A Mother’s Day Tribute: My Mom’s Story

Paula: My daughter told me about Medifast when we were talking at Christmas time. We had just decided to have a friend take family pictures while she and her husband and our first grandson were home for Christmas! How exciting, right? No, I knew then I didn’t want my picture taken because I hated to see myself in picutres! I knew I needed to lose weight and was so frustrated with how I looked. I told my daughter that as soon as Christmas was over I had decided to do SOMETHING to lose weight, but not sure what. She told me I needed to talk with her friend Leah. Leah and her husband Bill had both tried Medifast and had been very successful! I called Leah right after Christmas and she told me about the program, the food, and most importantly the free health coach who would work with you and help you reach your goals! Leah said, “You have to call my coach Shaun, he was so helpful to me!” and so I did!

P: I had tried so many diets before and I just needed something that was convenient and easy! That’s all that was appealing about it at the beginning, although I will say the food looked good, and there was a good variety of foods to choose from. The coaching did not majorly appeal to me at first because I didn’t want anyone to know I was doing the program…just in case I failed at this diet also!

P: Well, after the first few days, I was hooked! I liked the food (well, most of it) and I felt good, was not really hungry (although I missed eating my old favorites). The most exciting thing is that I saw results quickly, which kept me motivated to continue! I lost 9 pounds the first week! I had energy and my coach was such a resource, as well as an awesome encourager! He cared how I was doing and answered all my questions whenever I called or emailed him! He lived in California and I lived in Ohio so we didn’t have meetings, I didn’t have to weigh in, and I didn’t have to count calories, or points!

I weighed myself the morning I started and at least once a week! But usually I weighed everyday because it was so motivating to see that scale go down! After the first week, I usually lost 2-3 pounds per week and soon my clothes were feeling too big and I had to buy new clothes! Since I love to shop, that was great, but I knew I didn’t want to buy much since I wanted to keep going! I lost 60 pounds in a little over five months! It seemed easy, and time really went quickly! I felt great! My knees no longer hurt when I climbed stairs, I no longer had acid reflux (that disappeared within the first couple of weeks!), and my husband said I didn’t even snore anymore! I was pretty sure I was on my way to having diabetes, but had not visited the doctor for a long time because I knew that he would say I needed to lose weight! I knew that already, so I avoided that visit!

P: I have learned new Habits of Health! Dr. Andersen, who created this program, has given me so many tools to keep my weight off! I eat six small meals a day, eating about every three hours. I do not eat fried foods and eat very few breads or sweets. If I do eat sweets (which used to be my weakness), I just have a small tasting once in a great while! I monitor my weight daily and if I gain a few pounds I really watch my intake for the next few days! I exercise regularly and try to start every morning with at least a 10-15 minute walk to get my metabolism going! I love feeling good and feeling comfortable in my clothes, so that is motivation enough to keep me from gaining my weight back! Also, I became a health coach for Take Shape for Life because I love helping people get to their healthy weight!

P: CALL ME AND I CAN HELP YOU! I have helped over 125 people in the past 18 months get to a healthy weight and keep it off! I can help you lose 10 pounds, over one hundred pounds, or anywhere in between!

M: Is there anything else you want to add?

P: I really wanted my husband to do the program when I did, but knew he wasn’t ready and I could not force him into it or he wouldn’t be successful! Thirteen months after I had started the program, one day he said, “order that stuff for me”! And so began his weight loss journey! I had my doubts about how he would do, but he was an awesome client and stuck to the program! He lost over 60 pounds in about four months and has done a great job keeping it off. He is currently off all blood pressure and cholesterol medication and his knees feel so much better! We both feel great and believe in the program! This is not a diet! It is a systematic approach to weight loss and optimal health! IF you could choose optimal health, wouldn’t you?

Before

Now!

(Just in time to chase our two toddlers around!)