Sheri

Age: 56

Lost 50 pounds

Completed Program May 2007

By the time I started 20/20 Lifestyles, I was almost completely sedentary. I could barely walk without something hurting. I was also petrified that I would fall and seriously injure myself. Then a good friend had a heart attack and that really drove it home. His unhealthy lifestyle and unwillingness to do anything about it brought the message clearly back to me.

I’d always prided myself on my low cholesterol and blood pressure levels. However, my lifestyle was finally catching up to my genetics. Blood pressure was rising, cholesterol levels were shady, and blood sugar levels had increased. I felt old, and I was headed for disaster.

I have been on practically every diet from the cabbage soup and grapefruit diets to Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Atkins, to name a few. Part of the reason 20/20 worked was because I was ready. Most of reason it worked was that this was a multi-faceted approach. I felt I was surrounded by a caring family, and I was at the center of their universe. I was being shown a path that I would be able to travel by myself, but never really be alone. There was always someone to talk to, someone to encourage me, someone for me to encourage. The hardest and most challenging aspect of the program was graduating from it.

20/20 gave me my life back. Everything has turned around, even my chronological age. My stress is manageable. And I am an athlete. Go figure! Who would have thought I’d race around, run up steps, hike, and bounce. I’m happy and I feel good. The mirror is no longer my enemy. I can look into one. I can see a waistline. I can see the muscles in my arms. I can wear a belt! I can even shop for clothes anywhere.

One day before vacation, I realized I had no clothes to take with me, having shrunk out of all my old clothes. I was standing in the middle of the mall trying to figure out where I was going to shop when it hit me… I can go anywhere! I turned around, walked into The Gap and bought four tops. I haven’t been able to shop there in 20 years!