I have to admit: I was not fat growing up. I spent the majority of my life thin, healthy and happy. Then, when I had my son in 2003 I gained 80 pounds with my pregnancy and, like a lot of women, struggled to get it back off. I think that is why becoming fat after the birth of my son was even harder for me: I had never worried about what I ate and had never needed to exercise. But being a mom takes up so much of your time and energy that I just sort of forgot about myself. After I became a mom, what I looked like didn't seem to matter anymore. I was very unhappy being heavy but didn't really know what to do about it.

I am 5’ 8” and went from 130 to 210 when I was pregnant. After Griffin was born, I was only able to lose around 30 of the pounds I had gained. At the time I was single and just sort of resigned myself to being this fat person. I gave up on dating and I gave up on life. Over the years, I slowly gained back more weight and stayed between 185 to 195 pounds.

Fortunately, in 2007 I met the most wonderful man. Sure, I was still heavy, but it didn't seem to matter to Dan at all. He was so sweet to me and to Griffin, who was 3 at the time. We dated steadily and he surprised us with a proposal in January, 2009. (The best part was when he asked Griffin if he could please be his dad!) I said yes and we began marriage preparations.

Wedded miss

In March, I called some girlfriends together to go try on wedding dresses with me and it was a complete disaster! What I saw when I looked in the mirror disgusted me—I knew that I would never walk down the aisle at that weight. I stopped all wedding planning and Dan and I settled into just being engaged. After a while, people stopped asking when we were going to get married. I eventually became very depressed about my appearance and gained more weight; I did not love myself, and this made it difficult for me to accept that anyone else could love me. Our relationship suffered.

This went on for months. Then, during the summer of 2009 someone posted a few pictures of me on Facebook and I couldn’t believe that was what I looked like. A few weeks after that, Griffin started kindergarten—and I was very aware of the fact that other moms didn’t look like me. They were fit and healthy. I wasn’t. Worst of all, one day I overheard one of my son’s friends say, “Griffin, your mom is fat.” I decided then and there that I was going to do something about my weight so that Griffin would never have to be embarrassed of his mom.

A perfect fit

I ordered Nutrisystem and started on October 5th, 2009. It seemed like a plan that was easy and convenient; plus, I don’t make a ton of money, yet I knew I’d be able to afford it. From the very first day, I loved it! I was never hungry and I really liked not having to stress about what my meals were going to be. As a mom, it is important to me that we eat dinner together as a family, and I could often eat a Nutrisystem version of what the rest of the family was already having. Besides, the food was yummy! I’m the type of person who, if food doesn’t taste good, will not eat it. Well, on Nutrisystem, I got to have dessert every night and great, well-balanced meals that I did not get sick of.

I was amazed at how easy the program was to follow, too. I am very busy raising my son and working full time as a manager of a residential house cleaning company here in Minnesota, and Nutrisystem is so easy that it fit right onto my lifestyle. I work 48-50 hours a week and needed a program that is not complicated, that I can do anywhere. That was Nutrisystem! I also got online and started blogging and entering the foods I ate every day. The online community is awesome! Day or night if I had a question or a problem all I had to do is ask and I got help immediately.

Back to being a bride

I was amazed at the results. I started incorporating exercise into my routine (I started using a treadmill that I’d bought but never used) and the combination of moving my body and learning how to eat right was so empowering. I started to feel different almost immediately: I had more energy, I slept better, and even my skin looked great! I ride a motorcycle, too, and I found that I was more comfortable riding it as I lost the weight. And the weight came off quickly: I lost 40 pounds in the first 5 months on the program, and 48 pounds overall*; I’m now at my ideal weight, thanks to the Nutrisystem program. More important, I became the person I had always wanted to be—I began to love myself again and, because of this, my relationship with Dan flourished.

As a result, in the winter of 2010 (while I was still losing) I decided that it was time to start wedding planning again—and this time I was not nervous to try on dresses at all. I looked amazing! I felt so confident knowing that even if I bought the dress in January it would still fit me in June. And it did—I felt beautiful at my wedding and it was such a happy day for all of us.
 
Spreading the word about her success

I tell anyone who asks me (and even people I don’t) how I did this. This is the first and only diet I’ve ever tried, I love it and it works. In fact, I don’t really see it as a diet, but a lifestyle change—one that I plan to continue for good.

I have never been more proud of myself as I am today. Not only do I look and feel great but my self-confidence is through the roof—and that has helped me be able to be the best wife and mother I can be.

—Laura

*Results not typical. On Nutrisystem, you can expect to lose at least 1-2 lbs. per week. Individuals are remunerated. Weight lost on a prior Nutrisystem® program.