WooooHoooo...Im a CELEBRITY!!!!

Permanent lifestyle change yields permanent weight loss

Healthy Measures

Amy *last name withheld* could never get a handle on her weight. Flanked by a thin sister and average-built mother, Amy was the one always trying to lose 10 pounds.

Her weight really became an issue when she started having children.  After each child, she would lose some of the weight, but then get pregnant again.  After her third child was born, she knew it was time to commit to a permanent lifestyle change that would give her permanent weight loss.

"Our family was complete, I didn't want to be overweight, I told myself, 'I don't need to live like this,'" said the mother of three.

After each baby, Amy had joined Weight Watchers.

"It always worked for me, then I'd have another baby." she said.

In April 2003, she joined again.  Following the group's heralded Points plan, she has lost 93 pounds and hopes to lose another 15.  She has gone from jeans that were size 20 to a size 8.  Once a week, she attends a meeting and weigh-in.

"It disciplines me and keeps me focused," said Amy, 29.  "I need the accountablility.  And I don't have to take a pill, drink a shake, have surgery or give up a food group."

A stay-at-home mom, she feels isolated sometimes and can't always get out to exercise.  Then there's the temptation of food in the house.  But even that's not the problem it use to be.  "I've learned food is for fuel and not a hobby," she said.  "Used to, I'd say, 'I'm bored, let's go find something to eat.'  I don't need a whole lot (of food) to keep me going."

A big part of Amy's success is that she feels in control and has the freedom to make choices with the Points plan.  And she can still sit down to a fast food meal with her kids.

"I can't imagine trying to lose weight without the Points system, it's a must for me," she said.

For instance, Amy doesn't blow points on drinks.

"I would rather have the orange than the orange juice," she said.  "And I want to be able to take my kids out to lunch and eat with them," she said.

Her kids, who range in age from 8 years to not quite 2, get a kick out of Amy ordering the Happy Meal.  When Amy and her husband make plans to dine out on the weekends, she saves up her Flex Points so she can eat her favorites without blowing the week.

Once the weight started coming off, Amy started exercising to add muscle tone.  She uses "Walk away the Pounds" video when she's at home with her children, and gets out three times a week and works out at Curves, where she has lost 5.2 percent body fat and 17 1/2 inches in six months.

The Points system makes you think about what you eat, she said.

"If people realized what they're eating they would be amazed at all the empty calories," Amy said.

Being able to buy smaller clothes and feeling good in them are incentives to keeping the weight off, but Amy also likes the way she feels.

"For the first time in my life, I ran a mile without stopping." she said.  "I feel stronger and healthier and I've realized I don't need a lot of food to keep me going."

Occasionally, Amy will have what she calls a slip-up day, and exceeds her Points.

But it's not a disaster.  For other days , she has a back-up plan.

"When you run out of Points, you're done for the day," she said.  "Sometimes it will be 8 o'clock, I'm a little hungry and I've run out of points.  When that happens, I brush my teeth, turn off the lights and go to bed."