\"I was always a chubby child. Growing up a great deal of family time was spent enjoying food. Saturday mornings were started with dad making home made waffles with bacon or ham and plenty of yummy butter and syrup or cream filled and glazed donuts hot from the store with sausage and cheese kolaches. We often celebrated successes with food such as hot fudge sundaes for good grades etc. My parents were concerned about my weight and often tried to encourage me to make better eating choices or to be more active.
I slimmed down periodically in my childhood when they enrolled me in team softball or soccer and I took dance classes from age three and was on the dance team at school. I developed early and was a size 12 in high school and struggled with my large chest that developed at an early age. I was a 38 D by the time I was in 8th grade. My mom made my favorite meals like chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and homemade gravy, canned peas or green beans and dinner rolls with butter. I have always associated food with family, feeling good, socializing and comfort.\""; Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","Food philosopy","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Art/HEALTH/070905/070905_brill_steak_3p.htease.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Joe Nicholson", "AP file", "83", "148", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "\"I have seen food as a reward and a luxury to be enjoyed.\"
"; Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","Eating habits","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Art/HEALTH/070906/070906_brill_pizza_1p.htease.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Chip Somodevilla", "Getty Images ", "104", "148", "#000000", "", "", "", ""); Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "After getting married and working long hours as a school drama teacher, at twenty-five, her weight began to increase dramatically. She used excuses such as \"I'm too busy/too focused on my career to lose weight.\"
\"My husband, Rey had always been fairly slim but when we got married we both began to find fun in our time together eating out at restaurants and enjoying Chinese, pizza and especially desserts.
We never denied our cravings and with our busy schedules- Rey works at USAA, we often picked up dinner at KFC or Wendy's. Both of us began to put on weight but I ballooned as the stress of my job increased when I accepted a new teaching position opening a brand new high school. My eating habits and a healthy lifestyle took a backseat to developing my career and helping my students. I worked 14 hour days building my program, developing curriculum and rehearsing with my students and before long, I had grown to a size 24/26 and when I entered the center to start the weight loss program, I weighed 293.8.\"";
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","\"Before\" daily intake"," ","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Components/Art/HEALTH/070905/070905_brill_potatoes_3p.htease.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Tim Boyle", "Getty Images file", "99", "148", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "Breakfast:
Bean and cheese and potato, egg, and cheese breakfast taco with two large glasses of orange juice and six slices of bacon.
By mid morning:
2 bottles of Coke and a Snickers bar
For lunch:
8 pieces of pizza
3 large cups of Coke
4 cinnamon rolls
3 brownies
Mid afternoon
2 chocolate donuts out of the vending machine
2 bottles of Coke
For dinner
2 fried chicken breasts from KFC with a tub of mashed potatoes
One whole corn on the cob with butter
3 biscuits
2 large cups Cokes
3 chocolate chip cookies
Pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream, Phish Food
TOTAL
11,685 calories
290 grams protein
457 grams fat
152 grams sat fat
15,847 mg sodium
1664 grams carbs
939 grams sugar
";
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","The turning point","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Health/2007/September/before02.hlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "273", "268", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "Even after several interventions by friends, family and concerned co-workers, she refused to address the issue. She knew that her health was deteriorating as was constantly tired and could not climb a flight of stairs without getting winded - but still refused to make any lifestyle changes.
Her turning point came in the form of a school project that she participated in. Watching the video her student had created, she was truly frightened by her appearance. She knew she had put on weight - but had no idea how large she had truly become.
\"I have been a teacher for ten years and love helping my students with their projects for school and one day I agreed to help a student with his independent film project. He was thrilled to have me act in the movie and I was excited about the project until he brought a rough cut of my scene to show me. When the movie started to play, the shot came in on a woman's arm. I remember thinking, \"Who's fat arm is that?\" When the camera panned out, I was truly shocked to see that the arm was mine. I knew I was buying bigger clothes but I truly had lost all vision of what I really looked like and in that moment I had to come face to face with myself, not what I thought I looked like but the real me, size 24, all 5 foot 5, 293.8 pounds.\"
";
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","Losing the weight","","","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "Business Wire Stock", "", "83", "148", "", "", "", "", "");
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "After finally coming to terms with her weight, she considered gastric bypass, but could not justify having the surgery without first trying a diet and exercise plan. She met with a counselor at LA Weight Loss and was shocked that the counselor didn't dismiss her when she said she wanted to lose 100 pounds.
\"The first week I couldn't believe the energy I felt and the ease at which I took to the program. I was eating more food than before and watching the weight come off quickly. People noticed right away that my attitude was more positive and I found myself eager to try new things that contributed to an active lifestyle. I started walking, riding a stationary bike and even jogging around campus to run errands between my classes. It quickly became apparent to me that my lifestyle was adjusting.\"
It took her about a year and a half, but she eventually lost 167 pounds and ten dress sizes - she went from a size 24 to a 2/4. She currently exercises every day and follows a healthy diet. She also says that finding balance in her life and keeping a food diary have helped her keep the weight off. \"In a little over a year, I have taken my body from the worst condition it has ever been in at almost 300 pounds and I have transformed it into the best shape I have ever been in. I am smaller than I was in high school going from a 24 to a size 2-4. I know I will stay faithful to this healthy lifestyle because I feel so much better. My confidence is up, my willingness to try outdoor activities has increased and I am so excited about the changes in my health. I have amazed my doctor who is so impressed with the healthy way I approached the weight loss. My blood pressure, cholesterol and risk factors are all reduced and I am in the healthy category for patients.
With a healthy body, I am more motivated than ever to pursue my goals and make the most of my life.\"
";
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","\"After\" daily intake","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Health/2007/September/DSC_9395.hlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "273", "183", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "Breakfast:
1 egg
1 cup Blackberries
8oz fat free milk
1/2 cup All Bran Cereal
Mid morning snack:
LA Protein bar (from LA Weight Loss) and 1 cup sugar snap peas
Lunch:
6oz baked chicken breast with 6 baby carrots and 1 cup yellow squash.
1 small orange and 6 reduced fat wheat thins
Mid afternoon snack:
1 slice light bread toasted with 1 tsp margarine, cinnamon and 1 packet of Splenda (Cinnamon toast)
Dinner:
5 oz Tilapia
Salad with 1 Tbsp. Fat free dressing
1 cup fat free, no sugar added yogurt and strawberries
TOTALS:
1,377 calories
130 grams protein
167 grams carb
29 grams fat
8 grams sat fat
1515 mg sodium
92 grams sugar
";
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i++] = new Array("","New food outlook","","http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/msnbc/Sections/TVNews/Today%20show/Today%20Health/2007/September/DSC_8529.hlarge.jpg","","", "", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "273", "408", "#000000", "", "", "", "");
Joy_Fit_Club_1[i-1].body = "\"I'm still focused on food but now it's all about health. I do a lot of planning, thinking ahead, and continue to log my food and exercise on a daily basis.\"
";
// END editorial data