Vegalicious

A few times in our lives do we meet people who truly inspire us and people who they come in contact with. I have been fortunate to have met not one, but many such people through my 360° Hormones Program. Today I want to introduce you to one—a star among the Vegalicious online community, a woman of determination, a program graduate (many times over) and an ongoing inspiration to others, her family and her friends.

I “met” Susan through my blog and then Facebook about a year ago. She was an omnivore, lurking around, checking out my blog, not sure if she ever wanted to give vegan a try.  It was around the time I had Sprout. After I delivered my baby, Susan’s baby was already a few months old, I finally heard from her: “I want to enroll in your program,” she said, and the rest… well, the rest has become the beginning of Susan’s health and weight loss journey.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Susan, which warmed my heart, so I asked for her permission to share it with all of you.  Get ready to meet one of the most amazing women, who is determined to not only lose weight, but do it a healthy way, and, along the way, improve her and her husband’s health, and prepare her son for a life of healthy living.

Healthy Weight Loss: Meet Susan

Hey My Dear Elena!

I just wanted to shoot you a quick synopsis of my weight pilgrimage, and where it’s gone!  As of today, I am a total of 57 pounds lost (since starting 360° Hormones in August)! I couldn’t believe it, and I wanted to share my journey with you.

As you know, when I was admitted to Southwest Medical Center, on February 27, 2012, to deliver my beautiful son; I was an astonishing 273 pounds!  Granted, some of that was baby weight (all 8 pounds 8 ounces of him), and fluid retention (I was in Stage 3-4 Edema), but the vast majority was just poor eating choices while I was pregnant.  I could have never dreamed that I would become vegan, and embrace the health that it has shared with myself and my loved ones.  I was a meat eating, deep fried loving, junk food eating American.  Like many, I was overweight because of it.  I delivered my son via an emergency Cesarean Section (after 12 hours of labor and 2 1/2 hours of pushing), and was immediately in love with him, but disgusted with how I looked and felt.  Now that I had delivered my son, what was my excuse for eating?  Oh, I’m breast feeding, so I can take on the extra calories.  Boy was I ever WRONG!

I was NOT this person.  I was a girl who woke up at 5am EVERY morning to workout with my 3 adoptive momma’s (ladies who adopted me when I moved to Kansas, and they are amazing people).  For 50+ year old women and this 34 year old, we kept each other going.  Running several miles every morning; walking our dogs; Zumba—you name it, we were doing it, or had done it, including P90X, and the most fit of our group and I were doing yoga and going to start Insanity, but then I found I was pregnant, and slowed.  I stopped running (I was up to 5-6 miles every morning).  I stopped walking my dog.  I stopped my other passion besides running and yoga.  I just got tired and lazy. As the months dwelled on, so did the level of weight I gained.

6 weeks after I had my son, I decided that I would participate in my first “event” post C-section and birth.  My husband and I did the Oklahoma City Red Bud Classic Stroller Derby.  Yeah, it was a mere three mile walk, but still, I felt so good to push his stroller and get out in the bright sun.  I felt alive again.  From that point, we decided that we should register for the Warrior Dash in Tulsa in June.  What was I thinking?  I was still 260 pounds, and running a 5K obstacle course in the HOT sun of Oklahoma in June?!?  Nevertheless, I managed to complete it (took me 1 1/2 hours) but I finished.  I saw the picture of me hurdling fire, and I was disgusted with my weight; disgusted that I went from 175 pounds to this 273 pound person in a little over a year.  I was still wearing my maternity pants, and I knew at that moment, something had to change.

I spent some time researching various diets and programs.  Every one led me to either Weight Watchers or Nutri-System, neither of which had any appeal to me.  I knew I needed more than just to count points, or eat this portion controlled piece of cardboard.  I needed to overhaul my lifestyle.  I remembered about your site (in May, right before school let out, my boss (who is also a “newer” vegan for health concerns and reasons) introduced me to your Vegalicious site), and had been following you through pregnancy, and was amazed at how great you looked.  I thought to myself, she has a program, I think I’ll research it.  I did.

In August, I came to you at 252 pounds, and started my first month of BC.  I was HOOKED!  You showed me a new way of living.  One that involved healthy choices and overhauling what was previously my bad habits.  That first month, 20 pounds came off, and I could slowly start wearing my old clothes again.  I was no longer wearing my maternity pants.  What an accomplishment!  By Christmas, I had enrolled for 3 more BC’s, and I was down 35 pounds (I gained some over the holidays).  Through strict discipline and radical changes within my home (and mind), I’ve been able to accomplish my goal of losing 50 pounds by my son’s 1st birthday.  I was a few days late, but the 50 came off the same week he turned one!

Today, when I stepped on the scale, I was down to 197 pounds.  This is officially 57 pounds since August 1st, and 76 pounds overall (every pound gained during pregnancy gone, now I have the “I’m married and got comfortable” weight to lose which is 23 pounds).  It does go to show that if you are willing to trust God to lead you to the people you need the most, He will.  He did.  It also goes to show that with hard work, dedication, and desire, you can accomplish your goals.

I know that I would not have been successful if it had not been for the unwavering support of my husband and parents, and my friends.  I also know that I would not have been successful if I had not chosen to make these changes.  You do have to be willing to work hard to make BC successful, and you have to be willing to embrace change.  If you are not, then this program will never work the way it’s intended.  It’s okay to slip, but you have to know you’re accountable to not only yourself, but our online family.  They are watching!  They are wondering what you are doing!

Elena, I simply cannot state how much I appreciate you and all that you’ve done for me and for my family.  You’re an amazing person, and mother, who inspire me to be a better teacher, mentor, friend and mommy.  You offer so much insight to our small online family that I learn from nearly daily.  I can’t ever get in enough knowledge.  I hope that one day, I will be as verse as you when I talk to my friends about how I’ve lost all my weight, and I how I can keep it off without worry.  From the bottom of my very appreciative heart:  THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope you have a wonderful afternoon,

Susan

You see why this email melted my heart? Totally honest, transparent, and most importantly, willing to help others.  I did ask Susan to answer a few more questions for the benefit of those needing the same help she got.

Q: What made you consider my program?

Susan: I was an extreme meat eater.  I loved it.  The fact was meat was part of nearly 3-4 meals per week in our house.  My husband and I didn’t eat the fatty stuff, but more of the lean meats (chicken, turkey and fish), and it was the LAST thing I ever thought I would give up to live a healthy lifestyle.  At the time I found the Vegalicious site, I was three month post-partum, and referred to it by a friend, and I noticed that Elena offered a hormone healing program.  This same friend also pointed me to other vegan sites, and I started my research.  Before enrolling in the 360° Hormones, I explored other programs, and hands down, yours was the most intensive, all encompassing, truly plant based lifestyle that I found.  For me, it boiled down to not being a face in the crowd, and having someone to talk me through the pitfalls, and to encourage us to stay on board.  I wanted something that worked for me in my crazy lifestyle (full-time teacher, full-time mommy to a one year old, wife to a law student who lives 5 1/2 hours away out of state, and endless miles of travel for my teaching job), and I found that and more with 360 Hormones.

Q: What do you find most helpful in the program?  

Susan: I have a few things that I find FANTASTIC about your program.  First and foremost, having one-on-one accountability access to you, as well as our online community.  If it were not for these accountability measures, I would not have had the success to maintain the first 30 days, let alone the last six months.  I also love that you are in constant communication about ways to improve our health, and livelihood.  You listen to us and answer our questions, no matter how crazy or redundant.  Finally, our Accountability Partners help to keep us going month after month.  An Accountability Partner is someone that you can lean on for additional support, but also someone there to help you get over the humps of transitioning to a plant based lifestyle.

Q: What would you tell someone who is considering the program but is not sure if s/he should do it or not?   

Susan: I was a skeptic at first.  I doubted that I could EVER be healthy again, and that I was glutton to be heavy (after being somewhat skinny for the later part of my 20’s and early 30’s).  I wanted to be back to my optimal health, and be able to teach my son about living a healthy lifestyle.  360 Hormones truly works.  Elena is the best teacher and she constantly challenges us to be better at what we eat.  If she finds a new study, she shares it.  She works with you.  She is your best advocate and cheerleader, but she also pushes you to maintain optimal health.  I’m proud to be vegan strong, thrilled to have such great health mentors.  If I can be successful with my crazy work, family and travel schedule, then anyone who commits 100 percent, can be successful too.

To read even more testimonials from other program graduates, make sure to visit the official our success stories page.

If you have a question for Susan or me, make sure to drop a comment under this post.

360 Hormones Program

Does Susan’s story sound a little bit like you? Do you have the same goals and dreams for your health, fitness and weight? Do you want to learn how to transition to a plant based diet, or simply try it on “for size” for a month under my guidance, to make sure you do it just right? If the answer is yes, then you need to be a part of the plant based revolution that is overtaking the country and the globe.*

Thankfully, Susan is one of now nearly three hundred people who completed my program in the last 15 months. Results vary from person to person (you will never find me making bogus claims and promising you the moon… unless we can get to the moon together ;)).  As she said, you get what you put into the program, just like with everything else in your life–you give me 100% of your determination, you will get 100% of my support. But if you are like Susan, you know that “oopses” of life (like the holidays) might happen, however, having accountability to me and the group is what makes the difference between those who quit and those who become a success story, like Susan. 

If you have not heard about the program before, but want to take a charge of your health, all you have to do is reach out and we will be happy to get on a call with you to talk about your health goals.