Pam Mcullough
Stockholm, NJ
I don't have a success story. I went to Weight Watchers, lost 25 lbs. I kept it off for over 2 years. Now I am the one who weighs over 200 pounds & I hate myself. I just need some motivation to get back on a diet, walk, and exercise, whatever it takes. I am 58 years old have type two diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, hypothyroid, and on top of everything I have hot flashes. All my problems are controlled by medication. I have omitted ALL sugar & fast foods & fat from my diet. But still can't seem to drop the pounds. Maybe some day I can write a success story, for now & need everyone's prayers. Thank you for listening to me.
Judith Isidro
Miami, Florida
I started walking October 6th of this year. I have 4 beautiful girls ages 8,4,1, and 2 months. I started walking 3 weeks after my baby was born. Since then, I have lost 37 pounds by eating right and walking 4 miles each day. I've been overweight for 8 years after I had my first child. I feel so happy I was in a size 20 and right now I can wear size 14. My goal is to go down to size 7. Thank you.
Arnie Daner
Jacksonville, FL
In 1986 I was injured -falling off a horse - I ended up in a wheelchair For several years and went from 185 pounds to 384 pounds. I remained there all during the nineties and was a confirmed and depressed couch potato. Eighteen months ago, I began to walk - painfully - with five damaged discs in my back - the first day I only walked ten yards. I began a doctor's weight loss plan eating low fat complex carbs and a limited amount of calories each day. Since then I have survived a quadruple bypass operation with only 1% damage to my heart – I now weigh 190 pounds, walk five to six miles per day and have begun backpacking in the mountains of north Georgia. I embrace life, my three sons and four grandkids - this summer, the two oldest grandchildren and I are going hiking in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Wyoming. God has blessed me - walking is an absolutely incredible activity.
AJ Bufford
Little Rock, Arkansas
When I was born, I was well over nine pounds, and since most of my family members were big people, everyone thought that I would be too. HA! I fooled them! I was the skinniest little child until I was six years old. That’s when I started to gain weight and prove my family's predictions to be true. On Christmas Day of last year (2002) I had reached 352 pounds! But, no, this was not my largest! Between Christmas and Valentine’s Day (when I gorged on chocolate candy) I gained fifteen more pounds for a top weight 367 miserable, awful pounds. I am only twenty-seven years old and I knew that I did not want to be a fat thirty year old -- IF -- I made it to my 30th birthday. Enough was enough, so I adopted a low fat, meatless diet and I started walking. At first I could not even walk a mile, no a QUARTER mile, without huffing and puffing and having to sit down because my back was screaming in pain. But, I stuck with it and now it is seven months later and I have dropped over 120 pounds!!! I have come a very long way but I still have quite a ways to go. I am 5'6" and my goal weight is 152-155. I do not, however, let the scale dictate how "good" or "bad" I have been. It is all in how my clothes fit -- the feeling of going thru your closet and being able to wear garments you have not been able to get past your knees in over six years is awesome. I went through my closet the other day and there was so much that I could wear -- and I wondered, "did I really have all these clothes? Where've they been?" -- Well, they've been there ... I just wasn’t able to fit them!!!! Walking no less than 4 miles per day has helped me reach mini-goal after mini-goal. I set small goals, meet them, then make another…it helps when you have a LOT of weight to lose like I do. Thanks Walkers Warehouse and Prevention Magazine!! :-)
Vickie Rodgers
Hillsdale, MI
My sister-in law and I both quit smoking in January of this year.
Determined not to gain weight I started walking. Everyone I talked to said "Oh, you can't lose weight & quit smoking at the same time." It's been 8 months and my sister-in law and I haven't had a cigarette. We have gained the confidence that we won't ever be smokers again. I have lost 18 pounds and feel great. I started walking on a treadmill for 15 minutes. I am now doing 4 miles in an hour at least 5 times a week. My sister-in law and I meet sometimes and walk together. We recently got hooked on walking music. We share tapes, recipes and lots of enthusiasm for walking!!
Kittye Bonner
I have been on a new lifestyle plan since Jan 2002. I am 55 years old and led a very sedentary life- work and then a couch potato. I have 3 grandchildren and had non-energy to enjoy them. My weight had ballooned to 222 lb and I knew I had to change- I started weight watchers, started walking tapes at home, and read prevention magazine, which is very motivational. I now walk one hour, three days a week and go to the gym 3 days a week. I have lost down to 180, with my goal being 160
Arlene Levine
I have always walked for exercise, but as my 50th birthday was approaching I decided to do something special. I have many friends struggling to get to their 50th because of poor health. I decided to train for a 21 mile Power walk at the Big Sur International Marathon in California. The race was actually on my 50th birthday. I called it my "Celebration of Life Walk"!!!. I had never done any type of races before so I had to train really hard to increase my speed and distance. I also had a little set back 4 months before the race. I had abdominal surgery, but I was back training soon after and didn't miss a beat. I flew out to California with my husband. I completed the race and averaged a 15-minute mile for 21 miles!!! I wore a cap that said "Today is my 50th birthday" and everyone involved in the race kept wishing me a Happy Birthday. It was truly a great way to spend a special birthday. My husband had a great piece of chocolate cake and a candle waiting for me back in our hotel room. I never eat cake but after walking 21 miles I ate every last bite. Now a year later on my 51st birthday I met my brother in Tennessee and we walked the Nashville country Marathon. What started out as just walking each night with my girlfriends has turned into a way to see our beautiful country and stay healthy at the same time. I wonder where I will be walking next year??!!!
