Kim

Age: 40

Lost: 53 pounds

Completed Program: October 2007

I grew up in the world of gymnastics and was very competitive until the age of 17, when I blew out my knee at the state championships. This incident led to the first of a long series of surgeries to repair the serious damage that had been done to my knee. Unfortunately, spending my formative years on the mat also meant that I had fallen victim to the stereotypical gymnastic trend - eating disorders.

We had to meet certain weight goals and I became very skilled with all of the (harmful) techniques that were used to stay at a low weight. I did enter counseling in my twenties, but these issues have a way of lingering and manifesting themselves at particular times.

My weight gain started to get out of control during my pregnancy. Though I ended up with a beautiful little girl, the complications were extensive. During pregnancy, I had to have my gall bladder removed and was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and needed to have my thyroid removed as well. Needless to say, things were not going well.

After some time had passed I had not yet lost the weight and was just tired of feeling so out of shape and fat. So, I was really excited when my husband announced that we were going to enter the 20/20 Lifestyles program and get fit together. I did actually struggle some prior to our actual start date.

It may sound odd, but I worked very hard on being content with my body and choosing to start the program felt like it somehow might "invalidate" that contentment. I then decided that really, I would be having full control, control over the choice to be healthy or not.

For me, the most important part of the program was the counseling component. I know that all of the other pieces were integral to my success as well, but I really needed to get my head straightened out. All of those years I spent starving myself in order to fit a certain mold had made it very difficult for me to have a healthy relationship with food.

Regular meetings with my dietitian, in conjunction with meal tracking, equipped me with the ability to maintain that distinction between compulsion and behavior. Keeping food "black and white" is a necessity for me and that is why I will meal track for the rest of my life!

Another challenge for me was one of a physical nature. My knee had been operated on five times and I thought for sure that I would never be able to run again. Well, with the help of my trainer and my newly-found inner strength, I got some new shoes and started running. I have already run three 5k races and am planning to run a marathon next year.

Maintaining the weight loss has been terrific. I don't feel like I was just "on a diet" and now I need to go back to the life I had before. My husband and I had always approached this venture as a true lifestyle change. We love the foods that we eat now, we exercise five times a week, we plan ahead for meals, and most importantly, we know that we have many more years ahead of us because neither one of us is a ticking time bomb of poor health.

My favorite moment was when I was working out at a hotel gym and a man came up to me and said "You look like you are in better shape than all of the guests in this hotel combined." My only thought was "if you had only seen me 10 months ago you would be singing a different tune." I then realized from now on, any new people I meet will only know me as a thin, vibrant person. If they only knew the journey that I have been on and how thankful I am that I partnered with my husband to achieve this healthy new lifestyle together.