North Bonneville

Member Since March 2008

My Story
In February of 2008, I had a colonoscopy. I weighed 206 pounds. I had borderline high blood pressure. My doctor indicated this was probably due to being so much overweight. He thought, if I lost weight, my blood pressure would come down.

I knew that due to my obesity, I was a prime suspect for health issues such as heart disease, hypertension and diabetes. This was enough for me! I had no time to waste if I was going to enjoy retirement.

I've struggled with my weight for over 40 years and would be what you call a "yo-yo" dieter. I had no trouble getting the weight off but, I would just go back to my old habits and before I knew it, the weight was back on.

I was tired of this pattern of letting my weight get out of hand. I didn't like what I saw and my self-esteem had hit "rock bottom". I knew I needed a plan that would help me be successful "long term".

On February 21, 2008, I started dieting. I cut back to 1200 calories, eating fruits, vegetables, lean poultry and fish. I lost 9 pounds the first three weeks, but knew that I needed to do something different this time if I expected to get the weight off and keep it off. One of my friends had told me that every March, Curves ran a great "special" and it was a good time to join. She had been successful on the program and encouraged me to join.

I joined Curves on March 13, 2008. It has been the best thing that I have ever done for myself. I met with Jan (Curves owner) the first day and she went through the orientation with me. She has always been there encouraging me, giving me suggestions regarding health, exercise and diet. She's been my cheerleader and supporter, assisting me in setting short term goals and when those were met, would help me set another until my long term goals were met.

I continued to watch my diet and was a regular on the Curves curcuit. In the first 10 months at Curves, there were just 3 weeks that I didn't get in 3 or more times for my workouts. I have muscles that I never knew I had and I'm not ashamed to look in the mirror anymore.

I reached my personal goals in January, 2009. I lost 84 pounds total and wear a smaller size than I have in my whole life. I went from a size 18 womens to a size 2. I lost 68.5 inches, lowered my body fat 17.8% and my BMI 13.25 points. Now is the biggest test of all, keeping the weight off for my lifetime! I believe I have the tools to do this now. Through Curves, I have earned back my self-esteem and know I am on the road of a healthy lifestyle.

Peggy Collins