Catherine's Slim-Down Stats
How She Did It: Weigh Down Method
Height: 5'8"
Heaviest Weight and Size: 247 lb; size 14
Current Weight and Size: 137 lb; size 6
Vitals: 46, Brentwood, TN; bank loan officer
Aldith's Slim-Down Stats
How She Did It: Weigh Down Method
Height: 5'2"
Heaviest Weight and Size: 198 lb; size 22
Current Weight and Size: 120 lb; size 4
Vitals: 52, Nashville; medical receptionist
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What Packed On The Pounds
Back-to-back babies
At times during each of her three pregnancies, from ages 21 to 27, Catherine Zanoni (pictured left) felt like she wasn't just eating for two—it was like she was eating for 12. "I ate with abandon," she says. "I'd eat a pint of Haagen-Dazs in one sitting." Zanoni gained about 60 pounds with each pregnancy, eventually tipping the scale at 247 pounds. A string of diets over the next 15 years still left her at 217.
Aldith Diaz, whose childhood chub earned her the nickname Butterball by age 5, can relate. Although she lost about 30 pounds when she married at age 26, she put the weight back on with each of her three pregnancies, weighing 198 pounds by age 34. "All I wanted to do was eat and sleep," she recalls.
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Our Lowest Moment
Realizing we were too tired to live our own lives
"I couldn't believe that reflection in the mirror was me," Zanoni says. "I felt hopeless." Diaz remembers listening to her kids tear through the house while she lay on the couch, too tired to stop them. "It just took too much effort."
What Finally Worked For Us
The Weigh Down Method
Both devout Christians, Zanoni and Diaz were drawn to the Weigh Down Method, which uses biblical teachings and a spiritual emphasis to help participants become more mindful about their eating habits, rather than approaching diets as a mathematical equation. One of the main goals: switching the focus from food to faith. "I used to deal with my stress by plowing through a pan of brownies," says Zanoni, who began strictly following the WDM in 2001 because it doesn't force a prescribed set of food rules or preach regular exercise. "Now, when I feel stressed, I pray instead," she says. Over the next 2 years, she lost 80 pounds and has kept the weight off for more than 9 years.
Diaz, who dropped 30 pounds on a 30-day juice fast in February 1998 (Search: Are liquid diets safe?), knew she needed to find a more sustainable way to reach her goal weight and began the WDM a few weeks later. Within a year of following the principles, Diaz dropped 50 pounds. "I ate only when my stomach growled and stopped when I was satisfied," says Diaz.
Our "Take It Off, Leave It Off" Secrets
Take the work out of working out. "I haven't gone to the gym in ten years, and I don't miss it one bit!" says Zanoni. "I stay active by running after my grandkids."
Eat your favorite foods first. "It helps me eat less overall without eliminating my high-fat favorites like ice-cream sundaes and chips and guacamole," says Diaz.
Now
Catherine lost 110 pounds; has kept it off for 9 1/2 years.
Aldith lost 78 pounds; has kept it off for 12 years.
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