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NutriSystem Success Stories - Janet
24 Pounds Of Cure
Last summer I realized that I was huffing and puffing going up just two flights of stairs at work to reach my desk. To me, that is just not healthy. I was very uncomfortable in a bathing suit at the pool, and I saw other young mothers in great shape and thought, "Why can't I look like that, too?" I was definitely not eating healthy at all. My husband and I were always going out for ice cream or heading to Dunkin Donuts. It got to the point where my kids would ask for some cookies that they knew we had just bought, and I'd have to confess that they were gone because I had eaten them all. I felt that I had completely stopped eating healthy, and I had to do something about it before I completely lost control. Hi, I'm Janet. I'm 39, married, and have two young sons. Brandon is six and has a great passion for drawing and art. Matthew is two and is our little sportsman—by 18 months he knew the difference between every sport! They are very active and definitely keep me on my toes—in fact, sometimes it makes me wonder why I had to diet in the first place, I'm so busy with them—but lose weight was exactly what I needed to do after Matthew was born. I'm one of those fortunate people who didn't have a weight problem growing up. It wasn't until after I started dating my husband that I really started gaining. In fact, after we met I quickly put on about 25 pounds because we went out to eat a lot. Shortly after our wedding, I became pregnant and gained another 43 pounds on top of already being overweight. I remember being in a size 16 pair of shorts that summer and thinking, "No, this is not going to work for me." (I was used to being a size 6 or 8.) So, I tried a few diets, and even lost ten pounds on a liquid diet but was starving all the time. I stopped that one and tried another low-carb diet that helped me to lose another 11 pounds, but I really missed my carbs and ended up putting 16 pounds back on when I started eating "regular" food again. I knew it was bad when I realized while folding laundry that I wasn't even sure which pants were mine and which were my husband's until I actually looked at the tag. It was around that time that my friend mentioned NutriSystem to me. I was completely skeptical at first and thought, "Please, not another diet scam," but we really looked into it and read many profiles. We went over the NutriSystem website thoroughly and decided WE NEEDED THIS! It was perfect for someone like me who doesn't really like to cook and doesn't have time to prepare meals. We called that night and spoke with a counselor and she went over the program with us and helped us choose our meals. I have to say that I couldn't wait until the food got here. Once I had made up my mind to do it, I was determined. I started the program and suddenly had so much self-control and discipline when it came to eating anything off program. I remember one of the first few nights on the program, I was opening a chocolate cupcake for my little one and a piece of the chocolate fell into my hand. The "old" me would've gobbled that up in a second, but the "new" me threw it away. I just remember thinking, "Wow, I can really do this!" I continued to have that same self-discipline at work. When everyone else was eating pizza and the goodies that I had binged on in the past, I brought my salad and NutriSystem meal and ate that and felt great! There were definitely challenges along the way with regards to "food days" at work. There seemed to always be some kind of cookies, candy, pizza or other food around, but the rewarding part was hearing people comment on my weight loss. That kept me going.
Now, I have lost a total of 24 pounds and 13 inches. I've gone from a size 10 to a size 4! But maybe most importantly, I had some blood work done a few weeks ago and found that my cholesterol is down to 137—in the past it had been over 200. I'd have to say my favorite thing about the NutriSystem program is the convenience of it all, the variety of food, and the fact that this Italian girl can eat pasta every night if she wants to! I love that I can just go into my pantry and choose whatever I want to eat—it makes me feel like I'm eating in a restaurant every night. Another wonderful thing about the NutriSystem program is the Support Board. I actually don't think I could've come this far without the support of all the great people on the bulletin boards. Carrie, who does the Daily Challenge, has been such a huge support to me, as have all the people who inspire me and have cheered me on along the way: Rob, Bruce, Juanita, MOMMYX, Toni Lee, Craig, and many others. I hope they realize that they inspired and motivated me so much and that I'm very grateful to them. The support boards are a wonderful resource for great advice, suggestions and recipes. I have met a lot of genuine, dedicated people and I believe all that support is what helped me to succeed. But I have to say, my husband has been my #1 supporter. Not a day goes by that he doesn't tell me how great I look. In fact, once he saw how well NutriSystem was worked for me, he decided to try it for himself. He has now lost 23 pounds! Now, I've noticed that I'm a much happier person these days. I'm more confident and I feel at least ten years younger, with more energy to play with my kids. Before I felt like a slug, always tired, no energy—I just wanted to sit around and watch TV. But I feel so good these days about everything. I want to be around for a long, long time and I want to watch my kids and their kids grow up. Not only is losing the weight a great thing, but now I'm healthy. Eating healthy for me has never really been a priority, but now I don't buy anything for myself that wouldn't fit into the NutriSystem program. I feel like I've learned so much from being on the NutriSystem program that keeping the weight off is not going to be too hard. I plan to continue to follow the plan and to keep eating healthy. I have to admit, I really stressed out a lot in the beginning whenever I knew I had to eat out or go to a party. A few times I even brought my NutriSystem meals with me to a family gathering or to a friend's house—I just didn't want to sabotage my program. Once I even e-mailed my counselor the menu of a restaurant where I was going to get her advice on what I could or couldn't eat. But I don't stress about that as much any more now that I've learned how to eat well. I still do look up the online menu of the restaurant I'm going to ahead of time and search for the meals that fit into my new healthy way of eating (it's no longer a diet to me). I no longer order the appetizer, dessert or eat the bread. I know that there is a great NutriSystem snack waiting for me at home! I would tell anyone considering this program that it does work. As long as you follow the program, you will be very pleased with the results. I lost weight slowly—it took 4 ½ months to lose 24 pounds—but I didn't give up. I knew it was the healthy way to do it. I absolutely LOVE NutriSystem! It's the only diet plan that has ever worked for me. Not only that, but it has taught me the right way to eat, and that will stay with me for the rest of my life.
— Janet * Results not typical
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