Success Story #2 (October 31 2005)
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| Mon, 10-31-2005 - 12:55pm |




Last summer, Peggy Wilke practically lived in her vegetable garden. "It's amazing how you can tone your body simply by digging and hoeing," says the 36-year-old graphic designer from Farmington Hills, Michigan. Just a few months before, she weighed nearly 180 pounds and had zero enthusiasm for participating in physical activity of any kind.
Peggy was slim as a teenager but started to gain weight in her early twenties when she was working as a proofreader. "I'd sit at my desk all day and never exercise. I was living on fatty foods like macaroni and cheese, whole milk and pizza," she says. Her weight climbed to 150 pounds by the time she was 30, but she still didn't consider herself overweight—and didn't change her habits. "I knew my clothes weren't fitting right, but I ignored it." As a result, she gained nearly 30 pounds more over the next five years.
Reality finally hit almost two years ago, during a shopping trip with a friend. Peggy took a pair of size 14 jeans into a dressing room only to discover she couldn't zip them. "My friend was trying to be helpful and asked me what size I needed. I was too embarrassed to say 16, so I told her I'd changed my mind."
Peggy decided to start exercising, but the gym in her town was expensive and inconvenient. "I'd read that building activity into your daily routine could help you slim down, so I looked for ways to do that." Her first change was to take over the morning dog-walking job from her husband. "We'd cover a mile and a half at a fast clip," she recalls. She also began working in her garden.
She kept a food journal as well. "It helped me see that I was eating too much of the wrong foods—bread, cheese, butter—so I cut back." Peggy also made other changes in her food choices and eating habits. She stopped "picking" while she cooked, substituted water for soda, and ate more slowly. "I used to eat so fast that my brain didn't have time to register when I was full," she confesses.
Within six weeks she lost 11 pounds. To complement her daily activities, Peggy started working out with aerobics tapes three times a week. "I love doing the tapes in the morning, when I have the house to myself," she says. She continued to lose one to two pounds a week, and seven months later she hit 125 pounds. "Getting fit has really boosted my self-esteem," she says. "The best part is that I did it for me, not for my husband or anyone else. This is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life."

Age: 36
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 125
Pounds lost: 53
Months at current weight: 14
The diet: For breakfast, Peggy has a frozen waffle or English muffin and yogurt. Lunch is a Lean Cuisine entrée, and she has fruit for an afternoon snack. Dinner is a turkey burger or chicken with a salad, a vegetable and rice or a sweet potato.
The workout: Peggy works out at home with sculpting and cardio exercise tapes for 30 minutes, three times a week. She also walks or runs four times a week.
Biggest temptation: Butter and chocolate. "I've learned to quell my cravings by finding substitutes for both. I use butter-flavored spray to sauté foods and put on vegetables. And I get my chocolate fix with Tootsie Rolls. They're low in fat and take a long time to eat, so they satisfy me."
What she couldn't wait to wear: Low-riding button-fly jeans. "I have a flat stomach now—and I want to show it off."
Stick-with-it-tip: Remind yourself how far you've come. "I'll pick up a 50-pound bag of dog food and think, she used to carry this around every day!'"
by


Down to earth- real! Great story. She looks terrific!
I so think this point she makes is IMPORTANT:
She ate more slowly. "I used to eat so fast that my brain didn't have time to register when I was full," she confesses.
]] Happy Halloween ]]
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The first thing I did when I opened that thread was, "MIKO!!!" Okay, the dog looks a lot like Miko. :) So cute!
What an inspiring story, thanks for posting all of these.
BTW, that last tidbit about her 50lbs dog food, reminds me of when K would be carrying his and my golf clubs and I'd say, "sadly, that's about how much weight I carry around". Not quite, as it's almost 50lbs, but close enough. And I'd say, "now you can understand why my feet hurt all the time and my legs get tired and my knees hurt". and he was like, "wow". so whenver i lift my bag, I think about how much less i'd weigh w/o that golf bag weight. cuz i do believe my bag weighs about 25-30lbs. I can't wait.
Do we have any success stories here from the board? now THOSE I'd love to read too. :)
I'll see what I can find. I believe she's the french woman.
ETA: I guess it wasn't her, although there is a woman from France who slimmed down a lot. Here's a link to the woman you saw, Cristie Kerr.
http://www.golfdigest.com/gfw/gfwfeatures/index.ssf?/gfw/gfwfeatures/gfw200507kerr.html
Edited 10/31/2005 5:39 pm ET by inkeddogmom
Thank you, thank you!!!
The thing that bugs me and maybe I'm just being jealous but she seemed to totally change her style and everything. I would hope I'd never consider posing in playboy or using my looks to make money but..... then I ain't been offered 6 figures to do anything close to that. lol
"I feel like it's my tour, and now is the time for players to step up and get the tour noticed," she says. "If you're attractive, why not celebrate yourself? Honestly, when you are fighting for market share, you have to do something dramatic. That's not to say we're only going to sell sex, but we have a lot of exciting players out here--stars, personalities. We need to celebrate that."
Why can't they be celebrated for being great people and golfers? I know I know it's about money etc.
Gretchen
ITA. But then again, Anna Kournikova makes millions and she's never once won a tennis tourny (that I know of, anyone correct me if I'm wrong). I bet she makes more than most of the top 10.
Sadly, in women's golf, you don't get a lot of money, nothing CLOSE to the men, and I have no idea how much sponsers pay. However, I think the women, winners, get about 30% of what the men get. Or somethign like that.
However, I really don't like that they turn themselves into pin-ups instead of athletes. You don't have to pose nude, or be "hot" to be a great athlete and get the attention you need (of course, it does help in the money dept). personally, i'd just be happy i lost weight, won all those tourney's, be that good at golf. why does it always have to come down to, "yes, i make a million a year, but i need more". jeez.
sorry venting. lol
Vent away I hear ya! Now I don't know much about the sporting industry over all but I really think women who can compete on the same level with men is the way to go. I realize they will be few and far between but look what Tiger Woods did for golf. Plus pissing off these men who think they are superior to everyone is a good draw too.
Venus and Serena Williams did a lot for tennis because they are athletes that stepped it up a notch. Now didn't hurt them because they aren't your typical looking tennis player but I don't think they sold themselves out on a superficial level.
These are just my simple opinions. I may be off the mark because I don't watch any of these sports on a real deep level. Plus I feel a little persumptious because I'm not in their postions and I'm sure that is a totally different view.
Gretchen