How We Did It

Just dropping in for a moment to say...

My book of weight loss success stories, How We Did It, will be published in December!

In the book, I profile about 30 different people who lost weight in 30 different ways, from 20 pounds to 200 pounds. Everything from Atkins to the Zone, and everything in between.

Many of the people in the book have appeared previously in this blog, and some are new. All are inspiring! They set their goals, and they went on to achieve them. Over and over, I heard the word life-changing applied to the miracle of weight loss.

The message of my book is that weight loss isn't a one size fits all proposition. While many of the principles of weight loss are the same, the approaches that weight loss plans take are all different. Nothing in the book worked for everyone, but something worked for everyone

A great, big thank you to everyone you shared your success with me! Look for the book in December. After it is published, I hope to read about many more success stories!

Make a new plan

The reason I'm here? I've lost 30 pounds.

To celebrate, I thought I'd ask 30 people who have lost weight how they did it. And, do you know what? There ARE 30 ways to lose the blubber! (Sorry about that, Mr. S.)

In fact, here's a statistic to cheer up all of us who are keeping stats on our weight. In 2004, a group of researchers placed 160 people on four different weight loss plans—the Zone, the Ornish Diet, Atkins and Weight Watchers—and asked them to stay on it for a year.

Do you know what? Everyone who completed the study lost weight. It didn't matter which plan they followed. At the one-year mark, 25 percent of participants who stuck to their plan lost more than 5 percent of their body weight; ten percent lost more than 10 percent. It wasn't the diet, but sticking with the diet that worked. The researchers went on to suggest that choosing a plan that matches your food preferences, lifestyle and medical requirements may dramatically increase the likelihood of success.*

So, take heart. Something can work for you. I'm going to post stories and photos here of 30 people who have lost anywhere from 20 to 220 pounds and have kept it off. I want to show you how many ways there are to reach your goal weight and make it yours for life. Along the way, I'll share my story, and I hope you'll share yours in response to my posts.

Thirty ways? It's just the beginning!


* Comparison of the Atkins, Ornish, Weight Watchers, and Zone Diets for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction.” By Michael L. Dansiger, M.D., et al. Journal of the American Medical Association,Vol. 293 (Jan. 5, 2005): pp. 43-53.)