's motd Wed May 12, 2010

[Guest guest]

I'VE SEEN IT HAPPEN

Wednesday, 12 May 2010

Anne Marie is someone I've known for over 30 years. I met her a long time ago while I was appearing at a shopping mall in Seattle. I just loved her. She's the nicest lady. But she did have a serious weight problem that was not getting any better.

Anne Marie is Italian. (Need I say more?) By that, I mean not only does she love food but...she's a great cook! I could just visualize her in the kitchen making spaghetti, meatballs, and warm garlic bread. She's the loving mother of five children and her life was spent cooking for and taking care of them. But at just five feet tall and weighing over 200 pounds, well you can see what I meant by her weight being a serious issue. I was always trying to help her. We'd often trade E-mails and I'd call occasionally to see how she was doing.It was not uncommon for her to say to me, "Oh, . I just can't seem to lose this weight. I've gained another 25 pounds in the past year alone!"I kept telling Anne Marie that she had to try harder. I told her that she had to get the weight off or it was going to, in time, take away her mobility and her freedom to do many of the things she now takes for granted.

For her birthday last year, three of her children decided to bring Anne Marie to Los Angeles for a little vacation and to visit my studio, Slimmons. She was not able to exercise with us but her kids wanted her to at least get to watch one of our classes. After they all got to Los Angeles and came to see us, Ann Marie walked through the doors of Slimmons and the first thing I noticed was that she now had to walk with the aid of a cane. (That was a first.) Her weight had reached just over 300 pounds and, sure enough, she was beginning to lose her mobility. I immediately walked over to give her a big hug. Then I placed a chair at the entrance to our workout room so she could watch our entire class.After class, I asked if I could speak to her children alone. I sat with her two daughters and one of her sons for a serious talk. I told them their mother was headed for a wheelchair or, even worse, could end up bedridden unless she did what she must do and lose the weight. I told them they had to take immediate action, getting her to a doctor and the help she needed. As we talked, all three of them ended up in tears. And of course, I was crying right along with them.

One of her daughters asked, ", what can we do?" I told them they had to have a child-to-parent intervention with Anne Marie. They had to work with and motivate her because they all wanted her in their lives...and healthy for years to come. But it all depended on her losing the weight.When we joined Anne Marie back in the lobby, she could see that her kids were still upset. They all hugged her right away and I could see in her eyes that she had a pretty good idea what we'd been discussing in private.Well, I'm happy to say that since they returned to Seattle, Anne Marie has been on program for seven months now. She and her children have written me E-mails with some very good news. She's lost 68 pounds so far! Her kids got Anne Marie on my FoodMover program, she's followed it faithfully and they even got her to join a water-aerobics class at their local "Y." Not only that, she's learned to make great Italian dishes without all of the fat and extra calories. Her daughter sent me a new photo of Anne Marie and, get this, she was standing...without the aid of that cane! What a great story, huh?

Is there someone in your family you're watching slowly lose their mobility? Please, don't let this happen! Wrap your arms around them. Let them know how much you love them and how you're there to help. You know how depressed a person gets when they can no longer stand or walk. It's just devastating.

And are you someone losing their mobility? Then maybe it's time to reach out to your own family and friends for help. And remember this, too...God helps those who help themselves.Love,

[Guest guest]

On Wed, 12 May 2010 04:36:32 -0500, Sue in NJ <sue_in_nj@...> wrote:

I'VE SEEN IT HAPPEN

Wednesday, 12 May 2010

After class, I asked if I could speak to her children alone.  I sat with her two daughters and one of her sons for a serious talk.  I told them their mother was headed for a wheelchair or, even worse, could end up bedridden unless she did what she must do and lose the weight.  I told them they had to take immediate action, getting her to a doctor and the help she needed.  As we talked, all three of them ended up in tears.  And of course, I was crying right along with them.

One of her daughters asked, ", what can we do?"  I told them they had to have a child-to-parent intervention with Anne Marie.  They had to work with and motivate her because they all wanted her in their lives...and healthy for years to come.  But it all depended on her losing the weight.When we joined Anne Marie back in the lobby, she could see that her kids were still upset.  They all hugged her right away and I could see in her eyes that she had a pretty good idea what we'd been discussing in private.Hi, it's me, Ann,  I decided to stop using alias emails and secret blogs, husband was looking over my shoulder the other day when I was writing to my lavenderannn blog and asked me if he could go read it!  No!  It's my little haven.  But now he knows the name and I want to delete it before he reads what I have wrote about him not doing well on his diet.  I created a blog that is with my other two (dolly and trucking) and will write only about me and my diet.  (I am done being frustrated by his lack of participation anyways).Ok, sooooo on with the tripe above.  I am TOTALLY against WEIGHT interventions as though it were a serious drug problem.  The nerve!  A person's body is their own to do with as they please.  If the person seeks help, that is different.  But nothing will work until the person themselves wants to do it and then DOES IT.  It all has to come from within, nothing anyone else can do makes it happen.  No one can fotce a person to lose weight, which is the technique of intervention.  Guilt and force.Rant over.  Nothing like a little rant at 4 am to get the blood moving.  lolNew blog: The Little Bowl-- Ann H.