Well, it all started back in 1974…just teasing. 

Who am I?  I am a person just like you.  I am no one special and have done nothing that none of you cannot do.  I will share my weight loss journey and maintenance with you in the hopes of inspiring and motivating each of you to reach and stay at your goal.  I need to go back in time a little so you have a better understanding of how my journey with WW began.   

I am not one of those people who struggled with weight during their child and adolescent years.  In fact, the first time I became overweight was during college, which is pretty typical.  Over the course of the four years, however, I gained more than the usual “freshman fifteen,” but I was having so much fun though that I did not care!  I only remember weighing myself once after graduation and I was about twenty or twenty-five pounds overweight.  That was when I decided to lose it.  I knew many life changes were forthcoming and so I lost the weight just by good old-fashioned diet and exercise.

I kept the weight off for about five years but then started gaining it back slowly.  Before I knew it, I was eighty pounds overweight!  I know the reasons and they are simple.   I met my current husband and we loved to go out and eat.  I usually did not pick the healthiest choices, but at that age, I just did not think about it.  Plus, I was trying to eat as much as he did which was a mistake.  I should have known I could not do that.  The weekly trips to drink margaritas and eat fried food and nachos did not help matters either!  On the rare occasion where I did try and make a healthier food selection such as a grilled chicken breast, I not realize that the portion was three times what it should be and that it was cooked in oil and butter. 

Finally, four years later, I woke up and just felt plain gross.  I always felt lethargic and “icky”.  I was constantly self-conscious, thinking that everyone was watching me and wondering why I was eating what I was or why I did not go on a diet.  In retrospect, I doubt there is much truth to that, but I am sure many can relate to that feeling nonetheless.

A couple of months previous to my “awakening,” a friend of mine lost twenty pounds with WW.  At the time, I thought WW was just another diet scam that did not work.  I even thought it was still a prepackaged food program.  After discovering that she did it without exercising and without giving up some of her favorite foods, however, I decided to give it a try.  So, in accordance with the cliché’ of New Year’s Resolutions, I joined WW Online in January 2003. 

When I began, I honestly believed the program would not work.  I was so unhappy with the way I looked, though, that I thought it could not hurt to try.  After my first week, I weighed-in to a loss of five pounds.  I could not believe it!  I had eaten very well that week and even drank some wine.  I remember calling my then boyfriend, now husband, and exclaiming my news.  He was shocked and began the program himself a few weeks later.

After the first year, I began exercising.  I had so much more energy without all those extra pounds, and eating healthier foods also helped.  I remember thinking to myself that it was not a big deal to stroll outside for twenty minutes.  As that became easier, I slowly increased the intensity and duration of my workouts until it became a habit that I crave.  If I do no exercise, I feel similar to when I was eighty pounds overweight.

It took me about a year and a half to lose all the weight.  Maintaining is more difficult than losing, but I remind myself how much better I feel all the time.  That motivates me to keep going.

I look forward to answering all your questions and also learning from you.  This is a great lifelong journey and having each other is a tremendous support.

Please email your questions to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and I will answer the best I can.  Please remember that I am just a normal person like you and am not a dietician or fitness expert.  I can, however, offer you what I have learned from many other people throughout my journey.  Good luck and hope to hear from you soon!