“From the time I was a young girl, I’ve more or less had a running joke, if you will, about my weight. I would always say, “I’ve been overweight since the day I was born.” The story behind this statement actually does go back to the day of my birth. I had an uncle that loved to play the lottery and the daily numbers. So when I was born he played my birthday, the time I was born and my birth weight (701 foe 7lbs., 1oz.) Well, guess what number came out that day – 700. Need I say more?!?!?!
My weight has been an all consuming issue for me for as long as I can remember. I was put on a ‘plan’ by my family doctor when I was in about the fourth grade – l lost weight but shortly after put it back on. I’ve tried Weight Watchers (more times than I can count), Scarsdale Diet, South Beach, Michael Thurmond’s 6 week Body makeover, Medifast, and Isagenix. I lost weight with every one of these diets and managed to keep it off for a few months but slowly put it back on. Either I’d go off completely or start allowing myself “treats/rewards”. Oh it’s so-and-so’s birthday, or it’s Friday and it’s bagel day, or “Oh but it’s just a “couple of Girl Scout cookies”; “Christmas comes just once a year”. The rationalization turned into a daily mantra and soon whatever weight loss success I had, had gone out the window.
My issue: I think I always knew I had a SUGAR ADDICTION but never really knew how to address that until I was introduced to the Skinny Coach Solution. After an hour on the phone with Tiffany for that introductory call – everything she was saying, everything I was doing all clicked. This was my aha moment. The confirmation of what I knew all along but wouldn’t admit.
How I’ve used the Skinny Coach Solution to my advantage is that it really keeps me focused and I’ve committed to this time being the “LAST TIME”. Writing down my menu for the day, the night before is so helpful. It’s actually freeing because I don’t have write anything during the day (unless I change mind or an option I’ve chosen is not available. Tiffany’s recipe book is also a real help to keeping things interesting. What I love is that I can still enjoy soups and chili but rather than cooking everything in a large pot, I take the time to prepare each item of the meal separately and create portion-controlled size meals and freeze them. It takes a little more time to do it this way but it’s worth it in the end.
Before the Skinny Coach Solution, what I used to eat was pretty much anything that wasn’t nailed down. I did try to eat healthy but more often than not relied on quick meals like pasta when I needed a meal in a hurry.
A real triumph for me during this process was what I accomplished when I went to Italy in November of 2013. At this time I still needed to lose about 15 lbs to reach goal. I spoke to Tiffany a couple of times before I left and verbally committed that I would not stray off plan. I actually made it through Italy without eating any pasta, bread or gelato. I made sure to pack my Mary’s Gone Crackers in individual containers (enough for the length of the trip) in case the restaurant I was in did not have “on program” grains. I wrote out my menu each night before going to bed and texted Tiffany with it.
One obstacle that I still need to overcome or at least continue to work on is coming to terms that my body is hypersensitive – the slightest deviation disrupts the balance. If I don’t eat my snack in the evening, or forget to weigh or measure something and rely on “eyeballing”; I’ll notice something in the way my clothes fit. Then I pick myself back up and make that verbal commitment to myself.
This is truly a way of life for me – do certain foods or scents still set off certain triggers – yes. But now I have the tools to deal with those triggers effectively and efficiently.”
-Martha, Stamford, CT
