Makeovers
tia's "re-birth"

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After *Results not typical.

Name |  Tia Age |  37 Height |  5'4" Was |  268.6 lbs Lost |  130 lbs* Weight |  138.6 lbs As of |  11/1/2003

Before

Some people buy a new outfit when they reach goal. Tia jumped out of a plane at 10,000 feet. She had a lot to celebrate: Besides losing 130 pounds, she learned to put herself first and to unearth the self she'd been hiding for 23 years.

When I reached goal I sent out a "birth announcement" introducing the new person I had become. I'm not exaggerating. For most of my life I was an imposter, hiding under a layer of fat.

Giving too Much
My mom died when I was nine, and having to help raise my younger brothers started me off on a path of putting others first, long before I had a family of my own. Recently, I was working full-time, PTA president and on the church, school and Boy Scout boards. I gained weight because, like a lot of people, I didn't realize that to be there for others you have to take care of yourself first.

I knew I had hit bottom when my son started to copy my self-destructive behavior. Once when I told him he could do anything he wanted in life, he answered, "Why? You don't." It was time to join Weight Watchers.

The Importance of Saying "No"
I learned to put myself first. Now I always take my lunch break at work (often to write my shopping lists �?I plan menus two weeks at a time). It took a year, but now I can say "no" if someone asks me to do something. And I also stood up to my brother, who had bossed me around my whole life.

I work out three times a week and walk almost every night. My kids are a real support, dragging me out to exercise. (I also asked them to shut the cupboards if I was prowling around the kitchen, and they do!)

A Revved up Marriage
My husband loves me differently, now �?the way I've always wanted him to. He even jokes that he won't need to have a midlife crisis and find a new wife, because he's already got one! He also likes that I've become a gourmet cook. I use all the Weight Watchers cookbooks.

The Air Up There
Little and big things have helped me, like a Weight Watchers key chain that I touch to remember my goals when I go for fast food with the kids. I depend on Storyboarding, writing down the next thing I want, and figuring out how to accomplish it. I also found that it's much easier, psychologically, to lose in segments �?50 pounds sounds so much more attainable than 150. But my big incentive, my "carrot," was skydiving, something I'd always dreamed of and had decided to reward myself with when I lost all my weight. It was the most thrilling thing I ever did. It represented my journey. I was 138 pounds going up, a new person coming down.

Tia, Then and Now:
Then: I served a tired meat-potato-veg every night.
Now: I once went six months without cooking the same meal twice.

Then: My brother's nickname for me was "Moo."
Now: People call me "Skinny."

Then: I used food to celebrate. (Hey, we're Italian!)
Now: I go dancing to celebrate.

Then: I spent all my spare time doing favors for people.
Now: I spend my lunch break on me and me alone.