Janet Ditched Her Negative Thoughts and Lost 200 Pounds

Janet Before

Name: Janet M. Samp

Age: 53

Height: 5 feet, 1 inch

Before Weight: 337 pounds

How I Gained It: All my life I struggled with my weight -- I have lived with being the butt of the fat jokes. I would lose weight and even keep it off for a while, then I would gain it all back, as well as additional pounds. I'm pretty sure I have tried every diet that has ever been invented.

Breaking Point: My breaking point came when I had a very big wake-up call. My mother passed away at the age of 62, and I realized that I didn't want to follow in her footsteps. I wanted to live and be free of the burden of carrying all that weight around. I wanted to be healthy. I would do it for the right reasons.

How I Lost It: I started by developing a diet of healthy foods I would allow myself to eat. I bought a treadmill, which I planned on actually using. I began with the commitment that I would be honest with myself about the food I ate and promised myself to give exercise a try. I also journaled each step I took and each mouth of food that I ate.

The first time I walked on the treadmill, I could walk for only five minutes. It might not seem like much, but for me, it was a very proud five minutes. Every day I added a few minutes. It was hard but so very rewarding to know I was doing something that I had never thought I would be able to do. It wasn't long before I was walking three miles a day. I put 3,000 miles on my treadmill over the course of two years before it gave out on me. I've never been so excited about buying a new piece of furniture as I was to buy my next treadmill! I even bought a sleeker, newer model.

By the time the treadmill had given out, I had lost 100 pounds. Life was good, and I felt great. I felt skinny at 235 pounds -- I wasn't even concerned about losing any more weight. For the first time, I felt that I could eat what I wanted as long as I was reasonable with portion size. By not denying myself anything, I wasn't feeling deprived, and I didn't feel like I had to eat all of the good stuff in one sitting. I did eliminate fried foods and fast food from my life, however. They just don't contribute anything to my healthy lifestyle.

I devoted the next two years to maintaining and exercising more, but then came a true test of my willpower. My husband and I decided to sell our home and build a new one. It took one whole long and stressful year and by the time we had moved into our new home I was fighting to keep my weight off. It also made me realize that I shouldn't stop at 235 pounds -- I wanted to take even more off my small frame.

I was feeling panicked and desperate, and I decided that only one drastic step could help: I was going to have weight loss surgery. I made an appointment with my doctor for a physical and to discuss my options with him. He suggested that I try the Medifast diet before resorting to surgery. I was up for it -- after all, I had only weight to lose. He said he would monitor me closely and offer all the support I needed. My intention was to try the diet for a month or so and see what happened; but that month turned into 12, and I lost another 120 pounds. That was one of the happiest years of my life. The feeling of losing weight I never expected to lose was very overwhelming to me.

But the outside was changing so rapidly that my inside feelings weren't able to keep up -- I still felt like the fat person everyone would make rude comments about. In fact, I still have to remind myself that when someone looks at me that it isn't because I'm the fattest person in the room.

After losing 120 pounds, I was down to 115 pounds. I never even dreamed it was possible to weigh so little. However, it wasn't a weight I could maintain. I gained 20 pounds quickly after I started to eat normal food again. But that was OK with me; my goal was never to be skinny, as it was all about being healthy right from the beginning.

Because health was my primary focus, the first thing I did when I was off the diet was hire a personal trainer. He has pushed me, encouraged me and listened to all my complaints, and it's worked. I'm happy to say I have never been physically stronger than I am at this moment in my life. I'm also working on eating only a clean, healthy diet.

Through all my weight loss, the one thing I've discovered is that you may be what you eat, but you are also what you think. If I felt like a failure, I was going to fail. But now, when I start having negative thoughts, I remind myself that even when I slip up a little, I am a success, and I will always be a success story.

After Weight: 135 pounds

Janet continues to maintain her weight loss, and encouragement from her personal trainer always helps.

Is the Medifast diet for you? Our expert reviewers have weighed in on whether they think it's healthy.