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BEVANNE ALLMON
My Weight Loss Success Story
By Bevanne Allmon
I am the second to the youngest of six
kids. My mom was obese all of her life as
far as I can remember. Although she had lost
a lot of weight before she passed away and
was the smallest I ever remember seeing her,
she was still overweight. When I was growing
up, I was fairly small but I always had and
still do have a special place in my heart
for big people. I can even remember telling
my mom, "When I grow up I want to be just
like you, fat and all." She would say, "Oh
Honey, you don't want to be fat like me."
Back then I ate candy for every meal I think
and never gained an ounce! After I got to be
overweight and couldn’t seem to get the will
power to lose it, I just tried to convince
myself that I had inherited her obesity and
would probably always be overweight like she
was.
Anyway, when I got married in July 1994,
I was just before turning 20 and I weighed
about 145 pounds. I got pregnant with my
first son four months after we got married.
After I delivered him, I weighed 180 pounds.
I did not "feel" big at that time. In fact,
I worked 55 hours a week up until the day
before he was born. I was always very active
and even the pregnancy didn't slow me down.
Well, four and half years later I gave birth
to my second son. After I delivered him, I
weighed about 220 pounds. Still, I knew the
scales said I weighed that much but I didn't
"feel" big. So I would say I was going to
lose weight, but never could stick to
anything. I can remember using a big mixing
bowl late at night I would eat a couple
bowls full of ice cream or cereal or
sometimes both. Not to mention the countless
number of candy bars, cookies, little Debbie
snacks, etc. that I would eat throughout the
day. Well, then four and a half years later
I gave birth to my third son. After I
delivered him, I weighed about 260 pounds. I
continued to gain weight. By this time I
could tell I was "Big". I would get out of
breath just trying to get up and down out of
the floor playing with my kids. My arms
would get tired just folding two or three
towels and I would have to let them rest
before I could do any more. I would sweat so
much sometimes and wouldn't have to be doing
anything. Like, just blow drying my hair or
washing dishes I would be give out. I felt
like I could just feel people staring at me
because I was so big and I would want to
just run and hide. It would just break my
heart. My self esteem was SO low. I guess I
didn't have a self esteem at all! I never
wanted to dress up nice or do anything to
improve my appearance. I thought, "What's
the use? People will just look at me and
wonder why I even try.” I was having to buy
the largest size clothing that Wal-Mart sold
and then sometimes they would be too tight.
That would only kill my self esteem even
more.
Well, finally, on September19, 2008, I
made a decision that has changed my life
tremendously. I had always gotten on the
scales occasionally and make statements
like, "When I get to 300 I'll go on a diet,”
thinking and secretly hoping I would never
get there. I had tried to diet before but it
seemed like all I had to do was think about
it and I would gain weight, so I'd quit
before I ever got started. Anyway, when I
stepped on the scales on this particular
day, I saw for the first time over 290
pounds. I was actually 293 to be exact. I
realized right then, "I am really going to
get to 300 pounds!" At that time I literally
felt my heart sink deep inside of me and,
instantly, depression set in. I knew I HAD
to do something. So I started walking the
very next day. I chose to try to stay
between 1200-1500 calories a day. That may
sound like a lot, but compared to the
probably 4000-5000 or more I was eating,
this was a big change in my eating habits. I
also quit drinking sodas altogether. If I
had to have one occasionally, it was diet.
But mostly I drank lots and lots of water.
Well, it wasn't long after I started this
that a friend of mine joined me on this
weight loss journey, which helped out SO
much having someone to help me stick to it!
We would walk EVERY night even if it was
raining. We had gotten up to walking about
seven miles a night. In October, the Milan
YMCA started a weight loss contest. So we
joined, mainly for the extra incentive to
stick to it. And boy did it help! By the
time the contest started, I had already lost
13.6 pounds. During the six-week contest,
which ended November 21, I lost 30.6 pounds,
making my total weight loss 44.2 pounds
since September19. By the way, I won the
most over-all weight loss during the contest
and received numerous great prizes for this
accomplishment! One of them was a free
three-month membership to the Milan YMCA. So
I took full advantage of it! I went every
night (with the exception of very few). I
would walk/run on the treadmill for about 45
minutes, then I would ride the bike for 3-40
minutes and I would work out on some of the
machines. I would usually burn anywhere from
700-1200 calories every night. Then I would
go home and work out on the Nintendo Wii
Fit. All this time I would eat anything I
wanted to, I just counted the calories. Now
on weekends I would splurge a little bit,
but come Monday I was back at it! I know
some of you are thinking, "There is no way I
could do all that." But let me tell you,
without the help of my Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, I couldn't have either. I have
stayed in constant prayer several times a
day to get here I am. At this point, a few
people told me they could tell I was losing
weight. That made me feel good and was very
encouraging to me. So I kept dieting.
Through this entire journey I had some
really close friends, including my husband,
who encouraged me, helping me to get to
where I am now. I got to a little bit of a
stand still once I got in the 220’s. I
thought maybe I needed to alter my diet to
trick my body into losing weight again, so I
started the low carb diet. This actually
works! I would alternate this and the 1200
calorie diet about every other week. Anyway,
on March 27, 2009, the Milan YMCA started
another weight loss contest called “Pair It
Down”, and I joined again. I weighed in at
216 pounds and lost a total of 29,4 pounds
during the six week contest. This makes me
losing a total of 106.4 pounds since
September19, 2008.
I feel like a whole new person. I can play
with my kids and never get out of breath. I
have more energy than I have had in years.
I'm smaller now than I've been in over ten
years. It is so nice to be able to shop in
the normal size clothing and not have to try
it on to be sure it's not too tight. Now,
every time I weigh my kids will get all
excited with me about my weight loss. I
thank God for my supportive family and
friends. And I give God ALL the glory!
If there is anyone out there who needs
support in losing weight, I would absolutely
love to be a part of your encouragement. I
can tell you what sort of things I ate
during the period of time I was losing
weight. I would be more than happy to put
you on my prayer list. Anything else I can
do to help you, I will do my best. You can
email me at ______. Please let me be a part
of your weight loss success. Just remember,
"With God All Things Are Possible".
One major key factor that even I am going to
have to remember is that no matter how we
lose the weight, we need to make some
life-long changes in our eating habits if we
want to keep it off!
Good luck and God Bless,
Bevanne Allmon
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More Testimonials
From Dyane Guest:
Hello Fellow YMCA members,
My name is Dyane Guest and I have multiple sclerosis/ cerebral atrophy. I am
a 36 year old woman , mother of two who was diagnosed at the age of 26.
For a long time I had given up on myself, not concerning myself with fitness
at all. I gave myself to the Lord and decided to handle my situation as positive
as I could. The situation had changed in my eyes so I had some physical things i
needed to deal with. That led me to the YMCA.
The disease that I have affects your muscle coordination. It took me awhile to
get where I desired to be , but I'm making progress EVERY SINGLE DAY! When I
first started I couldn't even run on the treadmill, it took all I had to walk
for 30 minutes. Now I'm running and weight lifting! Thanks to the Y I have my
confidence and my stability back!
There is no telling where I would be if the Y
was not around for me to join. Not only have I made friends here but this place
has given me hope as well. There is no cure for this but with a place to
exercise I'll be able to have better control of my symptoms.
So my thanks to the YMCA.
Thanks Dyane!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Natalie Foust says:
I made a great decision when I joined the Milan Family
YMCA on January 1, 1997. The Y was in its start-up days then, but it has
continued to grow and expand into a big community asset and is a blessing to me
and my family.
Why do I believe that being a part of the Y is so
valuable?
FOR OUR COMMUNITY:
• It is OUR Y, owned by the citizens of this area. it is
non-profit and is operated under the guidelines of a board of local volunteers.
• It is an asset to this area when our leaders are seeking
industry and business location here. Few communities of our size can offer the
level of services provided by OUR Y.
• Everyone is welcome at the Y. Services are provided that
can be used by all ages.
• The Y is a Christian organization welcoming people of
all faiths.
FOR ME AND MY FAMILY:
• My three-generation family has enjoyed the fitness
center, exercise classes, after-school childcare, team sports, and other events
during the past 12 years.
• The greatest blessings have been the friendships made
and the family atmosphere that is always there for us.
Thank you Natalie!
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