Shelley A. Sonnenberg

On January 25, 2013 I started on an exciting 14 month journey during which I completely refashioned my figure. I lost 159 pounds and learned to really love exercise and healthy food, but before I was able to achieve any of that, I first had to admit to myself that my obesity was a problem and to weigh and measure myself so I could determine what my weight loss goals would be.

Now for those of you reading this, who have never been extremely overweight, a simple trip to the bathroom scale may sound like no big deal, but for someone as heavy as  I was, the very thought of stepping on a scale was extremely intimidating. The good news is that the day I finally did weigh myself I had already committed to start a weight-loss program, so I knew that my current size and shape was a temporary condition and that knowledge changed everything! Suddenly, stepping on the scale felt more like the first step of an exciting journey instead of a step toward doom and gloom.

Once I discovered that I weighed 281 pounds, the next step was to measure the various parts of my body so I could see how many inches I was losing. This project was difficult to do alone, so I asked my mother to help me. We wrote down all my starting personal statistics into my journal, which I faithfully kept the whole fourteen months while I was losing weight and every day after that.

At the time, I thought I was just making a few notes, but today I see just how important that journal actually was. It was the written record of my exciting journey that I eventually used as the starting point for my writing upcoming book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! which you will be able to order online and from bookstores later this year. My book includes my personal story, the details of the successful weight-loss program I created, recipes, a few poems and plenty of humor.  Even if you don’t need to lose an ounce I think you will enjoy it.

Once I knew exactly what my physical condition was, my next step was to decide how much weight I wanted to lose. In the past, I had set goals I thought I could achieve fairly quickly, such as losing thirty pounds. Unfortunately, in my case, losing thirty pounds did not make much of an improvement in my life or appearance and I ended up gaining the weight back. With past weight-loss failures in mind, I decided to set my goal to have the healthy, attractive body I had been longing to have for years.  This was a huge goal, but I knew the results would be worth all the effort it would take to achieve it.

The next thing I did was to put together a weight-loss program that perfectly suited my personality. I made a list of healthy foods that I knew I would enjoy eating, started a walking program that I knew I would be able to stick to, and tried some weight-loss and nutrition products that my friend recommended. You can read the specific details of my weight-loss plan in my book, but the point I want to make here is that I designed my program to be fun! Not only was I starting a weight-loss journey that would lead to a happier life in the future, I also wanted to have a good time along the way.

Guess what! It worked! Not only did I radically change my figure, I also had such a delightful time losing weight that I went everywhere with a smile on my face. As my shrinking became apparent, friends, neighbors, coworkers and customers began to really press me for information about my weight-loss program. Not only were they impressed with the results I was getting, they also wanted to be part of all the fun! I had family members and neighbors who started fitness walking with me on a regular basis.

These days I am still having fun, but now I am working to maintain my new figure and to be a supportive person in the lives of those of you who are starting your own fitness journey. I wish you all the best of success!

Personal Update: Many of my regular readers have noticed that I took a few weeks off from blogging and I just wanted to share what I have been doing during that time.  Our family moved to a new home in the Tampa Bay Area and we have been devoting a lot of time to the process of unpacking and adjusting to our new community. I also have been making final revisions to my book and I look forward to announcing a release date in the near future. Stay tuned!