How many pounds have you lost?
      About 55 lbs.

How long did it take you to lose the weight?
      About two years.

What health risks or medications have been reduced or eliminated?
      Diabetic meds were reduced by more than 50%.

What motivated you to lose weight?
      To get more out of life. To live longer. To feel better. To be more attractive. To be a healthier person.

What were your previous weight loss efforts like? How is this one different?
      Diet pills - worked pretty well but weight came back quickly when I stopped taking pills. Also extreme exercise routines and low carb diets worked well for me but were always short lived. The weight never stayed off. In 6 months to a year, I'd be right back to where I was before and sometimes even heavier.

How did you feel losing weight?
      Better self-esteem.

How have your family and friends reacted?
      Many compliments. People still say "you've lost a lot of weight" even though it's been off for well over a year and a half now.

What eating changes have helped you the most?
      More veggies and fruit and less red meat. Smaller portions.

What physical activity changes have helped you the most?
      Walking - started at just 1 mile a day and within a year I was up to 3.5 miles per day about 5 days a week. Also weight training about twice a week.

What is your current physical activity like?
      Due to a new job it has been compromised somewhat, but I am confident I will get back to 3.5 miles/day plus weights about once or twice a week. In the meantime, I find I eat a lot less because my exercise has been temporarily compromised. So I have actually lost several more lbs. during this period. In a very short while, I am sure I will get back into my old exercise routine.

What tips do you have for others?
      Don't diet. Change your eating habits gradually and stay constantly vigilant for ways to improve your life style in relatively painless ways. Fran's emails give me new clues and ideas all the time.

What’s your favorite low-calorie snack food?
      Raw celery, carrots, broccoli, cucumbers. I used to not care for these at all and now I enjoy them.

Please feel free to make any other comments:
      Go at it slowly. Don't make it painful. And don't get discouraged when you fail from time to time. Just stay with it. Weekly or even monthly coaching from a personal health advisor (Fran) really kept me staying with a general program. I did this for almost two years and I think this was the major factor of my success. I'm still not where I would like to be but I am satisfied with my successes for the time being mostly because I know I will never go back to my poor eating and exercise habits that got me up to the 280 lb. range. Because Fran taught me how to change my style of living and in a relatively easy fashion.

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