"At the end of February 2005 my brother asked if I would proofread something he had written. I was a school teacher earlier in my career so I guess he thought I'd do a good job of catching his spelling and grammar errors.
Honestly, proofreading a 300+ page manual wasn't high on my priority list so it pretty much sat on my desk during March and April. In May, I started going through it and just kept reading until I was finished.
In fact, I devoured it and by Memorial Day weekend I was able to give it to him with all my edits -- including one rather major one. He had slipped in a sentence that said "I think my older sister has given up on weight loss." The truth is he was right but, after reading his text, I knew things were going to change. So I crossed out that sentence with a big fat black marker.
Now it's August 2006 and I'm compelled to share my story.
I was 59 when I started reading the course and had dealt with weight issues since college. After 40 years of struggle, I can definitely say I knew the weight-loss drill. I had lost a bunch of weight (using almost every method ever devised) and gained it all back (plus more) many times.
So, as I was proofing my brother's manual, I couldn't help but evaluate the content in relation to what I had been exposed to previously. Surprisingly (he was just my little brother), it was easy-to-read, simple-to-understand, and even entertaining. But, more importantly, it just made so darn much sense.
I had always respected by brother for his knowledge on many subjects but I never expected something like this out of him. I had heard it all over the last 40 years and here in front of me was some information so convincing I knew it would work.
I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life. This past 16 months has been so much fun and I have absolutely no doubts the fun will continue. Allen's text is not about making a new lifestyle choice with the risk of reverting back to the old one. Instead, it's about developing some wisdom that -- once you have it -- it's impossible to imagine it ever going away.
So I started applying what I had learned and the pounds began to disappear. I lost 10 pounds in May, 10 in June, 10 in July/August, and 10 in September/October. Forty were gone by my 60th birthday on October 28th.
Understand, I only read the course once and didn't have a copy to refer to (I had given back my edited copy). Also, when I talked with Allen by phone (I'm in Oregon and he's in Wisconsin) he didn't share any further information. In fact, relative to the course, the only discussion I remember having is his continued questioning if I was feeling any food deprivation. Quite shockingly, given my previous experience, the answer was always an emphatic no.
As of this writing, I've lost 70 pounds in 16 months and have gone from a size 18-20 to a size 10-12. I am back to the old Sharron. I can genuinely say I love my body, love food and love life. I thoroughly enjoy eating, I'm selecting foods I've never eaten before, I'm more physically active (although this didn't start until January), and buying new clothes has become one of my primary interests. When people ask how I did it, I just say "my brother changed my life."
I am looking forward to this new chapter in my life. This past 16 months has been so much fun and I have absolutely no doubts the fun will continue. Allen's course is not about making a new lifestyle choice with the risk of reverting back to the old one. Instead, it's about developing some wisdom that -- once you have it -- it's impossible to imagine it ever going away.
