The National Weight Control Registry

Success Stories

There are currently more than five thousand members of the National Weight Control Registry, all of whom have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off. These members lost the weight in a variety of ways and for a variety of reasons. Some have lost 30 pounds, some 130 pounds. Some have kept the weight off for one year, some for decades. What they all have in common, though, is a commitment to successful weight loss maintenance. These are the success stories of just a few of our many participants.
                

                                                                                             

• Gary Price, member since October 2006           

                                                                                                                                                                          

Gary Price was overweight for most of the first 40 years of his life.  After the loss of his first wife to

cancer at age 38, Gary began to focus more on his health, well-being, and obesity.  This focus became a dramatic increase in his activity level, a dramatic change in the volume and types of the foods that he was eating, and obtaining positive support from friends to help boost his self-image and improve his outlook on life.  All of this translated to losing 75.5 pounds in 2001 and the ability to maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle for the last 8 years. Today, Gary works out for an hour each day, eats a balanced, mostly organic diet, avoids fast food in its many forms, and cooks most of his own meals in his own kitchen.  While Gary’s original motivation began in the depths of despair, his weight loss success has led him to a healthier weight and lifestyle that he maintains with the support of a new wife (whom he met at a weight loss support group) and his family.

                                              

                                               

• Carolyn Leonard, member since March 2007           

                                                                                                                                                                           The sudden loss of her husband to a heart attack in 2005 made Carolyn realize she needed to make some changes in her life.

“At that time, I weighed 252 pounds. I made the decision that if I did not make an immediate and permanent change in my eating habits I would soon meet the same fate as my husband.”

Slowly Carolyn started to eliminate certain foods from her diet such as fried foods and desserts. "I started to read labels and realized that although my husband and I did not eat much food, we were eating lots of junk food." She also started to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into her daily “menu”. Carolyn also makes sure to live an active lifestyle. “My exercise routine is simple. I walk. I park at the back of the parking lot at the office and walk during breaks and lunch. Also, when going to the mall, I park at the opposite end from my favorite store.” Carolyn has now lost more than 100 pounds and is feeling better than ever. “We make daily choices and deciding what to eat affects our overall health. I’m healthier now and feeling great. I need that energy to keep up with my grandchildren.” 

• Sandra Wright, member since March 2005
  
  Sandra Wright lost 100 pounds over the course of a year through a combination of portion control, food records, and regular exercise. She attributes her success largely to a change in attitude and outlook. "By changing my 'self-talk,' I went from thinking that sitting up in bed to read was an aerobic activity to running half-marathons. I'm now an active, healthy, energetic woman who loves to exercise. Although I slowly regained 30 pounds over a period of 13 years, in 2003 I lost the extra weight and am back to maintaining the 100-pound weight loss."
  
  
  
• Drew Saur, member since August 2005
  
  At 325 pounds, 34-year-old Drew Saur decided in 2003 that it was time to make some major lifestyle changes. "I embarked on a two year odyssey that started with counting calories to see how much I was ingesting. As it turned out, I was eating somewhere between 4,000 to 5,000 calories per day! By gradually reducing my caloric intake and learning that being hungry before meals could actually be a good thing, I lost weight at a safe rate of about two to three pounds per week." Drew started to walk on a regular basis, and as he lost more weight, the walking soon turned to running. Today, Drew has lost over 150 pounds and regularly runs 5Ks and half-marathons. "I joined the NWCR in the hope that the knowledge and experience I have gained can be put to use helping other people make similar wonderful transformations in their lives."
  
  
  
• Charles Aloisio, member since July 1998
  
  It wasn't until Charles Aloisio was in his fifties that he realized there was something unhealthy and problematic about his relationship with food. "My relationship with food was very much like that of the alcoholic with alcohol," he said. Unable to stabilize his weight, he began to view his problems with food more as a disease that he could cure with a lifestyle change. This change began with adopting a vegan diet, and once he combined healthy eating and portion control, he lost 100 pounds. Now in his seventies, Charles exercises regularly and has been maintaining a healthy weight for over 16 years. He describes his current challenge as, "Finding ways to help others find what I have found. It is amazing to be totally free of the bondage of food."
  
  
  
• Michal Eakin, member since June 2003
  
  Michal Eakin was significantly overweight throughout childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. By the early 1980's, numerous unsuccessful dieting attempts had left her feeling frustrated and hopeless. It wasn't until 1984, when Michal changed her mindset and her priorities, that she successfully lost over 60 pounds. She has maintained this weight loss ever since. "It took refusing to continue enslaving my life to bingeing and obesity, as well as recognizing my own unique irreplaceable value. From there, I learned to make my health un-negotiably important. Following that, it took little to no effort to apply what I had known all along but was unable to persist in doing."
  
  
  
  

Do you have a success story? If so, we invite you to join the National Weight Control Registry--the largest study ever of individuals who have lost significant amounts of weight and kept it off. Get details about joining the registry.

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