Greetings,
My name is Carol. I am a 57-year-old menopausal woman. In August of last year (2006) I weighed 330 pounds, had low thyroid and high cholesterol, couldn't breathe without panting, couldn't run or walk any distance, and couldn't get up off the floor if I sat down upon it. But even worse than that, I had no energy. I couldn't do the things I had always enjoyed: hiking, camping, and dancing. Even sitting on the couch or a chair had become uncomfortable. All my joints ached, and it seemed I couldn't eat enough to not be hungry all the time. I had decided that the only way I would lose weight was by changing the way I was eating. Surgery was out of the question for me. I was certain that I would die on the operating table, and gastric bypass surgery just seems way too dangerous.
I had already decided that I wanted to lose weight, and that to achieve that purpose there were some kinds of food that I could give up, and I had done so: Tuna (to which I am allergic), chocolate (to which I am addicted, and that's a good reason to give anything up), sugar (that means every kind of dessert and snack), fried foods (even chicken, which I love), peanut butter (which I craved), and overly processed grains (including white bread, white rice, and pasta). I also loved potatoes any way I could cook them and as much as I could swallow. I decided that if I craved a kind of food on a regular basis, I probably shouldn't eat it, at least for the near future.
I had been reading "The Zone" books since they first appeared on the shelves of my favorite bookstore. I had decided that the Zone was logical, reasonable, and just plain right for me. I had been planning to change my way of eating and go on the Zone for some time, and I picked my birthday last year (September 2006) as the right time to begin my life anew. What I have written below is true: My life has changed; and I'm not going back to the way I was before I began eating on the Zone.
As of May 1, 2007, I have lost 94 pounds, my cholesterol is at 154, my blood pressure is normal, I am using less thyroid medicine, and I intend to continue losing weight until I no longer need it. I can run again and walk a mile. I can stand for more than half an hour and sit without discomfort (most of the time), and I am starting belly dance classes in two weeks. And I can breathe and take a shower without losing my balance. That's a big plus. My balance is returning, and I can stand up and put on my jeans (I can wear jeans again) without leaning against a wall or having to sit on a chair to do so. I can bend over and tie my shoes without having to hold my breath. I can go up and down stairs without losing my balance. I can bend down to garden again, kneel without having my knees ache, and I can get back up again. I can stand on a scale and be excited because I know I will have lost more weight, even when I don't think I have.
I still have a ways to go to reach my goal, but I'm going to reach it. And all I did was make a conscious decision to lose the weight, decide the Zone was the right tool to use to lose it, start the program, and stick with it.