Happy New Year blog readers! I have some delightful news! My book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery and How YOU Can Too! is now available for sale at Target.com! As a former Target employee, this makes me very happy indeed. I received a lot of support and encouragement from my coworkers at Target, when I was losing weight, so it’s especially nice to see that Target is now offering my book on their website.
If you don’t have my book yet, I really encourage you to buy it! Not only is it full of extremely helpful tips on weight loss, it’s also full of humor, recipes, and some really fun poetry about weight loss which I think you will greatly enjoy. There is also a group study guide in the back of the book which is perfect for book clubs and other groups of people who enjoy reading and discussing books together. You will also be happy to know that my book not only comes in the traditional paperback and hardback formats, but it is also available as an e-book that can be read on your phone, e-reader, or any other device you can read a book on these days.
You can also still buy No Salads Required! at Amazon.com, BarnsandNoble.com, Christianbook.com, Google.com, iTunes, Westbowpress.com and many other places that sell books online. Another convenient way to buy my book is to request it at your local bookstore. Most bookstore owners will be delighted to special order it for you even if they don’t have it on the shelf when you come in.
I also have a special note of both thanks and encouragement for my readers all over the world. Thanks to all of you, my weight-loss story has reached people in seventy different countries! That being said, I realize that many of you reading this blog post are not in the United States, so I want to be sure to let you know that many of the online outlets that sell my book ship all over the world, so feel free to order it and have it shipped to wherever you might be. If one distributer doesn’t ship to your country, try another! If you really want a copy, there is probably a way get it.
I also want to wish all of you wonderful success in meeting your weight-loss goals in 2018. May this be your year to see all your dreams come true!
It is my delight to invite all my blog readers to visit the new website my publisher has created to help me promote my book! The address to the website is www.howilost159pounds.com and the name of my book is No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How YOU Can Too!
This is the “before” photo from the cover of my book. I weighed 281 pounds when this was taken.
The book describes the story how I lost 159 pounds in fourteen months, and also explains my easy-to-understand weight-loss program in a format that includes humor, poems, advice on how to lose weight successfully, and some of the delicious recipes I enjoyed eating while I was losing the weight.
The website features a description of my book, my author biography, my “before” and “after” photos and the opportunity to order my book directly from the website. I also have included a link to this blog on the site and direct links to some recent blog posts. The site also includes sharing buttons so that you can follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Pinterest, and also, share my new website with your friends on social media.
The media page is where I will be posting upcoming events where I will be doing motivational speaking and signing books. If you click on the “Read More” button below “Upcoming Events” you will find a place where you can follow my page via email and also leave me a message, if you would like.
You can also click on the “Read More” button below the before and after photos displayed on the media page and see a larger collection of before and after photos that you can click on and see them in a larger version and also see the credits for the talented photographers who took the photos.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the special people who took these lovely photos of me and also the hard working designers at WestBow press who made this website a reality! I hope you all enjoy it!
Losing weight and keeping it off takes a lot of time and effort! The good news is that you don’t have to do it all by yourself. In fact, you may be surprised how much your friends and family are willing to help you. You can also join a support group for people who are also on a weight-loss journey. Many communities already have groups like this who meet on a regular basis to both encourage one another in developing healthy habits and to talk through the problems that the group members used to try to solve by eating. If you don’t already have a weight-loss group in your area, now would be a great time to start your own!
This is me prior to my weight-loss program. I weighed about 281 pounds at that time.
I recently lost 159 pounds in fourteen months and I have to say that the help and support I received from my friends and family really contributed to my success. Their support has also been helpful as I work at maintaining my figure. In fact their help was so important that I have included a whole chapter about it in my new book, No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How YOU Can Too! The chapter is called Gathering Support and in it I discuss variety of ways that my friends and family helped me as I was undergoing radical transformation. I also included a Reader’s Discussion Guide in the back of the book for groups who are reading my book together and want to meet regularly to discuss both the book and also how the members of the group can support each other as they work toward reaching their own weight-loss goals.
One of the most important things my friends and family did was believe in me and encourage me! The two shining heroes in this regard were my parents. I share a home with them and I can’t begin to tell you how helpful their encouraging words and hugs were as I started down my new path to better health.
Mom and Dad also volunteered to assist me in practical ways like keeping the house clean, buying groceries and doing most of the cooking so I would have time to exercise faithfully every single day.
My sister has also been very supportive and encouraging. I really appreciate her prayers and kind words. She also gave me a wonderful recipe for prime rib with rosemary and garlic, which you can find in the recipe chapter of my book.
My neighbors were a great source of support too. From the moment I stepped outside to start my fitness walking program, people who lived nearby started encouraging me, and the more I stuck to my plan the more interested and supportive they became. And my support didn’t stop there! As my weight loss became readily apparent I received lots of encouragement from coworkers, my doctor, friends from church and even my mailman!
Besides prayers and encouragement, one of the most helpful things some of the women from church did was to clean out their closets and give me clothes that I could wear as I was rapidly changing sizes. This saved me thousands of dollars and also really inspired me to stay on my weight-loss program.
While I am on the subject of generous gifts, I also want to mention a beautiful used treadmill one of my neighbors gave me. She had seen me walking by her house every day for 6 months and she knew I would make use of it when the heavy summer lightning storms started in my part of Florida. I am SO thankful for that treadmill! It really was helpful as I worked to reach my weight-loss goals. Of course all used things wear out eventually, but I am happy to say I got a LOT of use out of that treadmill before I replaced it with a brand new one that I am still using today when the weather is uncomfortable for walking or when I need to do my walking after dark.
Another friend who showed me great kindness and support was Marsha Kemp, owner of Marsha Kemp Photography in Tampa, Florida. Marsha was so excited about my weight-loss story that she made room on her busy schedule so that I could hire her to take my “After” photos that you see on my book cover and various places on social media where I promote my book. She took them with loving care and really brought out the best in me!
You can also see some of those lovely photos on the website for my new online store where I am selling autographed copies of my books! The link to the store is:
I hope someday to offer autographed books to my international readers as well, but for the time being I encourage all of my blog readers who live around the world to buy unsigned copies of my book from westbowpress.com, Amazon.com, barnsandnoble.com and other online stores that sell books internationally. If one of these web sites doesn’t ship to your country, please try another one! These days you can buy books from almost anywhere!
Those of you with e-readers will also be happy to know that the e-book version of my book is only $3.99 US dollars, which is a wonderful deal! Be sure to tell all your friends about it! Maybe they will all want to buy a copy, read the book together and use the Reader’s Discussion Guide in the back. Not only will this be a lot of fun, but it could be the beginning of a wonderful weight-loss journey for all of you. I wish you the best of success!
Hello readers! Happy New Year! In honor of 2016 I have written a special poem that only can be found on my blog! It is a celebration of the opportunity all of us have to start the New Year with new, healthy habits that will lead to a beautiful and healthy figure.
This picture was taken a few months prior to the start of my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at that time.
As many of you know, I started a weight-loss program in January of 2013 that lead to my losing 159 pounds in fourteen months. It was a lot of work, but I am VERY glad I took that first step, because without a beginning I would not have been able to have the results I wanted so much.
For those of you who want to know more about how I lost the weight, I have written a book that explains the program I designed and followed, and also includes poems, humor, recipes, suggested meals, advice on exercise and everything else you would want from a weight-loss book. It’s called No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery, and How YOU Can Too! You can order it from http://www.westbowpress.com, Amazon.com, and anywhere else books are sold!
And now, here is the special weight-loss poem that I wrote for YOUR enjoyment:
Poem for 2016
A New Year is beginning
A chance to start afresh
And usher in new habits
That lead to happiness!
And when you take the first step
And the next one after that
Never stop believing
That one day you won’t be fat!
You CAN change your eating
But do it on your terms.
Pick heathy foods that you enjoy
Not ones that make you squirm!
And when it’s time for exercise
Do something that you like.
Some people go out walking
While others ride their bike.
The trick is to choose something
You want to do each day
Something that burns calories,
But also feels like play.
And as you get stronger
You can also try new sports
This is not only healthy
It’s so you won’t get bored!
And while you’re at it
Invite a friend or two
To join you when you exercise
That’s lots of fun to do!
And soon you will discover
You all are looking better
And that you really do enjoy
The time you spend together.
And before you know it
The months will disappear
Taking your fat with them
That will make you cheer!
And when the New Year comes again
You and your friends will pose
For a smiling photo
In your new small clothes.
It is with great joy that I am able to announce that my brand new weight-loss book is now for sale online! The title and subtitle of the book is No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds WITHOUT Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups, or Surgery, and How YOU Can Too! and, you can currently buy the hardcover and softcover versions of the book from my publisher’s website, westbowpress.com, and also from Amazon.com. The e-book will be available soon and I also look forward to announcing when the book will be available from other stores.
This is the “before” photo from the cover of my book. I weighed 281 pounds when this was taken.
No Salads Required! tells the story of how I lost 159 pounds in fourteen months including some of the funny moments that happened along the way. Also included is my easy to understand weight-loss program, so you can try my successful program for yourself! You will be especially happy to know that you can eat bacon, fried chicken and BBQ ribs on my program if you want to! The food part of the program includes lists of fruits, vegetables and protein foods that you can select from and design your own meals. I also have included a chapter with thirty preplanned meals to help you get started and a chapter that features some of our favorite family recipes that I ate while I was losing weight.
No Salads Required! also offers advice on exercise, asking God for help, surrounding yourself with supportive people and making weight loss a priority. I also have included a reader’s discussion guide for people who are reading this book as a group and meeting regularly to discuss it. Whether your group is a book club, a therapy group, a church group, a weight-loss support group or just some friends who enjoy reading books, I believe the questions in the guide will open the door to some thoughtful and stimulating conversations.
I also put something in my book that I think the readers of this blog will especially like! Poetry! There is a poem in every chapter as well as the introduction, the conclusion and the readers discussion guide. The reason I think all of you will enjoy these poems is that every blog post I have written that includes weight-loss poetry has been met with great enthusiasm! You will also be happy to know that I plan to include more poems in future posts.
My readers from all over the world will also be happy to know that westbowpress.com and Amazon.com both ship worldwide, so you can order my book from almost ANYWHERE you happen to live! I also have an update on the topic of where all of you are from. When my book was going to press there were people in 28 different countries that had learned about my weight-loss story. Since then, the list has grown to 35 countries! I want to thank all of you for your ongoing interest and support!
I also would like to share that my publisher has given me a goal that I hope many of you can help me reach during the next twelve months. If I sell 500 or more copies of my book through my publisher’s online bookstore, westbowpress.com, some wonderful doors may open for me that could include more stores carrying my book on their shelves and the opportunity to write more books in the future.
I also would like to invite all of you to share your thoughts on my book in the comment section of this blog and to write reviews for No Salads Required! on the websites where you buy my book. I would love to hear from each and every one of you! May you enjoy my book just as much as I enjoyed writing it!
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.
This photo was taken just days before I started my weight loss program. I weighed 281 pounds.
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!
One of the most surprising things that I discovered while I was losing 159 pounds in fourteen months was finding out how interesting my weight-loss story was to people all over the world. Currently my weight loss story has traveled to twenty-six countries and I am always curious to see where it will go next! The truth is that no matter where people live, everyone wants to be healthy, more attractive and to have the opportunities that are given to people who have a slim figure. Because of this, when somebody is successful losing weight, people want to know how they did it!
This was taken shortly before I started my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at that time.
Of course when I started my weight-loss program I didn’t have the slightest idea that anyone other than my immediate family would be interested what I was doing. I just wanted to be thin again! However, much to my surprise, my neighbors, coworkers, friends from church and friends online became fascinated with my weight-loss journey as they saw me getting thinner. In fact, they expressed so much interest that I have written a book that describes my personal weight-loss story and everything I did to lose the weight, so that my readers can try it. The name of the book is No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! It will be available from Amazon.com and other stores in late summer or early fall of 2015. The following is a quote from the book that describes where and how my story traveled:
“Well, my first eight weeks flew by fast, and I was nowhere near slowing down. Instead, I was developing a following! Some of my neighbors even started walking with me from time to time. My Chinese neighbor, Yuwen, her American husband, Joe, and Yuwen’s sister, Yufen, walked with me often. Most of the time, they would bring Joe and Yuwen’s baby daughter, Sophia, along in a stroller. This family had been doing fitness walking long before I started, but when I got to know the ladies and they saw how quickly I was losing weight, they started walking even more. As we walked together, we developed a lasting friendship. Sometimes, my parents would join us too, especially in the evening. Yuwen and Yufen eventually became so excited about my weight loss that they called their family members and friends who still live in China and told them all about it. My story had officially gone international!
As time has gone by, my story has traveled to several other countries, thanks to the enthusiasm of my neighbors. America, my neighbor from Colombia, shared my story with her family members, who still live in her home country, and Ngwashi, my neighbor from Cameroon, found my story so inspirational that when she went back to her home country to attend her brother’s wedding, she made it a point to share my story with all her friends and family. “I told everybody!” she said. She also has shared my story with people she knows who live in Zambia, the Gambia, Nigeria, Israel, and the UK.
One especially encouraging arrangement Ngwashi has is with her niece, who lives in the UK. Every day while Ngwashi is walking around our neighborhood here in Tampa, she is on the phone for an hour with her niece, who is also walking somewhere in the UK. Ngwashi says these daily phone calls are very helpful for keeping both women entertained while they walk and motivated to keep walking every day. Ngwashi also spends a second hour a day walking around our neighborhood, and she is usually on the phone with other friends and family members. She says they all refer to their daily fitness walking as “our walk to ultimate beauty.” She recently told me, “Shelley, you don’t know how many people you have inspired!” Of course, she is doing her share to inspire those people too!
When I finally shared my story on Facebook, my friends in Canada and Australia also learned about it, and later my friends who live in India learned about it too. My story went even further after I started blogging. In my blog posts I have been sharing my personal weight-loss story, giving tips on how to succeed at weight loss, and also promoting this book. Much to my delight, my blog has attracted readers from several of the countries mentioned above in addition to Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Slovakia, Ukraine, Latvia, Russia, South Africa, Venezuela, Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines. When you count the United States, the story of my weight loss is now in twenty-six countries that I know of, and it’s possible that after this book is published, my story could go many other places in the future. I am excited to see where God will send it next!”
I share this information about where my story has gone not to brag about it, but to bring up the fact that people all over the world are working hard to either lose weight or maintain a healthy figure, which means none of us who are dealing with this issue should ever feel alone! Instead we can make use of the internet to stay in touch with people who are also on weight-loss journeys and share success stories that will bring each other encouragement.
It is my hope that my weight-loss story has brought encouragement to you. Now it’s your turn! Do you have an encouraging weight-loss story to share? Feel free to post it in the “comments” section and share what country you are from. I look forward to hearing from you!
One thing we all have in common in this life is that everyone has their share of troubles. The good news is that we don’t have to face them alone! I believe in a real and compassionate God who hears my prayers and is available and willing to help me solve my problems, even those that are deeply personal or too embarrassing to discuss with anyone but God, and that includes the problems I used to try to deal with by eating.
This photo of my mother and I was taken just a few months before I started my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds here.
Prior to my recent loss of 159 pounds, I thought eating was the answer to everything. I ate when I was happy, sad, under stress, confused, lonely, frustrated…the list goes on and on. The sad thing is that all that eating didn’t solve a single problem! In fact, it created many new ones for me. I am five foot two inches tall and prior to my weight-loss program I weighed 281 pounds and my hips were five feet around. As a result, I had considerable problems buying clothes, fitting into restaurant booths and airplane seatbelts, trimming my own toenails and tying my own shoes just to name a few.
The strange thing was that I had gotten so used to dealing with all these problems that starting a serious weight-loss program didn’t really occur to me until January of 2013. Yes, people did drop hints that I should lose weight and my doctor recommended it, but I didn’t pay attention to any of those suggestions until God did a miracle in my heart and helped me not only to be willing to change my lifestyle, but also to be willing to trust him with all my pain and problems in a way that I had never done before. The wonderful result was that I have become a whole new person both physically and spiritually!
I am so thankful for all that God has done for me that I have written a book to share my personal story and the weight-loss program I designed for myself, so that other people can find hope and help. The name of the book is No Salads Required! How I lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! It will be available from Amazon.com and other stores in late summer or early fall of 2015. My book contains all kinds of helpful advice about choosing the right foods, planning meals, exercise, and some poems to make it more fun, but I think the most important chapter is chapter 6. It’s called “Asking God for Help”. The following is a quote from that chapter:
“One of the things I have learned to do in recent years is to turn to God and not to the refrigerator when I am upset about something. One excellent example of this is my loneliness and deep disappointment about not being married. For years, I tried to solve this problem by eating, but that never did any good. I finally have come to understand that the only way this is going to get any better is if I talk to God about all the deeply personal details of my situation and ask him to heal my broken heart and either send me a husband or fill me so full of himself that I am okay with walking alone with him the rest of my life. As of the time of this writing, I don’t know which he is going to do, but I know he is healing my heart just like he promised to do in Psalm 147:3 (NIV), which says, ‘He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.’ In my case, my heart was in pretty bad shape when I asked him to help me with it, but he has done a lot of good work in me so far, and the project continues.”
I know that each person reading this has at least one, possibly many problems that weigh heavily on their heart and I am not suggesting that even with God’s help that they will all disappear instantly, but I can tell you one thing. If you turn to God with your problems, you can at least start getting some help with what is really wrong. He really does love you and he also has infinite power to change things, which is a lot more than all the ice cream in the world can possibly offer.
Yes, eating can make you feel better for a few minutes or maybe an hour, but it’s definitely not a long term solution. Here is one more quote from No Salads Required! on this topic:
“No matter what problem you are going through, God is the one to ask for help. He really is the only person who knows what to do about it anyway! He may do a miracle to help you, he may send just the right person or people to walk beside you and give you the benefit of their experience, or he may take you out of the situation by putting you in a different job or moving you to a new city to get away from a bad situation and start over. He also might provide some other answer that fits your need perfectly, but rest assured he will help you.”
Of course, starting a new habit of turning to God instead of eating is something a person has to learn with practice, just like playing a musical instrument or learning a new language. It doesn’t happen all at once, but if you keep working at it, you will get better. I am in my second year of maintaining my new figure and I sometimes still catch myself thinking of what kind of snack would make me feel better when a problem comes up, instead of immediately turning to God. The difference now is when I do catch myself doing that, I shut the refrigerator door, and go find a place where I can talk to the one person who loves me more than anyone, my savior, Jesus Christ. He is always there waiting for me and he is available for you too!
One of the most helpful things you can do on a weight-loss journey is ask for help! During my recent 159 pound weight loss, I received help and encouragement from God, family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, customers, my doctor, and even our mail man! Some people helped me more than others, but I truly appreciate every single word of encouragement and act of kindness I received along the way. I may have been able to reach my goal alone, but I am sure glad that I didn’t have to!
From left to right: My mother (Gail), my sister (Cherie), Me and my father (Mike). My family has always loved me no matter what size I was. This photo was taken shortly before I started losing weight. I weighed 281 pounds at the time.
In fact, I consider the help I received so important that I included a whole chapter about gathering support in my upcoming weight-loss book. The book is called No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 Pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too!It will be available from Amazon.com and other stores in late summer or early fall of 2015, but today I am giving all my blog readers a sneak peek! The following is a quote from chapter seven of my book:
“Next to getting help from God, the best help you can find for your weight-loss program can come from the people you already know! The best part of this is that usually they will help you for free! Of course, if you can afford a personal trainer or a nutritionist, feel free to employ them, but even if you do consult with professionals from time to time, there are few things better than the daily encouragement you can get from friends and family members who are committed to love you, pray for you, and cheer you on through all your ups and downs and remind you that your decision to lose weight was a smart one! Ask God to send people to you to support you, as you take your first steps, and as you continue on your journey. This is a prayer he answered for me, and He will answer it for you too.”
I like to refer to all the people who gave me love, help and encouragement during my weight-loss journey as my “support team.” My first team members were my parents. Actually, they were on my team years before I even accepted the fact that I needed to lose weight! I have no idea exactly how long they bombarded heaven with prayers for me before I started my weight-loss program in January of 2013, but I know it was a long time. You can imagine how delighted they were when their prayers were finally answered with “Yes!”
As soon as I announced I was starting a weight-loss program, Mom and Dad immediately volunteered to purchase groceries, prepare healthy meals and clean our house so that I could focus on my daily fitness walking, which took quite a bit of time, especially at first, because I was so out of shape that I had to walk slowly. My sister, Cherie, was also very excited for me and gave me some wonderful encouragement and helpful advice that I still follow today as I maintain my figure.
My neighbors were the next folks to join my team, because they were the people who saw me walking by their houses every day and getting smaller and smaller. My weight-loss journey became like a reality TV show that all of us were part of! Some people just quietly observed me through their windows, but many others came out of their houses, introduced themselves and asked how my weight-loss program was going! They also gave me wonderful words of encouragement which I will always remember. Some of them even started walking with me!
Friends from church and work were also quick to join my team and I have to say they were really wonderful! Some of the ladies in my church even cleaned out their closets and gave me clothes as I was rapidly changing sizes. I appreciate that more than I can put into words! Those pretty clothes in smaller sizes really inspired me to keep losing weight so that I could fit into them.
As the months rolled by and the pounds rolled off, even more people joined my team. Here is a quote from “No Salads Required” regarding that:
“You will notice that some people had to be asked for help and others just volunteered. This will happen to you too. Never mind how your friends and family get involved in your journey; just thank God they are there for you! Also, the more weight you lose, the more “volunteers” will join your cause—after they get over the shock of seeing your new skinny figure!”
I purposely waited to tell my Facebook friends about my weight-loss journey until I was close to reaching my goal weight, because I wanted to shock them with my Before and After photos! It worked! When I posted those photos people were gasping and jaws were dropping all across the USA! My friends in Canada, Australia and India also got a chance to see my Before and After pictures and so did people in places I don’t even know about, because I gave my friends permission to share my photos with anyone who might be interested. After they all got over the shock of seeing the “new me”, my online friends joined my support team too. They still encourage me to today with their loving words, prayers and interest in both this blog and my upcoming book.
Actually, my support team is still growing! Now that I am in the process of maintaining my figure and getting ready to launch my book I have the privilege of sharing my weight-loss story with new people every day both in person and online. The support and encouragement I continue to receive really does motivate me to both continue my exercise program and make healthy food choices day after day.
I also am now in the position to be a support person to both old friends and new ones who are on their own weight-loss journeys, and I consider that a real privilege. As each of you build your own support team, be sure to put me on your list! I will be praying for all of you and wishing you the best of success!
I love outdoor fitness walking! There is nothing like putting on my sneakers and hitting the sidewalk on a regular basis! I also own a treadmill, and I enjoy using it, but there is something special about walking around my neighborhood in the fresh air, greeting neighbors and finding out if they are up to anything interesting. For example, I am always curious to see which houses are getting a new roof, who is having a garage sale and who is moving in or out. I also find it entertaining to see people doing unexpected things like washing their cars and mowing their lawns after dark. (Yes, my neighbors really do that!) I also enjoy seeing birds, dragonflies, butterflies, sunsets and my neighbor’s beautiful flower beds.
This photo of me was taken shortly before I started my weight-loss program. I weighed 281 pounds at the time.
Recently, when I was in the process of losing 159 pounds, I spent a lot of time walking around outside and I kept a journal of my experiences. Since then I have taken the amusing stories from those journals and the lessons I learned during that time and put them in to a book. The title is No Salads Required! How I Lost 159 pounds without Salads, Celery, Sit-Ups or Surgery and How You Can Too! It will be available from Amazon.com and other stores in either late summer or early fall of 2015. The book also contains a step by step description of the successful weight-loss program I designed for myself, so that my readers can try it. I hope all of you find it both inspiring and helpful.
One of the nice things about fitness walking is that you can easily do it with friends and family members. Both of my parents walked with me occasionally while I was actively losing weight, and we all really enjoyed it, because we never knew what we might see. Here is a quote from chapter two of No Salads Required! concerning those walks:
“Our neighborhood is built around two ponds and a creek, and water is a major draw to many birds of various kinds. My parents and I especially enjoyed seeing the mother ducks with their little ducklings. We would see them in the ponds and the creek and occasionally walking down the sidewalk or crossing the street. Ducks always put a smile on my face, especially when they did something funny and unexpected. For example, Mom and I noticed one male and one female Mallard duck hanging around our neighbor’s yard when we were walking by. We didn’t pay much attention to them at the time, but a few minutes later, when we walked by again, we saw a freshly laid white duck egg in the gutter right in front of our neighbor’s driveway. There was no nest or anything, just an egg! “
Of course, I also had some interesting experiences when I was walking alone. Here is a story from my book regarding one of those:
“While outdoor exercise does offer the opportunity to enjoy fresh breezes, flowers, trees, and wildlife, it does occasionally come with problems. One day a buzzard pooped in my hair and I had to stop by my house and wash it out! Fortunately, I was close to home when it happened. You can bet I put that episode in my journal!”
Another hazard of walking around outside beneath the blazing Florida sun is sunburn. I have tried all different kinds of sunscreens during the intense phase of my weight-loss program when I was actively losing weight and the maintenance phase of my program that I am in now. Most of them work very well, but there is one factor that can limit their effectiveness. Me! For some reason I really struggle with getting the sunscreen evenly spread on face, neck arms and I have wound up with some very painful red patches from time to time. The good news is that I am getting better at putting on sunscreen and I look forward to the day I can call myself an expert at preventing sunburn and not just an expert at using Solarcaine to treat it!
Uneven sidewalks combined with distractions can be a problem too. Early in my weight-loss program when I was just getting started with regular fitness walking in my neighborhood I was surprised by the bark of a neighbor’s dog and carelessly stepped on a part of the sidewalk that could do with some repair. The result was me falling down quite hard and skinning my knee. You can bet that only happened once! From then on I watched where I was walking no matter what else was going on.
Today, I still do lots of outdoor fitness walking as part of my ongoing program to maintain my weight and I can still honestly say that even though I have tried other forms of exercise, outdoor fitness walking is still my favorite. I especially enjoy walking around the neighborhood with one of my best friends. She lives just up the street and we make it a point to walk together whenever we can. After all, even though outdoor exercise does have a few hazards, they are definitely outweighed by the benefits!
Shelley A. Sonnenberg 