A few years ago I went to put on a pair my favorite jeans…but on this day they were no longer my favorite. I tried putting them on, but they no longer fit! I sucked in my stomach as far as I could but the buttons still didn't even come close to buttoning.

At the time, I was halfway through graduate school, had experienced the loss of two people very close to me (which happened a month apart from one another) and was attempting to end an emotionally abusive relationship. With everything that was going on, being overweight was not helping—it just gave me one more thing to stress about and made me feel more depressed.

Taking control

At that point, I just wanted the one thing I could have control of and that was my looks. I always knew that I could look better. And that’s kind of what I always strive for with everything anyway—to be my best. I knew at that point I was not my best, and that’s what I wanted to be.

I mean, when I saw myself in pictures or I went to a family function or a party, I just wasn’t as comfortable as I knew as I could be, and I knew that by losing 10, 15 or 20 pounds, I could be there. So instead of just always being unhappy about it, I just finally decided to do something about it. And I did. I called Nutrisystem.

Before then, I think I tried every single diet in the book, from shakes to points to pills, to diet cookies, and none of them worked. (When I did the point system, I pretty much finished my points by noon and so it just didn’t work.) But I love having food choices and I felt that’s what I had with Nutrisystem. I loved the variety that Nutrisystem has: you go online and you see the entire menu and it’s delicious. You can’t really lose picking something off the menu. Plus, with Nutrisystem, I felt I was constantly eating and I never let myself get hungry to the point where I wanted to inhale food.

I also knew I needed to get on something that was pre-set for me, something that I didn’t make me have to think about what I was going to eat the next day—I wanted something easy, and that was Nutrisystem. Plus, I loved Nutrisystem because my food didn't have to be frozen, so I could put it in my bag, back or purse and go. I loved that, because you can find a microwave anywhere (including your local 7-11!). I would just pack my food for the day and be out of the house. At the time, I didn't want to worry about what to eat, especially when I already had so much going on in my life.

One small step at a time

I took a different perspective on my weight loss, too. I instead of saying, “You know what? I want to lose 40 pounds,” I started off with saying, “I just want to lose 5 pounds,” and from 5 pounds I went to 10 and I just kept adding on and on. I just always found that when I say “40 pounds” as my only goal, it just becomes so overwhelming that to me that I end up losing nothing (and sometimes even gaining).

And that approach worked; my weight was just dropping off. In fact, the first time I realized how much I was losing was when I lost 20 pounds.* Even though I was weighing myself every day, I was in denial about my progress until I got to the 20-pound mark. I remember looking down and saying, “Oh my God, is that right?” We actually have three different scales at home, so I kind of hopped on each, every single one, to make sure that that weight was right. I actually even went to the gym and weighed myself there, too!

So getting to the 20-pound mark for me was just huge. And you know what? It was surprisingly easy. Once I got to 20 pounds lost,* I felt like I was on a roll. It was easy to do small goals, which made it easier to get to the ultimate goal that I wanted—50 pounds lost!* Even better, eating right became like second nature after that and it it’s actually become my lifestyle, even after exceeding my goal weight.

Back to being her best

My life is better now in many ways. For example, being overweight made it more difficult to shop for clothes: I had to look through the sizes more, and I had to try on more clothes. Now I can just pick up something off the rack and it looks great. I can even feel comfortable wearing a tight, skintight dress when I go out!

I love getting compliments from people who need to lose weight, because I just love to help them. And this is the thinnest I’ve been since junior high—so I love it when people I haven’t seen for a while don't recognize me anymore! Best of all, I feel really healthy having been on Nutrisystem and losing all the weight. The last thing I want to do is sit home now. I have more energy, I can run on the beach, and I just enjoy being active. I feel great!

I liked myself then when I was overweight. But now I, I love myself. I feel like now I’m at my best, thanks to Nutrisystem.

—Asal