She Shed Old Habits--Along With 60 Pounds

I had been overweight for most of my life. Looking at photographs of me in elementary school, I can see when my weight gain started. During my senior year in high school, I managed to reduce to 165 pounds. Though I had exercised during this period, my eating habits were so poor that I eventually gained all of the weight back.

At age 28 and 235 pounds, I tried again. While I had the support of family and friends, I knew that the motivation would have to come from me. This motivation came in the shape of a good friend who, along with me, wanted to drop a few pounds.

The first thing I did was purchase a cardiovascular fitness video and begin working out three times a week. As my endurance increased, I added two extra days to my workout, which now included walking around my neighborhood during the early-morning hours. I also started an exercise “program” at the school I attend--parking the car farther from class and taking the stairs.

Realizing that exercise alone would not help me achieve my goal of losing and maintaining my weight loss, I enrolled in a Weight Watchers program that not only showed me how to eat, but how I could manage while still eating the foods I loved. I never realized how bad my eating habits were until I began keeping track of the food I ate. Foods that I had thought were low in calories were high in sodium and fat. It was at Weight Watchers that I began to read the content labels of food. Plus, weighing in every week increased my confidence level each time I went down a few pounds.

Eight months later, I have lost 60 pounds and reached my desired goal of 175 (at 6-foot-1). I went from a size 16 to a 10 and am beginning to fit into a size 8, a size I could never imagine myself achieving. Currently, my exercise routine has expanded to bicycling and a golf class at school.

Though I can’t have a Whopper with cheese every day as I’d like, the thought of having one every three months shows that with exercise and planning, I can have the best of both worlds.

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Vital Statistics

Name: Rosalie Emma Sarmiento

Age: 28

Occupation: Student

Old Weight: 235

New Weight: 175

Time to get there: Eight months

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