Diane Nelsen
- Featured Story
West St. Paul, MN
I´m 50 years old and have never been what you would call overweight. Aerobic exercise has been a part of my life for 22 years. I´ve used treadmills, aerobic riders, elliptical machines, cross-country ski machines; I´ve walked, ran, done aerobics to videotapes, attended classes. It was always something. But it wasn´t till last year (May 2003) that I decided to get back into walking for exercise. Losing weight/inches wasn´t even something that was on my mind. I weighed 150 pounds, was 5´9" and wore a size 12. Not ideal, maybe, but hey, I was pushing 50. What more could I expect? I averaged about 30 miles of walking a week. After a month or so, one of my coworkers noticed a change in my appearance. We were talking about sizes and I said I was a size 12. "Diane," she told me, "you´re not a size 12. Look at those pants you´re wearing; they´re too big for you." It hadn´t occurred to me that my clothes were too big. Over a period of a month or so, I got rid of all clothes that were too big and bought 10s. Never in my adult life had a been below a ten, so buying a whole new wardrobe at that size made sense. Early this spring I noticed the 10s were too small, so I went to size 8. Now I´m at size 6! What´s interesting is that, after the initial weight loss of 15 pounds, I haven´t lost any more weight. I weighed 135 at size 10 and I weigh 135 at size 6. There´s no question that I look and feel a lot better than I did in the beginning. But the bigger change is emotional. Walking helps me feel connected to nature, to my community and to myself. It clears my mind, helps relieve stress and just flat-out feels great! I live in Minnesota where the temperatures can reach the 90s in the summer and often are way below zero in the winter. There were only three or four times that I didn´t walk because of the weather. I now average about 50 miles a week. What can I tell you? I´m sold on walking!
Len Tatom
Oakland, Oregon
I am 69 years old and found myself in very bad health. My back was aching, I had pain in my groining area and had no energy to do anything around my 2 acre place. I thought ´well all this is because I am fat (228.5 @ 5ft 8inch.) and I am old´. Even so, I must do something, so 7 weeks ago I decided to change my life style. I started walking at first 1.8 miles and every week have increased and now am up to 4.5 miles. I also cut out all refined sugar and lowered my fat consumption. What a surprise, I found out that my aches and pains and lack of energy was not because of being old and fat, it was because of a bad life style. I feel great now in juat 7 weeks of walking and the other changes and I´m still old and fat. Of course, I have lost 24 lbs with about 26 more to go. I have painted my house, built a deck and cut the grass on the two acres that had grown so tall. Also, much easier to get along with, so my wife has benefited with the change also.
Ruthelyn McGillic
Colfax, WA
I have purchased 4 pair of MBT shoes from you and I love them. Now that I have been wearing the MBT shoes, I hardly ever wear any of my other shoes. I am a liver/kidney transplant recipient and I do a
lot of walking and these shoes really make a difference for me in that they help me get the most efficient walking work-out for the energy that I have. They have made a huge difference in my balance, strength and posture.
David Green
Chicago, IL
On January 17th, 2006 I woke up excited and with more vigor then I had since my first day of college 6 months prior. I had been planning to begin a significant weight loss attempt (my 1st attempt ever) that day because my case of asthma was 100% clear and I felt prepared for the excercise. I am 19 years of age and I weighed 250 Pounds. My height is 5 foot 9 inches. I began by starting a little too fast (3 to 3.5 Miles of walking a day) and my hamstring felt it. But I kept to those numbers and now 40 days later I walk 4.5 Miles with much less effort then it had taken to do 3 at the start. I also only consume 1250-1400 calories (all healthy ones) a day and my whole attitude about life has changed. I have already lost 25 pounds in my first 40 days, I weighed in at 225 Pounds today which is the lowest ive been since I was 17 two years ago. I am 7-9 pounds away from comfortably going from 2X clothing down to XL clothing for the first time since right before I turned 16 so!
Fall of 2002. I plan on losing 55 more pounds and being 170 and wearing An adult large for the first time in around 6 years when I was 12 or 13. I know I have a ways to go but I´m going to do all the work and for the first time in my life not feel ashamed to go swimming in a pool. I deserve it and anyone in a similar situation does also.
Joyce Lehman-Sharpe
Longwood, FL
After recovering from a bout with cancer and basically not exercising at all for 4 or 5 years, 11/16/05 I was advised that I had type II diabetes, cholesterol of 237 and was 20 lbs too heavy. My endocrinologist has given me 90 days before the new battery of blood work is due to get my life in gear w/o a daily drug regimen for my ailments. On the night of 11/16/05 I headed to Foot Solutions in Orlando, the only retailer of MBTs I could find after seeing their small ad in our local paper. At 5:15 that afternoon they fitted me in the MBTs and I practiced walking for them in the store and then headed home with my purchase of what is, I can tell you, the MOST expensive shoe that has ever lived in my closet. That night I had big hopes of walking a 1/2 mile perhaps. 10 minutes away from the house I grew tired and had to return home to log in my first day of exercise for the doc described as 10 minutes of "slow walking". Now it is 2 months later and I can fast walk 2 miles in 40 minutes and take 20 flights of stairs at work each day. I have never written a "testimonial" to any product, much less one that made me gulp when writing the check, but MBTs have changed my life. Someone at a local shoe store in Winter Park, Fl.last Sat. asked me what is different about them and I could only respond "they just make my body feel different,straighter and looser" and I don´t get shin splints or aching bones in my feet. She purchased the shoes on the spot after noticing me wearing them even on a shopping trip. They aren´t a fashion statement yet but could very well be very soon if I have anything to do with it! I am purchasing the brown sandals to climb around the hills of Italy in June. So there you have the story of a 60 year old (but the new 50 in my mind) and already an inch smaller in my tummy in two short months.
Trudy Rosenberg
Sequim, WA
I am so pleased with the powerbelt. It´s so smooth to use and made so well that I look forward to using it three to four times a week while walking. I am a cross country skier and have created the moves I need to strengthen my arms and upper body for my Nordic experiences this winter. Also my breathing is deeper and stronger. People stop me wherever I walk because I´m enjoying my workout. I have also used the belt while dancing to music, creating moves to the beat. Another use I found rewarding was doing a 20-30 minute workout just waking around the campgrounds while camping this fall to warm up before beginning the days´ hike. I.m 62 yrs old and am grateful that a friend recommended the Power Belt.to me. I feel very confident that it will keep me strong and healthy in the years to come.
Michelle Cooper
Springdale, MD
About a month ago, my husband began planning this cruise for us to go on with a few other relatives. I decided then that I was going to go on the trip looking my best. My plan was to get up and start moving around more, get active. I was too sedate. Prior to starting my walking program a little over 2 weeks ago, my weight was at 180 and my height is 5´3". I was very uncomfortable at that size. I could not fit into my size 12 clothing comfortably. I had to do something. I invested in a pedometer and started walking every where I could go. My goal is to walk at least 10,000 steps per day. Sometimes I reach my goal and sometimes I don´t. I tell myself the next day I will do better. Within 2 weeks I have lost 5 pounds and I am loving it. I get a couple of the ladies at work and we go walking on our breaks. When the weather is too bad to walk outside, we walk in our company garage at work. I have a lot more energy now and I feel great. I encourage everyone that likes to walk to invest in a pedometer because it keeps you on track with meeting your walking goals daily and weekly. Along with my walking program, I have learned to adjust my portion sizes, which has really been a big help. I also cut out snacking on the wrong food items that had contributed to my initial weight gain.
