AMANDA’S STORY

At just 30 years old, my heart would start racing just lying in bed. I’d get winded walking to my car, and I was developing high blood pressure. It wasn’t an exaggeration to say my seatbelt was at maximum capacity.

My quality of life was getting so poor that I started to withdraw from people because I was no longer comfortable with who I had become.

Everything changed one night when I went out to dinner with my friend and her boyfriend. I noticed my friend’s boyfriend was strictly drinking water and not any other kind of beverage. When I asked why, he told me he was on the CMWL program. The more questions I asked, the more intrigued I became.

My journey with CMWL started in March 2011. I knew I needed a weight management program with a licensed physician who could guide me in the right direction. I focused on one obstacle at a time—one meal at a time, one day at a time, one weigh-in at a time.

The first six weeks of the program were like shutting down the computer in my brain and restarting it. It helped me clear the connection between my emotions and food, and then it reset my behaviors by encouraging positive nutrition and exercise.

I was amazed! The pounds seemed to be melting away, and the results motivated me to continue. If I was having a bad day, I reminded myself that this lifestyle change would help me reach my weight loss goals. Over the next year and a half, I set mini goals to be reached by certain dates. I would work hard to get there, and often I would reach a milestone before I had expected. The CMWL team was right beside me jumping for joy. They were my biggest cheerleaders and fans.

I knew I would break through my bad habits with CMWL because the program taught me that the same old excuses to cheat weren’t going to help me succeed. So I didn’t cheat. I didn’t make excuses. I found a way to stick with what I wanted, which was to change. I say no all the time. No to the second helping. No, I don’t need that extra snack. No, my life does not revolve around food. No, I don’t want to live like I used to any longer.

Challenges were just another way for me to reaffirm my motivation. I used the challenges I faced to recommit and reevaluate who I was doing this for: myself.

To make sure I keep the weight off, I surround myself with health-conscious people and participate in health-conscious activities. I won’t call this a diet because it refers to such a short time frame. This is a new lifestyle. This is the new me who enjoys the results of smaller portions and healthier food choices. I enjoy physical activity, which gives me energy and a way to work off the stress of the day. This is a lifestyle change that is maintainable just by continuing to do more of the same things.

Of course, all the compliments on how I look are a great self-esteem boost, but what really matters is how I feel about it. To say that I’m happy would just be just a fraction of what I feel. I feel alive, I feel renewed, I feel energized, and I feel like a new person.