Success Stories

"My name is Linda Vantella and I live in Spokane, WA. I work as a revenue agent for the State of Washington. I had a couple of reasons for coming to Positive Changes. I had a habit that was trying to take control of my life and I wanted to lose weight. I met with an evaluator and we discussed which one I should do first. I decided I would take care of the habit that was causing me problems first.

I had very negative behaviors that were very self-sabotaging. I felt like these behaviors were starting to control my life and I needed to stop them before they ruined my life, my marriage and my finances. I was very impressed from the first day I came to Positive Changes. I met with one of the personal hypno-tists and told him, "I want this behavior to stop." He asked some very specific questions about how I felt about myself, why I wanted this behavior to stop, and what did I want to happen with Positive Changes. I told him I just needed this behavior to stop controlling me. I stopped this behavior after my first personal session. I was amazed with this immediate change.

My friends didn't know that I had problems with an addiction and I didn't want them to know. My husband knew of course, but he was very supportive. Positive Changes really helped me to address an addiction problem and it has basically changed my life. I couldn't be happier with how things have been for me since going through this program. It has been a year since I went through the program to stop this destructive habit, and I still do not feel like I need to go back and deal with any of those behaviors that I had before. I believe the changes are permanent.

I was also overweight for several years. I went through infertility treatments four or five years ago and put on several pounds. When I came to Positive Changes, I was 173 pounds and a size 14. Now I am 130 pounds and a size 4. I have lost 43 lbs in 6 months. I had tried lots of other methods to lose weight before. I would take it off for a little while but it always seemed to come back. It never seemed like permanent lifestyle changes. That's what Positive Changes is all about. It is permanent life-style changes. I started seeing results within the first couple of weeks. The weight loss has been pretty consistent; I would say four to five pounds a month. I was very comfortable with that. I thought it was a safe way to lose weight.

I had a lot of behavioral changes. The amount of food I ate, how often I ate, lack of exercise and lack of drinking water were all behavioral changes that were addressed while I went through my Positive Changes program. I felt like my eating habits were out of control before and that was really hard on my self-esteem. I didn't want people to take my picture. I would kind of look away because I wasn't proud of how I looked. Now I'm happy if somebody takes my picture. I think Positive Changes has really helped me to turn that around. I have a lot more confidence in myself.

My behavior changes have been the biggest thing I have noticed. I eat totally differently than I used to. I hardly ever eat processed foods now, and I haven't for quite some time and it is because of Positive Changes. A benefit from that for me is I have fewer headaches. Eating more natural foods has helped my overall health. I also don't snack very much and I make good food decisions.

I was concerned about health risks when I was heavy with my blood pressure and cholesterol, and I just didn't have any energy. All of those things have changed since I lost the weight. It's amazing to me how every day I get up and I have the energy to do what I want to do, especially after losing that last ten pounds. My energy level has just gone way up.

My friends and family all make comments regularly about how great I look, and they have talked to me along the way, shown me support and have been really thrilled. I've told them that Positive Changes is what has done this for me. It has made me believe in me and given me self-confidence. I think this program was worth every penny that I put into it, and it's worth every penny to anybody else who wants to make the effort here. It was important for my health. I just believed it could work for me, and it did.

I have some other goals that I am setting in my life now. I have just registered for my first triathlon in July and I'm really looking forward to that. I believe in me. I can do it. There are lots of valuable benefits I have found with Positive Changes. I think the most incredible thing about it is that I believe in me now. I believe my weight loss is permanent and I'd recommend Positive Changes to anyone.

I do have a story. I was sitting in the lobby on the day I came in to do my testimonial, and there was a gal sitting next to me, and it was her first day at Positive Changes. I had before and after pictures and I was talking to the staff. We were discussing meeting my goals, and I showed my pictures to this new client. She looked up at the manager and said, "I want to look like her." So that's a pretty great thing."