WeightLoss Story
07-03-2008, 01:20 PM
[coverattach=1]Published on: 07/06/04
• Personal life:
Retired preschool teacher living in Lilburn
• Former weight:
364 pounds
• Current weight:
155 pounds
• Total pounds lost:
209 pounds
• Turning point: Belcher was always heavy as a child. When she lost her husband to cancer, her weight increased. Within a few years, minor activities like taking her grandchildren to the park would nearly disable her the next day because of pain in her knees and joints. “I had no life,” she says. Belcher joined the Decatur chapter of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly).
[coverattach=2]• Diet plan: Belcher watches her portion size, eating small amounts. “We don’t realize how little we need to be healthy. What you get at a restaurant could feed you for three meals,” she says.
• Exercise routine: Because of arthritis and other health issues, Belcher’s movement is curtailed. However, she makes a daily effort to walk around the yard.
• Biggest challenge: “Life is just so terribly embarrassing being so overweight, and then you eat more to try and help your emotions, and then it becomes a vicious cycle,” she says. Fighting that cycle is what Belcher learned to do.
• Munchie antidote: When she craves something to chew, Belcher says she reaches for popcorn, raw vegetables, fruit or animal crackers. “If you can chew without calories or fat, that will help you.”
• Secret to success: Realizing that weight control is a lifetime change. Belcher has also learned to reward herself with something other than food, like manicures and pedicures. With her support group, Belcher has been able to overcome her emotional eating and regain control of her life. “I’ve learned to handle my emotions in a healthy way.”
• How life has changed: Belcher reached her doctor-set weight goal in December 2003 and was crowned Queen of TOPS at the group’s state recognition day. Her doctor has decreased her medications for high blood pressure and arthritis. “I’m in very good health right now — that’s a big blessing.”
— Michelle C. Brooks
Source: http://www.theweighwewere.com/Read-Weight-Loss-Stories/131.html
• Personal life:
Retired preschool teacher living in Lilburn
• Former weight:
364 pounds
• Current weight:
155 pounds
• Total pounds lost:
209 pounds
• Turning point: Belcher was always heavy as a child. When she lost her husband to cancer, her weight increased. Within a few years, minor activities like taking her grandchildren to the park would nearly disable her the next day because of pain in her knees and joints. “I had no life,” she says. Belcher joined the Decatur chapter of TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly).
[coverattach=2]• Diet plan: Belcher watches her portion size, eating small amounts. “We don’t realize how little we need to be healthy. What you get at a restaurant could feed you for three meals,” she says.
• Exercise routine: Because of arthritis and other health issues, Belcher’s movement is curtailed. However, she makes a daily effort to walk around the yard.
• Biggest challenge: “Life is just so terribly embarrassing being so overweight, and then you eat more to try and help your emotions, and then it becomes a vicious cycle,” she says. Fighting that cycle is what Belcher learned to do.
• Munchie antidote: When she craves something to chew, Belcher says she reaches for popcorn, raw vegetables, fruit or animal crackers. “If you can chew without calories or fat, that will help you.”
• Secret to success: Realizing that weight control is a lifetime change. Belcher has also learned to reward herself with something other than food, like manicures and pedicures. With her support group, Belcher has been able to overcome her emotional eating and regain control of her life. “I’ve learned to handle my emotions in a healthy way.”
• How life has changed: Belcher reached her doctor-set weight goal in December 2003 and was crowned Queen of TOPS at the group’s state recognition day. Her doctor has decreased her medications for high blood pressure and arthritis. “I’m in very good health right now — that’s a big blessing.”
— Michelle C. Brooks
Source: http://www.theweighwewere.com/Read-Weight-Loss-Stories/131.html