Gains & Losses

This page traces the real gains and losses — physical, emotional, and practical — that shaped the plan I ultimately built.

For more than 40 years, I rode the roller coaster of losing and regaining weight. I started and stopped countless times, tried diets that never lasted, and even lost weight during a serious illness — but none of it was healthy or sustainable.

As a child and teen, I was active, fit, and never thought about weight. My first real gain — about 20 pounds — came in my late teens during an extremely stressful period. When life settled and I became active again, the weight came off easily.

But adulthood brought deeper layers: pregnancies, disrupted routines, hormonal shifts, thyroid issues, and seasons of overwhelming stress. I was never a binge eater — yet each stressful transition made my body more vulnerable, and major gains followed major stress.

In the early 1990s, I developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and reacted to foods, scents, and chemicals. Traditional doctors had no answers at the time, and I spent four long years trying everything I could — from alternative therapies to detox regimens — before finally finding a specialist who understood the illness.

Against the odds, I slowly recovered. But the weight I lost during that period wasn’t the result of a healthy lifestyle — it was survival.

By the time I was well again in 1997, I was still 37 pounds from my goal — the same 37 pounds I struggled with for the next two decades.

Decades of dieting left my metabolism fragile. I could lose weight only through extreme restriction, and the pounds always returned.

In 2020, I tried a highly advertised program that promised to be “the answer.” I did lose 20 pounds — but only by logging every bite and constantly monitoring my choices.

When my husband became seriously ill and life grew more demanding, that structure became impossible to maintain. Slowly, the 20 pounds crept back, 0.2 pounds at a time.

That’s when I realized something important:
no outside program was going to save me.

I needed a way of eating I could live with — not one that worked only when life was calm.

So I built one.

On my own plan, I lost the same 20 pounds in just 3½ months — without deprivation, without logging, and without giving up restaurants or take-out. I ate real food, stayed balanced, and felt better than I had in decades.

💬 “It started when life changed — and so did my body.

• In my late teens and early 20s, I gained and lost 20 pounds — my first real battle with weight.
• At 23, I felt strong, confident, and at my ideal weight.
• By my early 30s, I had 85 pounds to lose, with no plan that fit my life.

💡 Lesson: The first gain is just one chapter — not the whole story.

The beautiful chaos of raising kids filled these years. I was active — chasing children, volunteering, working — but not balanced.

• I tried diet after diet, and they all failed me.
• Each program slowed my metabolism and made long-term success harder.
• But I never gave up — I kept searching.

💡 Lesson: Activity alone isn’t enough. What finally brought lasting results was a structured, balanced approach — the foundation of the plan I eventually created.

A serious illness hit without warning and reshaped every part of our lives.

• I developed Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, reacting to foods, scents, and chemicals.
• We moved multiple times, searching for safe housing.
• Doctors had no answers.
• After four difficult years, I recovered — against all odds.

If you’d like to understand more about food sensitivities and how they affect the body:

ALLERGIES & FOOD SENSITIVITIES →

💡 Lesson: Setbacks can shake everything — but they don’t define your future.

The 2000s were a mix of rebuilding and discouragement.

• Weight came off only through extreme restriction — and always returned.
• We moved again to care for my aging parents.
• I tried well-known programs, but none fit my demanding work schedule or my real life.

💡 Lesson: When it feels impossible, commitment keeps the door open for real change.

A decade of major life changes — most outside my control.

• We moved to Southern California to be near our kids and opened a childcare business.
• We rented a home we loved with a community pool — something I’d always dreamed of.
• Then my mom suffered a major stroke, and our landlord needed to move back in.
• Torn between dreams and reality, we returned to Washington and signed a three-year lease.

Through it all, I maintained some weight loss — but the roller coaster continued.

✨ The bright spot: becoming a Grammy for the first time. Holding my grandson brought a new kind of motivation: to be strong, healthy, and full of life for the family growing around me.

In 2021, I tried the program I hoped would finally be “the answer.”
I did lose 20 pounds — but it took nearly two years.

• I was just 17 pounds from my goal — closer than I’d been in decades.
• Then my husband became seriously ill.
• Between caregiving and work, logging became impossible.
• Slowly, the weight returned.

💡 Lesson: The final stretch isn’t about willpower — it’s about a system that works during every season of life.

This realization is what led me to create Lose Weight – Once and For All™.

After 40 years, I finally stopped chasing diets and built a way of eating that actually works.

• No starvation.
• No logging every bite.
• No cutting out food groups.
• Just balanced, satisfying, grocery-store food.

What began as my personal solution is now the foundation of a plan I feel honored to share.

💗 Lesson: This plan is different. You pay once, reuse it for life, and build habits that feel good — not restrictive.

_____From vibrant highs to challenging seasons, every moment tells part of the story. Even at my heaviest, joy and love carried me forward.

• The photos capture struggles, celebrations, and everything in between.
• Every season taught me something I still carry today.
• Looking back reminds me that change is always possible.

💡 Lesson: Every season has value — and any season can spark transformation.

✨ For the full behind-the-scenes story:

MY STORY →

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