Success Stories

My name is Meech Debol and I'm from Spokane, WA. At this point in my life I am retired and I'm totally enjoying it. I've seen all of the Positive Changes billboards and TV ads since we moved up to Spokane almost 5 years ago. I knew that I had to do something about my weight. I had been on the yo-yo cycle. It started when I was in my 30's and had a child. Before that I could eat anything I wanted to. I had created so many bad habits, because I never put weight on and then all of a sudden, everything changed. If I looked at an Oreo, I would put on a pound. Suddenly I thought I don't know how to do this, I need help.

Then I saw the ads for Positive Changes and I thought I really needed to do this. I made the consultation appointment and then I chickened out and didn't come because I thought it wasn't going to work since nothing else had worked before. My husband said, you know what, you are so miserable, and you are so depressed, what he didn't say was you're hard to live with, but he said I had nothing to lose and to go in and just see what it's all about. I did and that was the best decision I have ever made in my life. I have lost 35 lbs at this point and I'm still losing. I've gone from a size 12/14 to a 6/8. It's just so much fun to go into the stores and shop now. I reached my original goal in about 3 to 4 months and then I realized that I wanted to keep going so I kept losing throughout my program. I was afraid as I kept losing that I was going to lose my energy and stamina but that never happened. In fact, I have more energy now and I am so much healthier.

I wanted to see if I could really do this on my own so I didn't come back for 2 months and I lost even more weight. It's so engrained now that I could still look at food and say I don't want that. I'm still pushing food aside and I'm still reaching for the healthy foods. I like where I am now. I have tried losing weight with other methods in the past. I tried the drugs and I lost the weight but it came right back. Then I tried the point counting program and then just dieting but nothing worked. This does. I wish I knew exactly how it does, but I just know it does. It was so easy to lose weight; I didn't realize that I was even losing at the beginning.

I have had such a change in my behavior, even my personality. So many people have said to me, you're just happy all the time. Before I was so depressed and unhappy about who I was and what I was looking like. It is such a change and it's wonderful that people have noticed that. Things don't get to me anymore. I used to be a doormat and people could get me to do anything. Now I don't do that anymore. I'm more assertive.

I am a new person. My husband, who has been my biggest supporter, comes with me to every appointment. He sits in the waiting area and works crossword puzzles as I go through all of the parts of the program. He's gotten to know a lot of the people at Positive Changes. On the way home, he always says, "Now, how did it go?" "Well, what did you learn?" He's the one who said to me, "This is the best use of money that we have ever done, because this is a lifetime thing." He said, "You are a changed person, and you are a happy person." He said, "You weren't. You were a little hard to live with there for a while." The two of us are happier because I'm happier. He's also lost weight simply because of the way that I am now eating and the foods that we now have in the house that are all healthy. There are so many wonderful things about this program. My eating habits have totally changed. Now there is not junk food in my house and I don't want it.

I am sleeping clear through the night now, which I wasn't before. I used to have to take an antacid in the evening because of heartburn. That is totally gone now. I plan meals now, which I didn't used to do. It used to be, "OK, what's in the freezer, or call up for pizza." I allow myself to have a piece of pizza, a cookie, something like that, but I'm not obsessed anymore. I have the taste that I want, it satisfies me, and that's it. Food is not taking over my life, like it used to. In the past I would wake in the morning and all I could think about was, "What am I eating today?" "Where am I going to get my next meal?" Now I'll think, "OK, yep, I've got to do breakfast," and then I'll get on with the rest of the day. Food just doesn't take over. It's there when I get hungry, "OK, gosh, it has been about five hours. I guess I probably should have some dinner," and then I'm done.

I had an annual check-up shortly after my first goal was reached. My doctor asked what I had done and I told him and he wanted to know all about the program. The beauty of it is there are no drugs, you don't have to count anything or limit yourself to certain foods. It's all common sense eating, exercise and drinking water, which is what doctors tell us all the time but now it is not hard to make those choices.

The other thing that is really helping me is the exercising. I know exercise is important but I used to say, "OK, I'll do it when I have time." Now my husband and I walk nearly three miles every day. He is a heart patient and needs to walk and it's more fun to walk with somebody. On days that he's not feeling well, I still go. It's toning my body and I'm no longer out of breath. It's giving me energy and stamina that I didn't have before. I know exercising and eating correctly are things I will be doing for the rest of my life. It's ingrained now. I am healthier. I have arthritis and it used to really bother me but it doesn't anymore. It's there but I don't have the pain. My knees used to bother me too but not anymore.

I first came in and did the consultation and they told me about the cost. My husband had come with me and his question to me was do you think you will finish the program? I said yes, and he said then do it. He is my biggest supporter and he says it was the best bit of money we have ever spent. He says I'm just such a different person; I'm out there enjoying life. It was absolutely worth every penny that we paid.

One of my hobbies is singing. Every year we have a competition and a year ago when we had the competition I was at my heaviest weight and I just felt awful and thought I looked terrible in my costume. This year the contest was about a month ago. I bought a brand new costume and when I put the costume on, it was too big and it had only been 4 months since I had it fitted. It was so good to realize that under the costume there was even less of me than 4 months ago.

I had another really fun experience, if you can call going to the dentist fun. I went to the dentist to get a filling. I had to have the Novocain and every­thing, and I'm thinking, "Oh, I hate this part." When I saw the needle coming, I closed my eyes and I said, "You know what, I'm just going to go somewhere else." I was able to take myself out of that chair, and I put myself in the Lilac Garden at Manito Park. That is my favorite place ever, and the next thing I know, the dentist is saying, "OK, we're done." I didn't feel a thing. That time went so quickly and I thought, "What a tool to be able to just take yourself out of a stressful situation and go into a relaxing situation." That's sort of a byproduct of what I have learned and of losing the weight. There are so many wonderful things about this program.

This is such a magical tool and I feel like I have something that other people don't have. I feel powerful. I've done that with people and situations when things are tense or I'm dealing with a confrontation. I take a deep breath and tell myself that I am in charge. These tools are so incredible.

There are so many valuable benefits that I can't put my finger on one thing. I'm using the tools constantly. I am such a believer in Positive Changes. In the past, as soon as I reached the goal and ended whatever program I was on, I thought what do I do now. Not with this program; it's such a life and attitude change. I like who I am now. It's absolutely is permanent. I have been recommending this program and I do have a friend who already started and another on who is trying. She sees what it's done for me.

Positive Changes, I cannot say enough about what this program does, not just for health and weight, but it's for the whole attitude, it's for the entire being. It's just a program that works, and you don't have to take anything and you can eat anything you want and you will still reach your goal. Yeah, Positive Changes.