“No matter our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born”
                                                                     ~Dr. Dale Turner

     I had all but given up on dieting. Twenty years ago I invested in Nutrisystems and really lost a lot of weight, but I could not afford that now that I was no longer working. Times are hard, people are out of work and I guess you could say I fell into a habit of stress eating like so many others.

     My crutch or “comfort food” as some would call it – was chocolate brownies with thick chocolate frosting. I started out with one brownie a week. It was my special treat. Soon that treat increased to one every other day, then one per day, then two per day – then I just do not know what happened.

     I could actually sit down and eat a whole tray of brownies all by myself and drink a big jug of milk with it. My clothes started fitting a little snug – but I was approaching my mid-50s and I didn’t know many other women my age fretting over their weight all that much, so I didn’t either. That is because I had been put on long term disability by my employer due to fibromyalgia, systemic lupus, discoid lupus, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, elevated sugar factor etc.

      I tried to join Weight Watchers but I did not qualify because of the elevated sugar factor. I couldn’t afford Nutrisystems financially and so I became depressed on top of everything else. At this point I weighed an all time high of 200 pounds.

     One day I was out getting my hair done and started talking to the girl who does my hair. She had lost 86 pounds in the last year. I asked her how she did it. She said she had her stomach stapled. She told me that her weight had been affecting her health and her doctor had prescribed a gastric bypass for health reasons. Her insurance company paid for it. I knew my problem was not the same as hers. Mine had to do with just plain overeating. My hairdresser told me that she could help me lose weight and it would cost me nothing. She said, “There are three things you can do that I guarantee will help you lose weight faster than any diet ever put on the market.” I just looked at her in disbelief. She went right on:

"Number 1: Thank God for the body you have – every night and every day! Visualize the size you want to be. Claim it and thank God for it!"   I wanted to be a size 10 so I thanked God for making me a perfect size 10.

Number 2: Eat anything you want – but eat it off of a cake plate, not a dinner plate. This means for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner. Eat slowly and appreciate every bite. Absolutely, no second helpings. Drink lots of water.

Number 3: Get out and walk, walk, walk. When you go someplace park your car the farthest you can from the entrance and walk to the door. I walk our local mall that has two levels. I walk Monday, Wednesday and Fridays. By the time I have walked both levels I have broken a sweat.

     I have done this faithfully for seven months and have lost 35 pounds, and I have come down from a size 20 to a size 12.

     This has become a way of life for me and I don’t believe I will ever go back to eating the way I did before. I feel so much better. My grocery bill is much lower (no brownies). I have not had to invest in a diet program and my blood pressure is finally under control. My blood sugar is normal and my lupus both systemic and discoid has gone into remission. Life is good!