Shero lost 530 lbs!
November 30, 2007 by Tracee Sioux
Filed under Parenting
Did you check out Nancy Maskin on Oprah?
She weighed in at 703 pounds and lost 530 of them. She was a shut-in for 12 years.
Her miracle? The Internet.
Because people couldn’t see her, they couldn’t dismiss her. It was her first contact with the outside world in which she wasn’t invisible. Through people in political chat rooms that enjoyed her wit and intellect, she found friends who nurtured her. While those who she came into contact with in real life called her “the monster down the hall.”
From feeling validated she realized her inherent value as a human being. She stopped wanting to eat four pieces of cheesecake, though she felt no need to deny herself one piece.
Another weight-loss success story David said he changed two habits and lost 380 pounds. He stopped binging at night and stopped drinking soda all day.
Night snacking and soda had imprisoned him in his own fat, he reported.
Here’s what I find fascinating:
- Small things can turn into big things if we’re doing them to avoid our feelings and issues.
- To invalidate someone is ultimately the cruelest thing you can do.
- A prison is a prison, even if you created it yourself.
Which also leads to the positive opposite.
- Just the experience of feeling validated can change a life.
- Changing one or two small habits is the key to changing an entire lifestyle.
- If you created your own prison, you ultimately hold the key to liberate yourself.
Like Suze Orman says about finance – what makes you think it’s about the money?
Bob Green of says about food – what makes you think it’s about the food?
Amazing! Her “before” skirt could have been a twin size bed spread. It was flabbergasting.
Good on her (and him too.)
I can attest to the invisibility factor. As a bigger person, I can recall meetings with small groups where the person talking talks and makes eye contact with everyone but me. I’ve heard people with disabilities say the same thing.
“Small things can turn into big things if we are doing them to avoid our feelings and issues.”
I like to think the opposite is also true, small changes will add up over time.
I appreciate that Bob Green said that these people changed more than their weight. I kind of hate that it becomes just about a number on the scale so often because it makes people think that is what to focus on. Clearly, it is about loving and taking care of yourself and self-esteem also.
i love this post!
What an amazing accomplishment !!! You are an inspiration to those who have weight problems. Be proud of yourself – you deserve it. Congratulations and may God bless you.