Shae (Before and After)

Each Tuesday, one Pray It Off (PIO) group member's weight loss journey is highlighted on the blog. Today we hear from Shae.

"Hi, my name is Shae and I’m joining Ellen’s blog today to talk about my experience at Pray It Off (PIO). After years of putting on weight, a few pounds a year, I decided, for future health as well as aesthetic reasons, it was time to start taking it off. So after seeing the notices for PIO in the church bulletin, every six months, I made the call. I joined PIO on July 7, 2009. This was my first attempt at weight loss and every one told me that the first couple of weeks would be easy and then it would become harder to lose weight - did I hear a challenge? As my husband will attest, telling me I can’t do something is a guarantee I will try.

I lost 11 pounds the first two weeks, after four weeks I was at 21 pounds off and then I hit 30 pounds after 7 weeks. This doesn’t mean it was easy, I put a lot of effort into making good choices and Ben & Jerry, Nestle and Pizza Hut suffered for it. The point is if you are committed to getting something done, and willing to make the necessary sacrifices, you can do it. It may take a long time but it will be time well spent. When you reach your goal, the time it took doesn’t matter.

On January 7, 2010 after six months I hit my goal of losing sixty pounds. Now my circumstances had been ideal, I had gone through the summer first and I play golf three or four times a week, usually walking the course. I had no health issues that would make losing weight difficult. So, I cut back on my calories and kept playing golf and the pounds went away, quickly at first and then more slowly. Along the way my family, friends, and PIO family have been cheering me on and the thought of disappointing them motivated me to forge ahead.

As summer changed to fall and then to winter, golf in Syracuse NY, was no longer an option. It was time to figure out how I was going to get exercise in the winter. I shook out the dust cloth and cleaned off the elliptical in our basement. I started with eight minutes a day and worked my way up to 30 minutes, twice a day, after two months. Do I enjoy spending that much time on the elliptical? I turn the television on and think of the things I can now eat in reasonable portions because of the calories I’m burning. In a few weeks I’ll be back on the golf course and the elliptical will see less of me.

A group called Pray It Off obviously has a religious aspect and you won’t find a more caring and generous group of people. We pray weekly for those in our group and their family members who may be sick or in need as well as the strength to continue on the weight loss path.

One might ask why I'm still going to the meetings? Well, I really like the people and enjoy seeing them every week. My weight is normal for the first time in over twenty years. I don’t trust myself with food. If I am not accountable, I may undo all the good it took me six months to accomplish. In the eleven weeks since I reached my goal I have fluctuated between having lost 60 and 62 pounds. I never want to get to 59, so I still go to the meetings.

With God’s blessing, and Ellen’s help, the normal size me is here to stay."