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The turning point for me was realizing that I was simply letting my life
slip thru my fingers. I was so miserable and I made sure everyone
around me knew it. I would not leave the house unless I had to. I
never wanted to attend social events with my husband because I
didn't want everyone to see what a fat wife he had. I was also
terribly afraid of running into people I knew before I gained the
weight. I really wanted to just pull the covers over my head and
stay in bed.
I was kind of chubby as a child and I did get teased relentlessly
about my "bubble butt". As I grew into a teenager I thinned out
but I was never "skinny". I always had to watch what I ate. My
serious problems with weight started after the birth of my first
child. I gained about 45 pounds during my pregnancy and was
losing the weight at a normal pace after her birth.
When she was
4 months old I started getting VERY sick. At 24 years old I
could not walk across the room without literally gasping for air
and needing to stop and rest. I spend many weeks seeing
several doctors and getting countless diagnosis. I finally saw a
pulmonary expert who had the good sense to admit me to the
hospital immediately. By this point, I was very ill. I had to have
lung surgery and it turned out that I had a rare infectious disease
of the lung called Bronchial Obliterans with Organizing Pneumonia.
The county had only seen one other case in 10 years.
The good
news was they finally knew what it was and it could be cured, the
bad news was the treatment. First they would try steroids and if
they failed chemotherapy would be next. The doctor looked at
me very matter-of-factly and said "be prepared to gain at least
50 pounds during the steroid treatment, it is a given". I literally
stopped hearing his voice at the point. All I could think was
"50 pounds?? please God, don't let that happen." My
husband said he actually saw the panic wash over my face
as the doctor spoke these words to me. Soon as the doctor
left my room my wonderful husband looked me square in the
eye and said "babe, I don't care if you weigh 350 pounds, I
just want you with me, healthy and alive". In hind sight, I realize
that the weight gain was a small burden to carry in exchange
for my life.
I took the steroids, I got better and I got fat. After the treat-
ment was over I just could not shake the weight. I did manage
to lose about thirty of the SIXTY pounds I gained. A few years
later I gave birth to my second child and ended up even bigger.
My heaviest weight was 228.
Then one day, I just had enough. I joined Weight Watchers
and getting weighed weekly helped keep me honest. After the
first few months of following their program I decided to do my
own thing. I continued to attend the weekly meetings and
weigh-ins. I had been exercising all along but not at a very
high intensity. I started out with Richard Simmons and Jane
Fonda. I kept thinking to myself, there HAS to be more
out there than this!! One day I stumbled onto Video Fitness
and I knew this was the PLACE!!! I read about The Firm,
Cathe Friedrich and CIA with great excitement. I started
to incorporate strength training into my program and in-
tense aerobics. The pounds really started to fall off and I
became a much happier and stronger person. Within a
year of joining Weight Watchers I lost 83 pounds. People
would see me and say I had become unrecognizable. The
truth is, I finally recognized myself. I got lost under all that
weight but I finally found my way out. Everyday I look
forward to getting up and functioning in a positive way. I
am not afraid to run into people anymore. I like who I see
looking back at me in the mirror.
My favorite videos are Power Max, Interval Max (just be-
cause I CAN do it), CIA 9905, Tough Tape and the PS
Series. I fulfilled a true dream by going on the Cathe trip
this past October. A year ago I NEVER would have thought
I'd be in the physical condition to actively attend. I've even
taken up running, this from someone who used to tie their
shoelaces to their best friend's in PE to avoid running!!
I still consider myself a "work in progress". The important
thing is the "work" truly is in "progress". I am thankful to
God everyday that I can walk, run and even plyo-jack
across the room without stopping to rest every five feet.
My life is no longer slipping thru my fingers. Instead, I
got the tiger by the tail and the STRENGTH to hang onto
it!!
Tammy Churchman
[email protected]
P.S. I can't thank the wonderful people at VF enough for all the
knowledge and support I have gained since joining this awesome
community!!
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