June 4, 2009 - the day that I started the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan, I got up and said aloud, "This is the first day of the rest of my life." And it was.

Growing up, I was often called "ugly" because of my size. No matter how many compliments I received, those words stuck with me. I fed that sadness with food, but the bigger I got, the worse I felt. I thought I deserved to be overweight. I couldn't play with my granddaughter and was out of breath from going up stairs!

I avoided going to the doctor because I knew I'd be told to lose weight. I was using GERD medication and inhalers twice a day, and the pain in my feet was unbearable. I constantly tried to fight my cravings and lose weight, but I'd always gain it - plus some - back.

A friend asked me to attend a Medifast seminar sponsored by a local doctor. She is a nurse and agreed that we should try the Medifast 5 & 1 Plan for 30 days. On June 4, I weighed 263 lbs as I stared at my box of food for the month. After the week and the loss of 8 lbs, I kept going; in just seven months, I lost 100 lbs!

The girls at work call me "skinny;" I haven't heard that in years. My self-esteem is 100 times higher and I've learned to step out rather than hide in the background. Since I lost weight with Medifast, I no longer take pain pills and have a spring in my step every day.