On July 28th 2007, I picked up the phone and ordered Nutrisystem for the very first time.  I was overweight.  After many weeks of thinking I needed to do something, I decide "What the heck can I lose if it doesn't work?" a few dollars or a few pounds.  So I picked up the phone to do one more diet.  That's all it was going to be for me, one more diet.  Sure I could always follow a diet, but in time the weight always comes back.  The man on the other end of the phone asked me how much I wanted to lose and how much did I weighed?  Boy was that a shock!  I didn't know.  You know the more overweight you get the less you care what that scale says. What did it matter?  I put him on hold and weighed myself and thought about what I would like to weigh (a guess from the past).  I didn't want to tell him but I thought who cares he doesn't know me. I got back on the phone and told him I weighed 177lbs and wanted to lose 50lbs.  50 pounds!!!  I couldn't believe I was 50 lbs over weight!  Me the girl that just 13 years earlier was a size 2 and now was a size 14 stretch.  The girl that was a ballet dancer for 12 years as a young women.  That was me.  The women who almost died two years earlier because of sickness and pain.  The women who let herself go and didn't do much of anything but work anymore.  That was me. The women with no energy, hardly walking, swelling in my lower and upper back.  Couldn't get in the tub because my knees hurt too bad to get out.  Yes, that was me.  The one who tried to get on her knees to pray but instead only felt pain shooting up them.

August 3rd 2007 I started Nutrisystem.  Yes I too wondered if it would work but one thing about me is that I will jump right in when I make up my mind to.  This was the day to change the way I would eat at least for 12 weeks. I had worked myself up to a tight size 14 stretch pants.  I decided that if I was going to do it, that it would take 12 weeks to change.  I had heard before that it takes 12 weeks to form a habit.  I knew from my past that in 12 weeks I could change my body by exercising and look great. I was heavier now than I ever had been in my life. On Aug. 10th, I had lost 6lbs my first week.  OK, no big deal I thought.  I was on many diets before and lost more than that in the first three days. The food was good but boy would I ever get use to those small portions and the gas. The second week I lost only 1.5 lbs and that was not fast enough for me but I was committed to give Nutrisystem a chance.  Week 3 I lost 2.5 lbs and week 4 I lost another 2.5lbs.  OK so I was losing, but not really happy with the small portions and the slowness of the loss.  The one good thing was that I was never hungrier than the amount of food couldn't take care of.  I had a steady loss each week with only one week going up a half a pound during the last week of November.  You guessed it, the week after Thanksgiving.  Holidays were and are a challenge just because of all the food put in front of you.  Having to saying No to people was another challenge but one I take to better myself.  Boy did I have to say No.  My Mother-in-law was the worst.  She was always pushing food in front of me and baking cakes and pies and sending them home with me.  It really upset me one day that I had to say something to her.  I hurt her feelings and later had to say I was sorry but I couldn't eat that food and I needed her to stop pushing it on me. By January 27th 2008 I had reached my goal of losing 50lbs.!  It was just under six months to lose those 50 heavy pounds.  I stayed on the Nutrisystem plan almost 100% (99.98%) the whole time.  I wasn't quite sure how to get off the plan without gaining weight back.  Yes I was scared and unsure of what was to come next.  I didn't add exercise to my life at first, but started walking again back in Sept..   It was very painful to walk because I still had swelling in my back and my legs hurt.  Week by week I got stronger and with each pound gone I felt better and better. In January I stepped up the exercising and also started the Fit In 2008 on the blogs and charted that for several blogger friends for 12 weeks.  Although I chart my own exercise daily I really gave up on that because it was a lot of work and too hard to get people to report on time to chart it.  It was fun, but I don't think people realize how much work it was to do that for them every week. I continued to lose weight as I tried to figure out the maintenance part of Nutrisystem.  Down the next 10 lbs by the end of March.   I no longer chart my food but I do still chart my exercise.  I am maintaining now at 115 lbs, some days 116 lbs.  I follow the Nutrisystem principles and I am doing great.  I don't skip meals ever and I make sure to get in all my water and more. I blog most mornings and enjoy reading all the feedback on it.  I have put my ups and downs here so others will know my life is just like theirs.  Giving some of me and taking some of you bloggers.  Giving hope and knowledge and taking it as needed.  Helping to support others along the way.  I love the blogs and the great people on here.  I have made many great friends on here. This is also a great part of Nutrisystem, so I hope you will use it too. This is my story printed for you.  I hope it helps you along your journey.

Have a great day everyone!

Marie