Julie Hodson
Bakersfield, CA
I was always into exercise right through my 30's..aerobic
dance, walking, weight training. But then around my 43rd birthday,
exercise became difficult for me. Aerobics and walking gave
me a "funny feeling" in my chest, which I very stupidly
ignored, and quit exercising, except for the odd stroll with
friends. Then I became a grandmother for the first time and
my interests turned
towards babysitting and quilting. About six years and two
more grandchildren later, I was weighing in at 177 pounds,
too much for my 5'6" frame. So I decided to get active
again. Much to my surprise, there was the same "funny
feeling" in my chest, only worse this time. I saw my
doctor and was scheduled for an angiogram. It showed a 90%
blockage of the left anterior descending artery! I received
angioplasty and a stent. That was almost a year ago and I
feel great now. What a wake up call. I have lost ten pounds,
by eating properly and walking. My goal is to loose another
five or ten. It isn't so much about the numbers on the scale,but
how I look and feel. I don't think I'll ever let myself be
sedentary again.
Karen Thatcher
While transporting a patient from one hospital to another
my ambulance was struck head on by an on coming car. My injuries were mostly
head and neck however my body was strong and mostly uninjured. After a long
bouts of sleep and depression health care workers were supplied and seemed
to fail at a number of methods to help me regain my energy and fitness level.
However, after most failed and I was left on my own the single exercise method
that routinely became part of my daily ritual in one form or another was
walking. Here in the rural part of British Columbia the fact still remain that
other exercises are expensive, time staking, noisy, and inconvenient to attend
a gym, and even swimming became a chore. The good part of my day was getting
out. It seemed
that you could do it anywhere, anytime, with anyone and after
a short time I
found that I was getting out and people were asking to come
along with me. This
led to more aggressive workouts and within a short time I
was finding a routine
that I didn't want to avoid and in fact looked forward to.
I have not completed
my journey to health however I can say for sure that walking
definitely was the
first step towards the adventure.
Carol Banks
St. Louis, MO
I have been an avid walker since junior high school. Walking
has always been a part of my daily routine, whereby, I walk
on an average of two miles, 5 days a week. In 1999, my husband
and I were expecting our first child. During the life of my
pregnancy, including hot, cold, and snowy days, I walked daily.
One week prior to having the baby, I was scheduled for our
last doctor's visit. During the examination, the doctor informed
me of having dilated four centimeters and asked, "do
you realize you were having contractions?" My reply was
no. I only had very mild signs of cramping, thinking maybe
the cramping was a sign of Braxton's Hicks, which was common.
Although it was three days later before giving birth, I was
able to dilate four more centimeters without medication. I
never thought walking had such a great impact on life, as
we're happy to say it made life easier during delivery....walking
is rewarding!
Theresa Giannini
Belrose, NY
In 1995, after a severe bout of Epstein-Barr virus and severe
case of clinical depression, I began overeating and that,
along with anti-depressants, within a year, led me to pack
on enough pounds to hit 242.5 on the scale!!! After that,
I was still very weak, but I started walking everyday and
slowly building up my mileage. When I started to get my strength
back, I added bicycle riding and gym workouts and tennis.
I also began the Weight Watchers Point System and to date,
have lost over 70 lbs and gone down five (5) dress sizes from
26 to 14!!!!! I feel so alive with all of this exercise and
without all of the excess weight! I feel like I've been reborn,
and I plan on trying new events now. I feel like this whole
transformation is nothing short of a miracle bestowed upon
my life!!!
Kat Nelson
Ardmore, PA
Where to begin...well, first off, I'm fairly new to this whole
"walking your way fit" thing. I've only been doing
it for a bit over a month. I am only 21 years old, yet had
been suffering from frequent stress headaches and nausea.
I decided it was time to do something about it. I began talking
daily walks, and eating healthier foods. I can honestly say
I have never felt better! My headaches are gone, and I've
started losing weight! It is the best feeling, because I know
this has become a new lifestyle for me, a real change. My
ultimate goal is to lose about 30 more pounds, but I am off
to a great start! Walking is the most relaxing, yet exhilarating
part of my day. It energizes my mind AND body!
Kathy Spencer
Mt. Morris, MI
I attribute my success story to my recent diagnosis of Diabetes...
I am a 36 yr old paraplegic (of 21 yrs.) and I have been very over weight
for 4 yrs. now. My story starts 4 yrs. ago when I fell out of my wheelchair
( just doing an everyday thing) and I broke my femur bone and crushed my right
knee cap... which left me laid up for weeks causing me to develop severe decubitis
ulcers on my rump. This led to major reconstructive surgery (muscle flap
rotation as they called it) and it had me in bed on one side for 15 weeks straight
, unable to move or even switch my positions.. it was the most horrible
time of my life(except for my accident of coarse).. it left me feeling very
depressed and all I could do is watch t.v. and I consoled myself by eating.
Needless to say I gained a considerable amount of weight during that time. Over
the coarse of the last 4 yrs my self esteem failed and I was clinically depressed
and had pretty much gave up on the idea I could ever lose the weight. I simply
stopped even trying. Then I stared having alot of medical problems ...
I would get very dizzy and once I passed out in the store (thank God my husband
was there) so I went to my Doctor and he started running a series of blood
and such... a week later I go back to find out I have severe Rheumatoid Arthritis
and Diabetes. Talk about a kick in the pants!!! All I could think of was
that I was only 36 and this could be the beginning of the end for me... I knew
I had to do something to bring my blood sugar down and strengthen my arms
or I was in trouble. I knew nothing about either disease, so I got on
my computer and read everything I could find on both... I also attended diabetes
classes and leaned a great deal from my Dietician. I was searching the web for
walking info and the health benefits one nite and I came to this website (walkers
warehouse) and read some very inspiring stories and that is when I started...
at first it was just wheeling my chair around my neighborhood for as long
as I could stand it (that was 3 months ago) and slowly but surely I started really
getting into it more everyday and faster and now I " run" 4 miles
everyday!!! And I have lost 36 lbs so far !!! I have never felt better in my life!!! And
other good things have come from all this too... like I know alot more of my
neighbors and my body doesn't ache in a "bad way " any more but in
a good way ... a way that makes me feel more a live than I have in so many years. I
share this story sincerely with hopes that it may inspire and motivate someone
out there thinking just the way I used to think and feeling that unforgivable
feeling of defeat.... like I was inspired by some of the stories here.
Thank You all for< listening to my story and Good Luck to all of you!!!
Sylvia Dawalga
Lochmere, NH
I work in an Elementary School with kids from k-3 grade. I'm
a mother of two lovely kids. A daughter 20 years old and a son 12. A brilliant
and helpful husband. Right now I'm on vaca. During my February vacation
though, I went to the doctor for my yearly physical. Well because of my family
having a history of diabetes, I was given a glucouse test. At that time I was
294 with a glucouse count of 209. My doctor was quite concern that she
would have to start treating me for diabetes, I was already taken medicine for
high blood pressure and asthma. She gave me one more chance to loose the weight.
So I started walking, exercising and dieting. Bought Prevention Magazine
about OutSmart Diabetes Take control, walking off the weight and I did. I
bought myself a pedometer and I walked 2 miles in the morning. exercise 30
to -an hour at Curves for Women than come home and walk again at dusk for
2 more miles (6 times around our circle block were we live). Two weeks later
I went back to the doctors for another test. They found that I had dropped to
a count of 108. I also had a pulmonary test for my exercise inhanst asthma and
found out I didn't need my inhaler. I was totally surprised! I came home
and kept walking and keeping track of my steps writing them down daily in my
walking log. I was amazed to see I was walking about 13,000 steps a day. Then
at Curves I won award for the most weight lost in that year I had dropped
40 pounds I had only been trying the last 5 months. I went home happy as a clam.
Still walking 4 miles a day. Last month I was informed they wanted me back
to take another glucose test. I guess they just wanted to make sure it wasn't
a fluke that I was really keeping it down. It still was at 108. I'm still
walking off the pounds. I've dropped another 15 pounds since then. I'm feeling
better about myself. I use to were those 26-28 size pants. Now I'm down
to 18-20s. My goal has not been met yet. I would like to get my weight under
the 200 mark. I have been loosing 5-6 pounds a month. I'm hoping to reach that
goal by Christmas. My Christmas wish is to be under 200 pounds. All I want for Christmas
is a new pair of walking shoes and a bright colored jogging outfit
because it gets cold in New Hampshire around then. THIS IS MY SUCCESS STORY. You
know what is probably the best part. My kids are now walking around our
block sometimes with me sometime on their own. But they are seeing the difference
in me and are trying it out for themselves, without me saying anything.
