She Started Her Own Self-Help Group

I was extremely overweight, had low self-esteem and no energy, and was in poor health. Weighing 200 pounds, I made up my mind: I had to find a way out of this rut. I knew I needed to lose weight, and now. I decided I would organize my own support group.

I got busy making fliers advertising over-40 exercise classes, and distributed them at work and church, and to my family and friends. Interested people called me and promised to show up the first Monday of the following month. Forty showed up, three nights a week. We warmed up, stretched, did sit-ups and aerobics.

The group really motivated me. I introduced a low-calorie program, which was optional (however, everyone participated). The diet consisted of smoked turkey, baked skinless chicken, baked fish, steamed vegetables and four different fruits daily.

Each participant was instructed to drink water all day; alcohol was forbidden. Some had medical problems, including two with diabetes and one with heart problems. Most of the class complained of high blood pressure. After six months, each reported relief of stress, better management of the disease process and / or relief of pain.

At each session, we discussed new ways of improving ourselves. One of my suggestions was meeting at a nearby park on Saturday mornings and walking for an hour. This turned out wonderfully. It got us out of the house for a breath of fresh air, and we were getting fit in the process. Most Saturdays we were so motivated that we extended our walking time to two hours.

Besides the weight loss and health changes in participants, I noticed other things, including:

* Participants were friendly toward each other. When people didn’t show up for class, others called to see how they were doing. They carpooled. They brought fruits and vegetables to class and shared.

* One mother persuaded her daughter to come to class; she did, and ended up loving it.

* We learned the proper way to eat and maintain better health.

* The support was rewarding--working with friends and family helped us to stay focused on our goals.

I exercise daily and am maintaining my weight loss, and I feel sharper. I am a new person with a new body. Why not start your own exercise classes? You’ll find it’s worth it.

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Vital Statistics

Name: Hattie Grundy

Age: 54

Occupation: Letter carrier

Old weight: 200 pounds

New weight: 150 pounds

Height: 5 feet, 8 inches

Time to Get There: One year

How Did You Do It?

Do you have a story about how you lost weight and kept the pounds off? Or a story about how you learned to mountain climb or roller-blade, trained for a half-marathon, or discovered a unique way of keeping fit or dealing with a nagging ailment?

If so, we’d like to hear from you. Tell us your story in a 500-word essay listing what worked in terms of diet, exercise and encouragement, as well as any emotional and physical changes.

For weight-loss stories, send us full-body color photos of yourself, before and after. For other types of stories, send a color photo of yourself doing the activity you’re writing about.

Send essay and photos to How I Did It, Health, Los Angeles Times, Times Mirror Square, Los Angeles, CA 90053. Include daytime and evening phone numbers. Submissions cannot be returned. And, please, no phone calls.

In addition to publication, winners will receive a Los Angeles Times Health section gym bag.