“Before I found HMR I was a size 24. I was an obese child and have always had weight problems. I tried more diets than I can count, but I’d lose the weight and gain it back. I felt like I was twice my age and I was exhausted. I am a teacher, so typically I’d go to the cafeteria and have whatever unhealthy food was coming out of the kitchen that day. I went to my physician and I was told that if I kept up with my unhealthy habits I would be a candidate for a heart attack within the next 5-10 years. She told me that unless I did something about my weight, she would have to refer me to a bariatric surgeon.

“If I had kept going at the rate I was, I would have physically done some irreversible things to my body. My weight was not creeping up… it was galloping!

“With HMR I have changed my entire life. I have new friends, I go to the gym, everything has changed. HMR eliminated my decision-making. I didn’t have a history of good decision-making surrounding food, so I was glad to have HMR make them for me! I still eat a tremendous amount—I’ve just learned to change what I’m eating. I can see myself in the HMR classes and using meal replacements ten years from now. I need the support and the skills they offer.

“I’m a realist. I know obesity and I’m going to need the accountability that HMR give me for a long time. Now that I have lost the weight I am a size 6. I bought an entire wardrobe. I couldn’t stop shopping—I was so thrilled not to go into the plus-size section of the department stores. I’m living my life as a healthy person now, and nothing is more important than that.

“Now, the world is my oyster!”