Feeling happy & healthy

Hi Everyone!

Well, except for the sore throat I'm trying to get over, the above title seems appropriate right now. Since the fall I've been trying to lose weight and I'm now at where I want to be.

How did I do it? I'll admit this time I needed some help. I had put on quite a few pounds over the past year and it was really starting to make a difference, in a bad way. I had no energy, despite all the biking and my clothes weren't fitting properly. I first tried on my own by eating salad but I kept gaining weight. Finally, at 142 lbs, which according to my BMI put me overweight, I went to Herbal Magic. A lot of my weight gain was around my stomach, which for women is one of the most unhealthiest places to gain.

They helped set up a food guide for me with clear descriptions for portion sizes. It involved eating a lot more fruits and vegetables and cutting out a lot of fat. As time progressed, they slowly added more portions until where I'm at now - where I can eat whatever I want. Although I started out with taking their supplements, I stopped after about a month, mostly because of cost, but I still lost weight in about the same target time. This is likely because I bike so much and their programs don't take that into consideration.

I'm now at a healthy 127.4 lb, as of this afternoon and my energy levels are back. My clothes fit better - I'm down a couple sizes but even how the cut of the clothes fit on my body is better. I'm cooking more rather than eating a lot of processed foods. There's a lot more veggies & fruit in my grocery cart and no chips. I still indulge on pizza but not as many slices and I still like my sweets. It's all a matter of balance - I'll now eat one or two cookies rather than an entire row. Yogourt is an everyday staple now.

My target weight was 128 lb although I'll be happy with anything under 130 lb. I still have all my curves, they're just accentuated more. I'll never be "thin" - my body shape and my muscles structure prevent that but I actually prefer being a bit curvy. I was more concerned with my energy levels and health rather than shape.

The nice thing with Herbal Magic is the visits. While I was on the program, I needed to visit the store 3 times a week and bring a record of everything I ate. Now that I'm on maintenance, I visit once a week to make sure I'm still around my target weight. If I get 5 lbs above that, they'll have me start recording my food consumption again and, if necessary, bring me back to a structured food guide. They also look long term - I'll be visiting them for an entire year. If I were to take the supplements, it would have been two years (their "guarantee". Since what I think I needed was some guidance to drop the weight and instruction on proper eating habits, I don't anticipate any yo-yos with my weight.

I know when people hear about weight loss programs, they usually see ads about "I lost 100 lbs on this program" and other enormous weight loss numbers. I lost 14 lbs over a period of 3 months and since I have a small frame, it's quite noticeable. For me, I don't think I could have lost the weight in a healthy manner in this short of period without their help. So, they have my recommendation.

Have a great day!