Roseann Lost 90 When She Turned 30
Categories: Diet & Weight Loss, Motivation, Success Stories
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Name: Roseann Dashkowitz
Age: 47
Height: 5 feet 10 inches
Before weight: 240
How I gained it: Growing up in the '60s, eating nutritional, low-fat foods was not a priority for most people, so fat-laden but wonderful homemade meals made up my childhood memories. Having two overweight parents meant that portion control was not important at all, and overeating was a very common thing at my house. Being one of the very few overweight kids in my entire school, my mom put me on my first diet when I was 10, and although the weight slipped right off, it was the beginning of a 20-year weight roller coaster for me. By the time I hit my teen years, I felt very unaccepted in my peer group, and of course, kids that age made sure I knew that I didn't belong. I walked in the door the first day of school of my senior year weighing in at a healthy 140 pounds, and I graduated nine months later at almost 240! I married at 24 and had twins exactly one year later. The next five years proved to be a time of extreme fluctuations in my weight, as I would starve myself, lose 70 pounds or so, and in a matter of months, gain it all back -- plus some. I had begun exercising, but just could not get a handle on how to keep the weight off.
Breaking point: Turning 30 made me realize I needed to make a life-long change. I began to see that my girls needed a mom to help them make good eating decisions, or they, too, would find themselves going through the same pain that I had. I was determined to lose the weight once and for all, and stop the yo-yo cycle.
How I lost it: I followed a Weight Watchers diet on my own, and for the hundredth time, lost that same 70 pounds. It took me about five months to lose the bulk of the weight, and at that point, I bought a book on weight lifting, purchased free weights and a bench set, and I assembled it all in the furnace room of my house. I took a weight lifting class at the local gym, and that was the beginning of my new road to fitness. Once I joined the gym and began working out consistently three days a week, and as I got into better condition, I added cardiovascular workouts as well. I've participated in many races and walks and even a sprint triathlon.
I have totally changed my eating habits -- I eat very healthy six days a week. I still allow myself one day a week when I eat basically whatever I like, which usually involves French fries and a milk shake! I consider this the rest of my life, and I know that a once-a-week treat is not going to throw me back into an old lifestyle.
I am very happy to be going to my 30-year high school reunion next May, as I am certain that I look better than I did all those years ago, and I know I'll never be the fat girl in the class. Now, that girl and young woman who was so out of place and unhappy is a faded memory. The greatest outcome from all of this is that my own children are very health-minded and make exercise and eating right a daily part of their lives.
After weight: 150
Roseann has maintained her weight loss for 17 years.
Weight Watchers might be a good diet for you to start with, too. AOL Health takes a look at the simple and flexible plan.
Roseann Dashkowitz, Before
Photo: Roseann Dashkowitz
Age: 47
Height: 5 feet 10 inches
Before weight: 240
How I gained it: Growing up in the '60s, eating nutritional, low-fat foods was not a priority for most people, so fat-laden but wonderful homemade meals made up my childhood memories. Having two overweight parents meant that portion control was not important at all, and overeating was a very common thing at my house. Being one of the very few overweight kids in my entire school, my mom put me on my first diet when I was 10, and although the weight slipped right off, it was the beginning of a 20-year weight roller coaster for me. By the time I hit my teen years, I felt very unaccepted in my peer group, and of course, kids that age made sure I knew that I didn't belong. I walked in the door the first day of school of my senior year weighing in at a healthy 140 pounds, and I graduated nine months later at almost 240! I married at 24 and had twins exactly one year later. The next five years proved to be a time of extreme fluctuations in my weight, as I would starve myself, lose 70 pounds or so, and in a matter of months, gain it all back -- plus some. I had begun exercising, but just could not get a handle on how to keep the weight off.
Breaking point: Turning 30 made me realize I needed to make a life-long change. I began to see that my girls needed a mom to help them make good eating decisions, or they, too, would find themselves going through the same pain that I had. I was determined to lose the weight once and for all, and stop the yo-yo cycle.
Roseann Dashkowitz, After
Photo: Roseann Dashkowitz
How I lost it: I followed a Weight Watchers diet on my own, and for the hundredth time, lost that same 70 pounds. It took me about five months to lose the bulk of the weight, and at that point, I bought a book on weight lifting, purchased free weights and a bench set, and I assembled it all in the furnace room of my house. I took a weight lifting class at the local gym, and that was the beginning of my new road to fitness. Once I joined the gym and began working out consistently three days a week, and as I got into better condition, I added cardiovascular workouts as well. I've participated in many races and walks and even a sprint triathlon.
I have totally changed my eating habits -- I eat very healthy six days a week. I still allow myself one day a week when I eat basically whatever I like, which usually involves French fries and a milk shake! I consider this the rest of my life, and I know that a once-a-week treat is not going to throw me back into an old lifestyle.
I am very happy to be going to my 30-year high school reunion next May, as I am certain that I look better than I did all those years ago, and I know I'll never be the fat girl in the class. Now, that girl and young woman who was so out of place and unhappy is a faded memory. The greatest outcome from all of this is that my own children are very health-minded and make exercise and eating right a daily part of their lives.
After weight: 150
Roseann has maintained her weight loss for 17 years.
Weight Watchers might be a good diet for you to start with, too. AOL Health takes a look at the simple and flexible plan.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
DearPru 10-19-2009 @ 8:17PM
This is really inspirational! I have almost the same story and it is great to see someone overcome it! Right now I'm at the same 240 she was. Hopefully, I can look as good as she does when I get to 150!
Reply
Roseann Dashkowitz 10-21-2009 @ 12:18PM
Good Luck to you Pru
Having been overweight my entire life, prior to 30, I love to encourage others who are on the same road as myself. It isn't easy, but it is well worth the struggle and hard work to get here! Good luck and don't give up or give in!
Pat 10-19-2009 @ 4:09PM
I am 66, have crippling arthritis, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
I weigh 305lbs. I love my husband dearly, but he is a very controling person. I have absolutely no choices in anything. I can ask for something and if we have the money he will buy it for me. I cant buy a stick of gum. He has been really hard to live with for all these years, but after I almost died, spent week in ICU, with diabetes, he has treated me better that he ever has...I have a built up anger, tho, that has resulted in steady weight gain. I am so depressed that I wonder what it would take to make me feel any better. I walk, but extremely slowly and painfully, with a cane.
Our 47th anniversary is today, and I am getting a lift-chair...which is more than I have ever gotten before. I take anti-depressant pills, and I try not to think about my situation. Abraham Lincoln said WE ARE AS HAPPY AS WE MAKE UP OUR MINDS TO BE.
I try to live by that. Of course, nobody can be on game every day, and today is definitely a down day. I nned to lose weight/or die.
I cant get enough exercise; I dont eat a lot. I dont know what to do.
Any suggestions, anyone out there? Pat
Reply
judgenot 10-19-2009 @ 4:17PM
Keep it simple. Get divorced. The rest will come.
jlr458 10-19-2009 @ 4:22PM
Pat,I know it is a hard decision to make but Gastric Surgery is a good tool to help you. It is not the solve all but it helps you lose the weight, the reason you gained the weight is still there but this gives you a tool to lose the weight and get to a point where you can start to exercise.
Annette 10-19-2009 @ 4:49PM
Pat,
I have been where you are.
My husband past away and left me in a very low self esteem state thinking I was too sick and big to ever be better or attractive to another man. After his death I pulled myself up and got the Gastric bypass surgery. It was the best decision I ever made.
It not only saved my life it gave mea whole new life.
I lost 130lbs and I reversed my dibetes and all the other thing fell into place. I was on fifteen meds and a shot everyday.In eight six month I was off of all meds. I have kept it off for three years.
It is not an easy fit but it is a life saver. Today I am dating a man that thinks I am the cat's meow.
You go girl !!! But only you can help yourself and it is not over until you give up. Don't ever give up. You are in my prayers.
jenwinn1984 10-19-2009 @ 4:54PM
Pat gotta say that an unhappy relationship will definitely add and keep those pounds on, I went into a relationship weighing around 220 which yes is quite high regardless but I'd not increased my weight in years, got with a controlling and verbally degrading man, had a child, and put on more weight after my child and was continuing on a steady uphill climb to almost 350. I finally left him 4 years later this last may and I have lost over 60 lbs since then, yes eating less but not on a diet by any means ... I feel and look so much better and it's because I'm not so depressed and I know there ARE guys out there that will treat me better. =) I have also considered the gastric bypass but honestly, I don't think I can only eat a golfball sized amount of food 2-3 times a day and be satisfied, and with the gastric bypass that is exactly what size they take your stomach to. I've been to the seminars and dr's consultations. And I know people that have gone through all of it and still gained the weight back (although moreso on the lapband but both surgeries are not 100% effective and a pain in the butt to get reversed.) Consider all your options, and not just the ones that will help your weight issues, consider all aspects of your life that you are unhappy in. hope that helps.
Sara 10-20-2009 @ 9:18AM
Pat -- I tried every diet pill and program under the sun and nothing worked because my stress level was too high and my energy too low. After my hysterectomy, I gained my energy back and started walking. Then, I got divorced and my stress level went down so much that I wasn't hungry and eating near as much (I ate alot from depression). I am happier, healthier, skinnier, and didn't use pills or strict diet plans to achieve it. The biggest help -- friends to talk to! Set up a Facebook and get connected with old friends...you'd be surprised at how happy it'll make you to reconnect with old friends.
Esther Fowler 10-19-2009 @ 5:46PM
Pat, I'm 64, lived just like you, all but had a place of business, till I had a complete nervous breakdown and had to get help to even live to the next day. You have to get out of it. I was told this by my doctors, at the time, I had a underage child plus my place of business. It took him coming against our son to get me out of it but thank God something happened and here I am 160 lb. now and happy. I don't mean by having another man either. I don't know if I'll ever be able to let that happen again or nor but you can say I'm out of being treated like a stupid idiot. You can do the same too. Get out of the s????and be good to yourself and it'll surely be good for you. Say to yourself...Give me 2 weeks to get away. Have family members or neighbors to help you hidden ways then ZAP OUTTA THERE..lET US KNOW THEN OK. OK.
Chip 10-19-2009 @ 9:45PM
Pat,
As a diabetic and life long obese person, I understand your anger. Please keep in mind that there are so many things outside of our control that it is impossible to take on those responsibilities. Focus more on the things that you can control and try to get rid of the anger. Check out my blog on my weight loss struggle if you get a chance. http://one-step-at-a-time-for-life.blogspot.com/
brktru07 10-19-2009 @ 6:58PM
As I read your post, I couldn't help but to respond and tell you to be encouraged. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Abraham Lincoln was right about "making our minds up to be happy", but in order to do that we have to flood our thoughts with positive things...Even when everything looks wrong. To make my point, my 6 year old was diagnosised with autism at 6 years old, but I chose to believe and repeat promises from the Bible out loud about what I wanted to see. So instead of saying what the doctors said, I said he would talk, he would be mainstreamed in school, he would be able to play socially, he would be able to think abstractly. he would be able to care for himself etc. etc; and I worked toward helping him in all those areas. Within 2 years all those things came into being. During that time I had a lot of bad days when I cried and wanted to give up because it appeared that despite all my efforts he not only was not getting better, but he appeared to be getting worst...but I never gave up on God's word that says "...I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health,... 3 John 1:2.....or that my son was "... fearfully and wonderfully made:.." Psalm 139:14. Lastly, the Bible says in Romans 4:17 "...calleth those things which be not as though they were." So instead of saying what you are not, speak what you want to see. Continue to walk and do all the doctors tell you, but state the promises everyday, when you feel like it say, when you don't say it, when you think about saying, say it, and especially when you feel down, say it. As your mind changes and your situation and condition has no choice but to change to. Be encouraged and God Bless!
Teresa 10-26-2009 @ 2:58AM
Pat, why are you staying with your husband? That is the problem there. Life is hard enough so no one needs to be with someone that bad. He is more of a liability than an asset. That is the way you need to look at it. God did not put you on this earth to be with him. You do not have to put up with anything. You have a choice and if your environment is negative than you must make it a positive one. You have been married a long time but don't let the numbers scare you. When you can get happy than you can lose the weight or enough to get you in a decent shape. People will bring you down. He is not happy and he will not make you happy. He needs help also.
Jo 10-19-2009 @ 4:41PM
Pat, I feel for you. If you are like me, divorce isn't an option as a personal choice. I am 46 and 270. What most people don't understand is that most obese people eat less than they do on a consistant basis. My body has been in survival mode since the birth of my 2 children age 17/10 now. I can not find the combination of food choices, calorie intake, and excercise that will allow my body to start burning fat as fuel. This is not an endorsement, but I just today bought a copy of Crack the Fat-Loss
Code, by Wendy Chant. A friend said that this book will change my life and provide an answer to my problem. I am hopeful, maybe it might help you.
Reply
mrsloav 10-19-2009 @ 4:42PM
This past April I had the bypass surgery, at age 56. It is the best thing I have ever done for myself and my family. When people ask I tell them what I did. It isn't for everyone and a person will find that out during the rigorous preparation s for the surgery. If a person can get through all that testing and still want to keep going they will be successful. So far I am down 60 pounds. When I went below 200 I cried since the 200s have been around for 26 years. Good luck and God bless to anyone thinking of the procedure.
Reply
Pat 10-19-2009 @ 4:44PM
Thanks guys for your replies to my comments. Will consider advice. God bless, Pat
Reply
Fran 10-19-2009 @ 5:08PM
HEY! AOL! WHAT GIVES? EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE POSTS ARE FAKE!!! EVERY SINGLE ONE! UNLESS YOUR SERVER IS ON THE FRITZ, WHEN YOU CLICK ON THE SCREEN NAMES IT TAKES YOU RIGHT BACK TO THIS PAGE.
THERE MUST BE SOME WAY TO NAIL YOU FOR MANIPULATION OR FRAUD OR SOM ETHING. IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME COMING BUT I AM ABSOLUTELY DONE WITH YOUR ISP.
Reply
kevin 10-19-2009 @ 5:15PM
wow.."Bigdouche" has anyone ever told you that you are a jerk....and i would forget about that eva thing...it won't EVER happen a-hole
Reply
Fran 10-19-2009 @ 5:15PM
AND NOW I EAT CROW! PLEASE PASS THE GARLIC, BGASIL, & SALT. I'm not certain why this is happening but when you click the screen name, instead of their profile, it gives you a run down of everything they've commented on or posted. This gave me the impressions expressed above.
So sorry to fly off like that.
Reply
Fran 10-19-2009 @ 5:19PM
But, AOL's not completely off the hook. I'd be willing to bet that this is the very same article written up in "People" Magazine, back when her show was #1. I remember reading this, right down to her reasoning re: her girls. I remember that exact photo as well, & thinking to myself"Man, if I could lose that much weight, I sure wouldn't put it back on! Not even for my own SitCom"....so there you go, AOL is Phlagerizing!
Reply
Roseann Dashkowitz 10-21-2009 @ 12:18PM
Are you commenting on the success story titled Roseann lost 90 when she was 30? If you are, then you are confused. I am not Rosanne Barr of the Rosanne sitcom. I am indeed a real person, this story has not every been written anywhere else and it is not about someone else. If you are not commenting on this story, then my apologies.