“My weight has been a true lifelong struggle for me. I would stick to something for a few days and try so many different ways to lose it, but I had no idea how to lose the weight, be a healthier me, and more importantly, keep the weight off.”
I always dreaded doctor appointments because they would always say, “losing weight will help you.” Oh how easy that was for them to say but so hard for me to even attempt.
When I was 19, I was diagnosed with hypoglycemia and was told that my pancreas overproduced insulin, unlike diabetics who do not produce enough. Oddly enough, food was to be my medicine. Anytime I tried to change up my diet to lose weight, I would feel horrible, or feel like I was going to pass out after only three days of trying something new. At age 22, I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and weighed in at 298 lbs. The doctor looked at me and said, “You are full of fluid and if you don’t lose weight, you will die.”
I proceeded to go on a year-and-a-half journey to try and lose what seemed like an insurmountable, unattainable amount of weight just to try to be “healthy.” After a long and challenging journey, I lost a significant amount of weight. It made the doctors happy, and I got myself out of the morbidly obese range.
In 2017, four years after being the lightest I had ever been in my adult life, I found myself gaining weight again. The irony is that I was still eating relatively well and exercising five times a week. But I was stuck. I blamed it on my age. “Ok, I’m over 40 now and this is just how it’s going to be. My metabolism has slowed down and I can’t lose weight. I guess I’ll just eat what I want, continue to be active, and enjoy my life.” In September of 2017, I went for a physical. I weighed 209 lbs. I looked at my results and noticed I was still considered obese. I looked at the doctor with tears in my eyes. I had struggled for so many years. I said, “I am still considered obese?” That hit me like a ton of bricks.
Several months passed after that appointment and my dad passed away. I turned to food again. I thought to myself, “Well. This is it. I just can’t do it. I am doomed to be overweight and secretly feel bad about myself but portray another person on the outside.” I had tried so many different plans, the Daniel Fast, the cabbage soup diet, the military diet, low carb, carb cycling, all kinds of teas, diet pills, Weight Watchers, Whole 30, Jenny Craig, and spent so much money and time on things that didn’t work for me. I didn’t want to admit it, but I was addicted to food.
One day, I was looking through Facebook and saw Carolinas Weight Loss Institute. I thought, “Why not. I’ve tried just about everything else.” I went to my first appointment skeptical, but hoping this would be the final time I would have to gain weight and go through this ever again. I stepped on the scales and I weighed 215.8 lbs. My heart sank. I had gained more weight.
Fast forward to October 2018: after my second protocol and maintenance, I’m down 60 lbs with the CWLI Transformation. I weigh 155 lbs, which I have never weighed ever as an adult, and I’m in a size 8. I just cannot believe it. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I made that step and the commitment to myself and my family.
I am so happy and full of life now. I have energy. I don’t feel like I’m stuffed in a sausage casing in my clothes. I feel good about myself. I love to look at myself in the mirror, which I never did before. I am full of joy and hope. I have feelings I have never felt about myself, am at a weight I’ve never been, and fit into sizes I never thought possible. I just want to encourage someone. You don’t have to live this way. There is never a good time to start. I promise you can do it. One day at a time. Just one day. Take that day and get through it, and then you can start over again the next day. Before you know it, you’ll be eight weeks in and looking back amazed at what you were able to accomplish.
Dr. Adkins’ plan has shown me that it doesn’t have to be because of my age or because I’ve been diagnosed with something. I truly can lose the weight in a healthy way, change my thoughts and perception of food, and learn to keep the weight off in a healthy way.
Danielle, Lost 60 lbs