May 22, 2004
Saturday

My name is Stacy and I live on Long Island, New York. In December 1999 I made a decision to have surgery to help me lose weight. I had watched Carnie Wilson go though the surgery and I believed I could do it too. I was scheduled for surgery in March of 2000. I was in the operating room and they were unable to get the tube down my nose to knock me out (my neck was to big and my nose too small). I was wheeled out of the operating

View Before and After Photos

room without having the surgery. My husband, Kevin was thrilled the surgery did not happen because he had not wanted me to do it. He looked at me and said; "now we are going to do it my way". Well his way is working.

I have lost 190 pounds and feel wonderful. We didn't use any organized diet program we just shared our food. At the beginning I didn't weigh myself. After 4 months I finally got on the scale and I had lost 50 pounds!!!! I was so excited!!!! We just kept going. Breakfast is not a meal I usually eat but sometimes I will have a bowl of cereal or a banana. Kevin makes my lunch for me every day. My lunch consists of a sandwich (turkey, ham, tuna) and no-fat pudding, a box of raisins, applesauce, banana, and celery. Of- course it does change every once in a while but that is what I basically eat for lunch. I am not a cook and neither is Kevin so we very rarely eat a home cooked dinner. Dinner is sometimes 1 and 2 slices of pizza (1 slice if it is a specialty slice) or Wendy's chili and a baked potato or Chinese (1 dish and we split it) or Mexican. Told you I do not cook!! When we go out to a restaurant we have one appetizer and we share it and one entrée and we share it. The portions at these restaurants are so huge it isn't healthy for anybody to be eating all that food.

I even snack at night. My favorite is WOW potato chips. These are the chips that have no fat and are made with olestra. At the beginning Kevin would go out every night to 7-11 to buy an individual bag of these chips. We didn't want a big bag in the house because you know what happens - you just keep eating the chips. Sometimes I have frozen yogurt. I really get to eat what I am craving for. It is all in moderation. If you don't deprive yourself of the foods you crave than you will feel satisfied.

We tried to keep the new way of eating very real. We wanted something that I could live with because this was not a diet but a new way of eating.

I even started exercising. Two months into my new way of life I had a trainer come to my home. It was a gym on wheels. I walked out of my house and onto the truck. The gym was in the truck. My trainer, Phil, was great. It was wonderful. This was what I needed. I was not prepared to go into a gym being a person who needed to lose 200 pounds. Phil never made me feel uncomfortable even when I didn't fit in some of the machines. I worked out with Phil once a week. I didn't want to attempt anymore than what I thought I could do. I didn't want to say "I am going to work out 5 times a week" and then after a month not keep up that pace and feel like I failed, giving me that excuse to start eating crazy again. After 13 months I felt like I wanted to do more. I joined JAZZERCIZE and promised myself to go 2 times a week. I loved it!!!! I now go 4-5 times a week and actually enjoy- exercising.

I still need to lose 20-25 pounds but I can't believe I am so close to being the weight I want to be. I can walk up stairs without stopping, my knees don't hurt and I feel great. I am so thankful for the support my husband has given me and still gives me and the support from all my family and friends.

I want everyone to know that losing weight can be done without the surgery and or the pills. That eating what ever you want - without depriving yourself, you can lose the weight. You just have to PORTION your food. If you have that person in your life that is helpful and supportive then it makes losing weight so much easier.

Stacy Rosenfeld,
Stacy@Stoomzee.com
Long Island, New York

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