The Weigh “I” Was…by Kat Carney

January 7, 1994 (Journal entry) “Quiet day. Slightly depressed. Lately I feel uneasy around people. Didn’t work out today. Ate SIX cheeseburgers. Where is my motivation? Why am I depressed?”

January 15, 2000! It’s hard to believe that those are my words from just a few years ago! For those of us who become successful at weight loss it’s hard to recall “The Weigh We Were.”

Kathryn “Kat” Carney knows first-hand the difficulties of weight management, “As far back as I can remember, I was overweight. People never really called me “fat” to my face; “big-boned” was what they used to say.”
Thanks to a loving and supportive family, she generally considers her childhood a happy one, but it is also filled with memories of taunts about her size from others, “My dad was in the military, so we moved every year or two. It was hard because I was always the “new kid” in class, and being chubby didn’t help – at all.”

Kat recalls how she couldn’t wear “kid’s size” boots because they wouldn’t fit over her calves. She also remembers the little boy who told her to imagine “there was food at the finish line” as she struggled to run laps in gym class. And dating – forget about it.

By the time she graduated from high school, Kat tipped the scales at 180lbs. All through college, she tried one diet after another, in typical yo-yo fashion. But weight was the least of her problems; by the time she was 22, Kat was in the early stages of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS).

“I knew that something was wrong with me, but I just chose to ignore the symptoms.” Symptoms that included depression, hair loss, and additional weight gain! By the age of 26, she had become so ill that she was unable to continue working.

“My weight had gotten out of control at close to 240 lbs, and the PCOS was wreaking havoc on my system. Not to mention the fact that I could barely move because of severe back problems – my body couldn’t handle any more weight.”

Out of work, and out of money, Kat retreated to Atlanta, Georgia determined to gain control of her health and her life, “Thank God for the Internet! I was able to do extensive research on both of my illnesses – for free!”

This research included the latest nutritional issues, psychological characteristics of people successful at weight loss, traditional and alternative treatments for PCOS, medical journals – you name it, “I wanted to become as informed as I could before I developed my plan of action.”

“Action” is an understatement for what happened next… While “weight” was certainly “an” issue, “health” was the main issue, and in 1997, Kat set out on a personal journey to get healthy. This not only included her research, but joining a gym and actually exercising – for the first time in her life. “To keep me going, I would tear the weight loss success stories out of fitness magazines and hang them on my wall so that I was surrounded by “success.””

Through proper diet, nutritional education, and lots of exercise, Kat shed 90lbs in 14 months, and in 1999, at the age of 29, got a chance to share her own success story when she was hired as a correspondent on cable’s “Fit: Resort and Spa.” Later that same year, she had the honor of working next to weight loss guru Richard Simmons on the nationally syndicated television show “DreamMaker.”

Kat credits reading real-life weight loss success stories of others’ as a major component to her success…
These stories…

PROVE that successful weight loss and management is a possibility for everyone..

INSPIRE people to continue to search for a weight management “path” that works for them…

DEMONSTRATE that you don’t necessarily need expensive diet programs, trainers, and chefs to lose weight – that thinness and health aren’t for the rich and famous… and

ENCOURAGE people through their periods of doubt and frustration that their weight loss goals are attainable.

In January 2000, Kat decided to put all of the weight loss stories that she had collected in one place, http://www.TheWeighWeWere.com, ...the largest online collection of, weight loss success stories from all of the different diet plans.

“I want everyone out there struggling with weight loss to be able to see that it CAN be done!”kat carney

She also sends out free “Daily InspirWeighTional” quotes via email to thousands of people who are still “On Their Weigh”!kat carney

One last note…miraculously, Kat no longer “suffers” from PCOS. While it is considered incurable, doctors suspect that her attention to health and well being, caused her body to “reverse” the effects of the condition, and this year, Kat was asked to tell her inspiring story on the Discovery Channel’s new “Health” network. 5 months later, she was hired to host their new primetime series “The Body Invaders!” kat carney