: meat and potatoes—plus pie. However, I really started to put on weight after I graduated from college some 30 years ago. I would gain and then periodically go on a diet and lose some weight—only to gain it back, plus more. Over time my weight went up and up. I always wanted to lose it, but never was able to succeed. My waist went from a 36/38 to 54. I was wearing size 4XL shirts.
I knew I was too heavy but, like most, I never did too much about it; instead, I was the "jolly fat man." I became even less active because I could not do things because of my weight. As I got older, I knew the extra weight was not healthy but never did anything about it until I got a major wake-up call during the 2004 holiday season.
Hi, I'm Mike ("Newmac" on the NutriSystem boards). I'm a 53-year-old science teacher living in Ft. Lauderdale with my wife and 3 kids. This is my weight loss story.
In 2004, I caught a cold a week or two before Thanksgiving. The day after Thanksgiving, I woke up and was having trouble breathing, like I was out of breath. I thought it was just the cold so I was not really concerned at first; however, by noon I was still having problems so I told my son Rick to take me over to the emergency room. Once there, I was told that I had a very fast heartbeat and, after some tests, the doctor said I also had pneumonia. I was admitted to the hospital and spent 5 days as they treated the pneumonia and attempted to monitor my heart rate. I was told I had heart flutter (heart arrhythmia).
In short, my heart was not beating correctly. So the doctors tried electric shock to put my heart back into rhythm. That same evening, I was at home and all of a sudden I couldn't breathe, so Rick called 911. I was rushed to the hospital with what was thought to be a heart attack. I was informed that the electric shock had not worked and my heart was out of rhythm again. I was told I had to have what is called an ablation (the fancy name is electrophysiological study), where they locate the areas that were sending the signals to my heart, telling it to beat incorrectly, and then block the messages being sent. But I was too heavy for the procedure; at least 50 pounds would have to come off before they would attempt the ablation. That was my wake-up call to lose weight.
I knew I had to do something, and immediately. With so much at stake, I checked out many different programs. I finally settled on NutriSystem (I saw the NutriSystem ad in my Sunday paper). I chose NutriSystem because I knew I needed a simple and convenient way to lose weight. The other programs all cost more or you had to make most of your own food, and I knew from experience that I would not do this. NutriSystem had all the main items prepared and I just had to add fresh items (such as fruit), which I found to be very easy.
I officially started NutriSystem program on January 10, 2005 with a start weight of at least 347+ pounds (my scale wouldn't go higher). Because of my heart condition, though, I was told not to physically exert myself, so I wondered how much weight I could lose without exercising. But from the beginning, my weight loss seemed to be pretty steady. In about two weeks, I noticed a difference—I was losing weight and I also felt better. Also, people at school started to ask me if I was losing weight after about one month into the program. Thankfully, by March I had broken the 300-pound barrier and in early June (when I was close to 100 pounds lost) I was finally able to have the heart procedure that probably saved my life.
While on NutriSystem, I've chosen to make mini-goals for myself because I knew I needed to have reachable and realistic goals to keep me going. My first goal, of course, was dropping 50 pounds, which I needed to do to get my heart fixed. Once I reached that goal, I chose another goal of another 25 pounds and so on. To me, this was better than saying "I am going to lose 150 pounds!" and then feeling like it took forever to reach it. This approach worked well: I lost 159 pounds* in less than a year!
There are many things about the program that were enjoyable. I really liked the fact that I had so many choices for the meals and I enjoyed most of the food. (My favorites are any of the pasta meals, such as lasagna, ravioli and rotini.) I have also found that the support board has been very helpful; the people there encourage
me. I also bought the NutriSystem® Nourish™ book and it helped me a great deal.
Lose weight and feel great with NutriSystem Men's Program which includes more meals with higher amounts of protein. You eat five times a day to help you feel full longer.
Mike (with his daughter Jennifer) is celebrating his one-year anniversary on NutriSystem this week as a healthier husband and dad. Congrats, Mike!
It also really helped that I could eat 5 different times during the day, so I never really found myself hungry on the diet—I was hungry when it was time to eat my meals (as it should be), but not in-between. I also liked that NutriSystem is so balanced—you have all the food groups included in the plan. (I was on diets in the past that fruit was a no-no!) Also, with NutriSystem, the weight stays off—not like some of the other diets that, once the diet is over, you go back to what you ate before and the weight comes back on. I really never knew how to eat until I started the NutriSystem program.
I have gotten a lot of support from my family and friends during my weight loss. My wife Luanne was a great help to me on this program, as she made sure I had the right amounts of all the items at each meal. We were very strict about following what the program told us to eat. For the longest time, we measured out the servings of vegetables until we learned what the proper amount looked like. I had a steady weight loss all along and I never cheated on the diet. (Really—that is the truth!)
I never was made fun of or pressured to eat items not on my diet. My friends think it's great that I lost weight and are impressed by how good I look now. I am always hearing that I look so different now. In fact, my mother is very pleased and after years of complaining that I was too heavy—now she says I am getting too thin!
Now 159 pounds* lighter, I really like the way I feel, and I am able to buy clothes that fit (and I have choices of styles). My current clothes are a size I haven't been able to wear since high school—in fact, I weigh less now than when I graduated from high school! Plus, people who I haven't seen for a while don't recognize me, and that feels good.
More importantly, my cardiologist calls me his model patient because I did what he said and lost weight—in fact, he is amazed how much I lost and says to keep it up. In addition, the doctors had told me that I had sleep apnea (probably because I was overweight), but now that seems to be gone. And, even though my blood pressure was never an issue, it is now very good due to my weight loss. I wish I had done this years ago.
I don't think I will have any trouble maintaining the weight because NutriSystem taught me what to eat and in what proportions. I actually like and look forward to eating what NutriSystem recommends! In fact, I plan on following the NutriSystem program until I reach my last goal weight (only 3 more pounds!), and I will continue to use NutriSystem products as I maintain my weight.
And when people ask me how I managed to lose weight on the program, I always tell them that it works: the program was very easy to follow, and I always saw steady progress because I never cheated.
Plus, I had the perfect motivation—when you can't breathe, you never want to go through it again.
Lose weight and feel great with NutriSystem Men's Program which includes more meals with higher amounts of protein. You eat five times a day to help you feel full longer.
- Mike
*Results not typical
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