Mother and Son Slim Down Together

by Jacki Donaldson (Subscribe to Jacki Donaldson's posts)
Sep 14th 2009 11:00AM

Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation, Success Stories

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Collin and Krista Robinson: Before
Photo: Krista Robinson

Name: Krista Robinson / Collin Robinson

Age: Krista, 38 / Collin, 11

Height: Krista, 5'10" / Collin, 5'3"

Before weight: Krista, 333.5 / Collin, 249

Krista tells how they gained it: Basically, I've struggled since college with my weight. It started with the Freshman 15. Once I had Collin, there were the challenges of being a single parent, raising an infant, trying to work, going to graduate school -- and things spiraled into doing everything as quickly as I could, meals included. We got into the bad habit in the past few years of eating fast food, store-bought food, take-out foods -- it was a lot of "hurry up and get dinner" so we could do homework and everything else. There was always something else, and our weights quickly got out of control -- we were eating out most meals every week in order to save time. We just needed to stop and think about what we were doing.

Breaking point: The doctor told us both together, with very little subtlety, that we needed to do something right away. Collin's weight was increasing rapidly, and the doctor said this was not OK. So we joined a gym, and we were gung-ho at first. But it faded out because we didn't have time. Then another year slipped by, and we went back to the doctor, who said we needed to make radical changes right away. At the same time, a very close co-worker of mine shared her concerns -- I'd been having a lot of migraines and was sick a lot, and she asked if my weight might have something to do with it.

The weight was just coming on so fast, and I think I was waiting for someone to call me on it. I had a lot of guilt about what was happening to Collin -- he was just eating what I told him to eat, and I really felt responsible for that. I was at my wit's end. One night, I went online and typed in "fat camp," and Wellspring Camps came up. It's kind of an anti-fat camp, really, and I liked the approach. I collected more information, I talked to someone about the program, then I signed up. I was determined to do it without considering the initial impact at that time -- it was that important.

A slimmer Krista Robinson
Photo: Krista Robinson

How they lost it: We did the family camp option at Wellspring in Pinehurst, N.C., where each child is accompanied by an adult. We stayed for two weeks in an amazing resort, which exceeded my expectations and needs. There were a lot of family activities, but we were separated a lot -- the kids had classes, behavioral counseling, coaching and exercise, while the parents attended seminars on the science behind Wellspring, obesity, genetics, how our bodies react to putting on and taking off weight, stress management and more. We also went kayaking, swimming, hiking, and we took two-mile walks every day. We completely immersed ourselves in what we were doing -- we didn't bring food from home, we stayed on their plan, and we left with a contract so we could be successful at home.

Our contract states that we'll take five to seven walks a week, we'll log 10,000 steps on the pedometer five out of seven days, we won't eat in front of the TV (ever!), we'll journal our food intake six out of seven days, and Collin can choose a reward if he hits his goals for the week (a movie, putt-putt golf, bowling, but no food rewards).

What's great about Wellspring is that they don't just tell you how to do something, they show you how to do it. We took a field trip to a grocery store and had to find substitutes for our favorite foods. It was an empowering experience. We ate a lot of Ben & Jerry's, and now we eat Haagen-Dazs chocolate low-fat sorbet, with less than 2 grams of fat for the whole pint. And Collin has a great and wondrous new snack he'd like to share with other kids (see recipe below).

A slimmer Collin Robinson
Photo: Krista Robinson

We came home from Wellspring on a Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, we purged our kitchen and donated foods to a local food bank. Instead of junk, we keep low-fat snacks on hand -- pretzels, fruits and veggies, Special K bars (Collin is a huge fan of the strawberry bars). Collin even took his own snacks to summer camp, because he refused to eat what they provided. He has changed so completely since he's lost weight. He's personally empowered to look at foods and make decisions about what he wants to do and doesn't want to do. And I've made our house a completely safe place -- there's is nothing there he can't have.

After weight: Krista, 291 / Collin, 208

Krista and Collin have been consistently losing weight since they returned home from camp. They keep setting small goals. When they reach a goal, they set another. "We're getting there, we're not perfect yet," says Krista. "But I am so happy we went to the camp -- we are doing much better than if we tried to do it ourselves."

Collin's Pizza Bagels

Ingredients:

1 Lender's onion-flavored bagel, 200 calories and 1.5 grams of fat
1/4 cup of Ragu spaghetti sauce flavored with meat 45 calories and 1.5 grams fat
1/4 cup fat-free shredded mozzarella, 45 calories and 0 grams of fat

Directions:

Top bagel with spaghetti sauce.
Add low-fat mozzarella cheese.
Toast and eat!

Serves 1, contains 290 calories and 3 grams of fat

Find out from chief marketing officer John Gordon what sets Wellspring Camps apart from other weight-loss programs.

Click through the gallery below for more inspiring diet duo stories.

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Double the Weight Loss

By Mary Kearl

Mother-Daughter Diet Duo: Sherrie and Courtney Harris, Before

Sherrie's Starting Weight: 285 Lbs
Courtney's Starting Weight: 217 Lbs
Typical Pre-Diet Day: For both, most meals consisted of fast food, fried foods and carb-heavy sides like mac and cheese and mashed potatoes. Neither paid attention to portion sizes. "Exercise was changing the channels on the remote, or going up the stairs to watch TV in our rooms as we ate M&M's or Cheez-Its," Sherrie adds.

Provided by Sherrie Harris

Double the Weight Loss Success

Provided by Sherrie Harris

Mother-Daughter Diet Duo: Sherrie and Courtney Harris, After

Sherrie's Current Weight: 138 Lbs
Courtney's Current Weight: 151 Lbs
Why Weight Watchers? "My attitude towards diet and fitness has done a full 180! I am well aware now of what 'portion control' means! It's all about portion control in actuality. With Weight Watchers, I can have whatever I want, however, [the question is] whether or not I want to spend the points for whatever the item is. I treat my points allotment as a checkbook. Would I buy something at full price or wait until it goes on sale? I try always to get the most bang for my points," says Sherrie.
Why Losing Together Helped: "Because if I got discouraged and felt I couldn't do it, I could go to Mama, and we would get through it together," Courtney says.
Sherrie adds, "Courtney is a culinary student and does 95 percent of the cooking in our house. She was doing the cooking when I started Weight Watchers and would call me at work and ask what I wanted for dinner. We would discuss the healthy way to prepare it, and it was done ... So it has encompassed my entire family."

Provided by Sherrie Harris

Successful Spouses: Cathy and Pat Sullivan, Before

Cathy's Starting Weight: 217 Lbs
Patrick's Starting Weight: 257 Lbs
Typical Pre-Diet Day: No breakfast; no real meal for lunch -- just junk food like chips, crackers and fast food; and dinner consisted of fatty foods, few vegetables and fruits, and dishes served with sauce or gravy.

Provided by Cathy Sullivan

Successful Spouses: Cathy and Pat Sullivan, After

Cathy's Current Weight: 164 Lbs
Patrick's Current Weight: 185 Lbs
Why Weight Watchers? "Just being in a room with other people in the same situation [helped]. Plus, it was encouraging to listen to other people's stories and ideas, and to share our own insights," Cathy explained.
Why Losing Together Helped: "Because I wasn't trying to cook for me and then something else for my family," says Cathy. "Because we both wanted to feel better and look better, and we were both on the same page all the way around. We were able to support each other in every aspect."
Tip for Those Going Solo: "If you can commit yourself to doing it, then great. But if you want extra incentive, extra motivation and a better chance of taking the weight off and keeping it off -- then try it with someone. You are not alone -- you have a support system, even if it is just one other person. In the end, you are more motivated because you want to prove to this other person that yes, you can do it!"

Provided by Cathy Sullivan

Twin Sisters Fabiana and Simona Dixon, Before

Fabiana's Starting Weight: 197 Lbs
Simona's Starting Weight: 197.4 Lbs
Typical Pre-Diet Day: "We would wake up and go to McDonald's for an Egg McMufffin with two hash browns and a glass of orange juice. Then we would each have a bagel with extra cream cheese to hold us over until lunch, when we would go to Chipotle and have the steak burrito with everything (not to mention a side of chips and guacamole each). Around 3 or 4 p.m. we would have a couple of candy bars and a bag of chips each (Munchos or Doritos with a king-size Twix and/or Kit Kat bar). For dinner we would eat two baskets of chips with salsa, soup and a bean and rice burrito, a chicken enchilada and rice and beans. We would then hit up Baskin-Robbins for a double-scoop hot fudge sundae. We had as many calories in a day as we now have in a week! This was our starting point and our rock bottom," the sisters explained in an e-mail.

Courtesy of Fabiana and Simona Dixon

Fabiana and Simona Dixon, After

Fabiana's Current Weight: 149.6 Lbs
Simona's Current Weight: 147.2 Lbs
Why Weight Watchers? "Weight Watchers taught us how to stop dieting -- which in our opinion means a temporary solution -- and start living, which is a change in lifestyle. They helped us get to the core of our issues and find out why we find comfort in food. Only after these issues are addressed can a permanent change truly be made," the sisters explained.
Why Losing Together Worked: "Having a partner to lose weight with ... keeps you accountable, provides support and keeps you motivated. You don't want to let them, or yourself, down ..."
Accountability: "Going to the gym with someone gives you less opportunity for excuses. Plus, you know if you don't go, that person will be calling and calling you to get you to come."
No Cheating Allowed: "On bad days or days when one of us feels discouraged, one will deter the other from hitting the Taco Bell drive-thru and instead suggest a walk or making Mexican food at home, with fat-free beans and fat-free sour cream. You would be amazed at how good you feel that you didn't 'cheat' that day!"
Staying Motivated: "You see the other one's losses on the scale and if they can do it, you can too!"
Keeps You on Your Toes: "Working out together brings out a little of our competitive sides, and we then push one another to run that extra two minutes, sprint that much harder, lift that extra five pounds or play that extra game of basketball."

Courtesy of Fabiana and Simona Dixon

Amy Hess (Partnered With Her Weight Watchers Team), Before

Starting Weight: 212 Lbs
Typical Pre-Diet Day: "[I ate] lots of fast food and restaurant take-out. I never felt like I was done with a meal unless I was very full. And every meal consisted of an appetizer, main course and dessert."

Provided by Lynette Giles McMillin

Amy Hess (Partnered With Her Weight Watchers Team), After

Current Weight: 155 Lbs
Why Weight Watchers? "If a day goes by that I don't get a workout in that was planned, I feel slighted, cheated out of that time. Trying new foods, many of which are suggested at meetings and in our group, has shown me so many new options and made me realize that I like more variety than I imagined."
Why Losing Together Helps: "Working out with a partner makes the time go by faster. I have someone there cheering me on -- [it also builds up] my competitive side, which also makes the workouts more exciting. It's easier to fight the good fight when you have reinforcements."

Provided by Lynette Giles McMillin

Lynette McMillin (Partnered With Her Weight Watchers Team), Before

Starting Weight: 158 Lbs
Typical Pre-Diet Day: "First, I would drink Coca-Cola all throughout the day. I would go for days not remembering my last glass of water. If I ate breakfast, it was Chick-fil-A biscuits with hash browns or a sugary cereal. Lunch was usually large portions of leftovers from the night before, or nibbles of chicken nuggets off of the kids' plates with cookies, chips and candies throughout the day. Dinner [consisted of] meat-heavy dishes and lots of potatoes or pasta. It would be pizza and fast foods if it was a busy night ... and after the kids were finally in bed, let the snacking begin!"

Provided by Lynette Giles McMillin

Lynette McMillin (Partnered With Her Weight Watchers Team), After

Current Weight: 122 Lbs
Why Weight Watchers? "I needed to see people who were transparent in their struggle so I didn't feel like such a loser in this area of my life. I also needed to see people who were succeeding, so that I knew it would be possible to reach my goals. At the Weight Watchers meetings there were beginners, people who were still losing, people who were backsliding and people who had already reached goal -- I needed every one of their stories!"
Why Losing Together Helped: "I am a very busy mom of four who is not used to spending time and energy on herself. If I had tried to do this alone, I would have quit very early in my program. When I started asking these girls to hold me accountable, they helped turn this discipline and new lifestyle into fun. They encouraged me when I had a bad week, gave me new recipes, exercised with me when I didn't think I could work out, slapped me around when I started to backslide and make dumb choices and cheered my successes in a way that made me feel that this time and effort I was finally spending on myself was worth it."

Provided by Lynette Giles McMillin

Comments (19)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Kayla 9-17-2009 @ 9:57AM

Wow! All I can say is congratulations to these two, and others who have done this. It takes a lot of hard work to accomplish this, and they deserve the recognition.

pmcindoe 9-15-2009 @ 9:56AM

Losing weight is very tough, but diets don't work. The only thing that works and keeps the weight off is making changes in your lifestyle.

Sonja 9-15-2009 @ 10:09AM

Im on your team Noel nothing like bringing someone down that has worked so hard. Mom and son ya'll keep up the good work.

stacy 9-15-2009 @ 10:19AM

I am happy that they both lost weight..However, that child should of never been that big in the beginning..That is POOR parenting on her part. Adults can choose to be fat or not. A child doesn't have a choice. They eat what is put on the table and if you choose to put fat stuff on the table, give large portions, and seconds that is lack of parenting.. She should should be ashamed of herself.

holly 9-15-2009 @ 10:34AM

get off your high horse will you! At least she is doing something to help him! people like you cant look at the present but instead want to dweal on the past, whats done is done Im sure she has guilt b/c if she didnt she wouldnt be trying to correct the issue now! Give praise for what she's doing to help him now

Gabrielle 9-15-2009 @ 10:41AM

I believe the mom already feels bad enough and has said this much about the weight gain of her son. It's not cool to bash her on top of that. She's doing something about it and she can be proud of herself and her son. Food can be like an addiction and the worse thing anyone can do when someone needs help is to kick them.

Personally, I've lost 24 pounds over the past few months. I started out saving sweets for the weekend, eating half of what I normally eat. Once a few pounds came off, I started swimming on a daily basis. I would have never believed that I wouldn't miss chocolate but I don't, don't do sweets too much even on weekends. I eat more veggies (love those Steamer bags) and more yoghurt.

I have 18 more pounds to loose to make my goal of 130 pounds. My heart goes out to everyone in this struggle.

Suzanne 9-15-2009 @ 10:41AM

Stacy-
You have clearly never struggled with your weight or been a working parent to say such a thing. I have always been heavy and my parents ALWAYS cooked dinner and it wasn't that prepackaged, high sodium stuff. We ate more because it tasted good, it was homemade. Are you suggesting that parents feed their children bad tasting flavorless food? Or better yet, skip the diet altogether and give the child a tapeworm to lose the weight(sarcasm). I didn't eat because of stress or that I hated myself- I ate because it tasted good. Perhaps that's where you do not understand. I wonder what you would have done instead if you were Krista, a single mom? I applaud them both for losing the weight but you have no right to judge her parenting skills.

LIZ 9-15-2009 @ 10:51AM

WHAT GIVES YOU THE RIGHT TO CRITICIZE OTHER PEOPLE? UNLESS YOU HAVE A DEGREE IN SOMETHING YOU CAN ABSOLUTELY NOT EXPECT SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO YOUR IGNORANT ADVICE.

Stop Throwing Stones 9-15-2009 @ 11:19AM

Stacy,
Pardon me, but isn't the story about how she saw her mistake and is doing everything she can to rectify it? What does she have to be ashamed of now?
Let's try to accentuate the positive and go easy on the negative.
thanks

Ronnie Mann 9-16-2009 @ 7:00PM

Kind of mean-spirited, aren't you? Telling her she made poor choices - she knows this - is like telling someone to be careful after they've tripped and fallen down.

Why don't you, in the future, confine your comments to helpful ones, instead of trying to make someone who has accomplished something feel badly?

Brenda 9-15-2009 @ 10:53AM

yea, the mom shouldnt have allowed her son to get that large but give the woman credit for god sakes! She recognized the problem and dealt with it. Mean people suck! Dont be so harsh. Had she not done anything about it then you would have a right to criticize her. You should praise her and Colin both.

KATHY 9-15-2009 @ 11:07AM

Losing weight is very hard but my husband,daughter and myself have been doing it together. Between us we are down about 120 pounds combinded. Our secret is keeping each other in check. I give big kudos to all the people i've seen in these pics. What great accomplishments!!! We have alot more to go but we will do it!! keep up the great work everyone!

heidi 9-15-2009 @ 11:25AM

The son looks better than he did but the mother needs alot more work.

trekkor1228msn 9-15-2009 @ 12:59PM

83 total?? looks like the son accounted for 82 of it.....

Dawn 9-15-2009 @ 2:36PM

Congrats! Keep up the hard work. I have lost 65 lbs this year and I have about 25 lbs to go. It feels great and it adds years onto your life.

OnlyMyOpinion 9-15-2009 @ 11:58AM

It's the fast food, pre-packaged food and pre-made food that packs on the pounds. First of all, they are fat and calorie laden, but secondly they are much bigger than what you would make at home for yourself. Not being active and sitting all the time is a major contributing factor to obesity as well. You don't need radical diets---everything in moderation is key, and getting a reasonable amount of movement and exercise in is important as well. With kids especially, lack of exercise is the biggest thing----nowadays, children sit in front of the TV, play video games and eat junk all day long instead of going outside and playing and running around. A kid can eat anything if they get enough exercise!! But, kids grow up and learn what they are taught---and if their parents are couch potatoes, then they are going to be couch potatoes too. Instead of pastas, breads and other complex carbs, vegetables and fruits should be the major component of your diet, with protein coming in second. Things like soda, juice, those calorie-laden coffee drinks, candy, chips, and even gum add a lot of useless calories every day. Cut out drinking sodas, juices and high-calorie drinks and replace them with water or drinks like Crystal Light, and you save thousands of alories each week!! Don't snack on candy and chips, snack on apples, peaches, plums, and other "handy fruits" you can keep in your purse or glove compartment, and you save thousands of calories weekly there as well. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure these things out---just a little research, a little brains and a little effort. Making a meal at home doesn't have to take any longer than running out and driving to Burger King----it's just that people don't want to put in the effort because they are LAZY!! Going through a drive-thru is EASIER and the food is already made!! I think a lot of it comes down to just plain laziness too---you don't put on hundreds of pounds in a week. It takes months, even years to gain that much weight----but for some reason, people want the weight to come off in a week, and that isn't going to happen, and they get pissed off when they hear that it will take months and possibly years to lose all that weight. So, then they just decide to have gastric bypass surgery and hope that will be the "quick fix" they've been looking for. Get up off your ass, shut your mouth and have some discipline, and you can lose the weight----but guess what? If you did that from the beginning, you wouldn't be obese to begin with!!!

dbrockskk 9-15-2009 @ 5:20PM

HOW MUCH???? all I could find was a deal for $500 off tuition! OMG!

lu 9-15-2009 @ 7:32PM

TO ME THEY DO NOT LOOK LIKE THE SAM PEOPLE

JJ 9-16-2009 @ 11:22AM

GREAT WORK!!! YOU BOTH HAVE COME SO FAR!!! You’re doing great! Keep up the good work! Team work is a wonderful thing and it’s great to see that you work so well together!

Keep moving forward.

Onward~ JJ