In mid-June 2007, my husband Doug saw a full-page ad for U Weight Loss™ Clinic in our local paper. We tried, unsuccessfully, to acquire information on the website, so we decided to drop in at the centre. We were disappointed to have to wait a week for an appointment, still, none the wiser, we persisted. Doug wanted to know the financial aspects while I was more interested in finding a program, not another diet. I'd tried them all!
When we were married in 1970, I weighed 128 lbs and Doug weighed 200 lbs. With the arrival
over 12 years, of four 10 lb babies, I gained weight. Now, my youngest is 28 and I'm
still carrying the "baby fat". Fifty pounds of it!
Doug underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee and the right one
is also starting to show signs of
distress. He is pre-diabetic with hypertension and has a family history of heart disease.
He also carried an extra 50 pounds.
Doug was not an easy sell, but Jess, the coach, helped him see the benefits, necessity and
wisdom of weight loss for him and the importance, emotionally, for me. I hated the way I
looked and did not want to live like that anymore. I knew I couldn't do it alone. I'd been
trying for years.
We were concerned about the program cost, but as I reasoned, if it was pennies a week,
we probably wouldn't have stuck to it - certainly not as rigidly. The better our
compliance, the faster we would lose and the more economical it would be. It was sometimes
frustrating losing weight with my husband because he lost so quickly, even when he cheated.
The best part of doing the plan together was just that, we did it
together. Doug lost a lot of weight faster, but I still lost fairly consistently and we
were there for each other on the good and the bad days.
Doug lost 50 lbs in 15 weeks. I was happy for him, but admittedly jealous. As my goal date
neared, I thought I would never lose that last 10 lbs. Then exactly one day - 1 DA Y -
before my completion date, I reached 52 pounds! I squealed, "I did it! I did it!"
hallway came Linda's voice, "That's got to be Susan!" We hugged as I bounced up and down
and, of course, I cried.
What do we praise first? The meal plans take all the guess work out of meal prep and ward
off the temptation to cheat when I'm too tired to think about cooking. As our tastes changed, I
began to enjoy tofu and Doug, who firmly stated, "I'm not eating cottage cheese," now
finds that his favourite breakfast is crunchy cottage cheese.
The constant trips to Georgetown were a challenge at first, but I knew I needed to touch
base and it seemed that most days I was choosing new recipes, picking up product or asking
my endless stream of questions, which were all patiently answered by the staff members.
Doug likes to drop in to the clinic quickly, get weighed and get out and
he leaves the meal plans and questions to me. The girls adapted to our needs. They are a
knowledgeable group and are eager to help us make the program work. The gentle
encouragement when I was up, down, up, down and when Doug was losing consistently ahead of
me helped keep me on an even keel.
I remember how understanding they were when only once in six months, got off track and ate three bagels. I
Now we have lost 102 pounds and so begins a new challenge. Doug looks so good. We know he
is barely in the "grey" area of the pre-diabetic status and hopefully, with wiser
nutrition choices, he will avoid that diagnosis.
We're both enjoying increased energy
levels. Six months ago we were tired shortly after supper. Now at 10 or 11 pm, we start
thinking about winding down. We're also noticing how easy it is to bend over to tie our
shoes and how we don't puff after one flight of stairs.
For myself, I feel pretty for the
first time in years. I want to wear make-up again, I've changed my hair style and am
enjoying things as simple as changing and co-ordinating jewelry because I no longer mind
drawing attention to my face. I'm also wearing belts proudly.
After years of wearing sizes
18 - 20, I am amazed that I fit into a size 10. That person I now see in the mirror is the
skinny person who lived inside of me for 35 years. I will never allow myself to gain
weight again.
People who I haven't seen for six months are sometimes afraid to ask me
about my weight loss because they think I might be ill. The look of "WOW" on their face is
so rewarding and I tell them with such enthusiasm how easy it was to lose the weight in
six months.
How do we say thank you to our new friends? We plan to maintain the weight loss, stay
healthy with wiser
whole-food choices and to tell all of our friends about the program at U Weight Loss™.
Linda, Amanda, Mandy,
Kelly and Jess: from grateful hearts, we thank you.
We know you were just doing your job,
but you put so much caring, patience and just plain human compassion into each coaching
session. We feel fantastic,
both physically and emotionally, and look forward to a summer full of more comfortable
gardening, canoeing,
hiking and biking.