Issue #2

Success Story: Sarah Loses 65 Lbs!

By Josh Bezoni

Sarah's Before and After Pictures

Here’s How!

Sarah DeRooy’s wake-up call to weight loss was a photo taken on a family vacation. In it, a woman stood with her back to the camera in the dim light of a doorway. Sarah’s husband, Bill, was looking at the picture and commented that no one that "large" had been on their trip. Immediately he realized what he’d said. His hand went to his mouth. He apologized, but--too late--his wife had gotten the message.

"That woman was me, and he was right. I was very big," says Sarah of Grand Rapids, Mich., the newest winner of last year’s Slim Body Challenge. " I hit rock bottom emotionally. I said right then, ‘that’s it.’ I’m not going to be fat anymore." Since that time, Sarah has lost 65 pounds and transformed her body, and along with it her health, her self-confidence, her marriage, and her life.

To honor Sarah’s achievement, she’s been awarded a $1,000 shopping spree, an all-expenses paid Caribbean cruise for two, $500 worth of GNS weight loss products, and full reimbursement for all the GNS products she used to get where she is today. Her story is a journey that took her from dress size 22 to now, a 12--and many inches lost--12 inches slimmer in her waist alone.

The Secrets to Her Success

How did Sarah do it?

An eating program that worked, a change in her attitude and plenty of support and motivation. "I hung up that overweight vacation photo in my bathroom with a sign that says, ‘You don’t have to look like this anymore.’"

And these days, she doesn’t look anything like the Sarah of old. Her story started with a coincidence--the right news, at the right time. Just after she grew determined to tackle the excess weight that had plagued her for years, she heard about Josh Bezoni’s Slim Body Challenge. Sarah was curious. She checked out the website, joined, and decided to follow some of the Slim Body Coach’s weight loss tips.

The first step was a radical change--she started eating more frequently. " I went from eating just one meal a day to five mini-meals," she says. Research has shown this type of eating is key to weight loss. " I use to starve myself all day long, come home, eat a huge meal with the family, lie down on the couch, and fall asleep."

Instead of the old way, she learned the wisdom of spreading out her food intake over the day, to keep her blood sugar steady and boost her body’s fat-burning ability. Never one for breakfast, she discovered an easy way to get in two of her mini-meals--GNS’ Slim Body Matrix nutrition shakes. Her favorite: Chocolate Caramel Swirl, which she’d drink for breakfast and lunch. "Those shakes are addicting! I looked forward to drinking one whenever I could--the flavor is just like a milk shake and it keeps me full and settles my sweet tooth."

Then she added two other mini-meals--a mid-morning snack of usually a yogurt mixed with bran, and an afternoon mini-meal of cottage cheese and strawberries. For dinner, she’d eat with her family--her husband, and three children, ages 10, 8, and 7--and have a smaller portion, and a "healthier version" of what they’d eat (like, spaghetti but with a very lean meat.)

To get the nutrients she needed and jumpstart her weight loss, she added Slim Seduction and Lipo Matrix dietary supplements to her daily routine, in the morning and again in the evening before exercise, to help boost metabolism and neutralize excess fat.

The Backstory

For Sarah, like many people, the weight gain had happened gradually and was difficult to cope with because of stress and the complications of the daily routine--work, taking care of kids, and the household. Over the years Sarah watched as the numbers on the scale had been creeping up. "I’d been through a divorce, depression, medical problems and financial issues," Sarah explains, of course all of which made it difficult to stick with a diet.

Not that she hadn’t tried, again and again... and again. "In the past, I’d lose weight, then gain it back and a little more. I did a modified Weight Watchers diet, counted carbs, fat grams but still the pounds kept piling up. "I didn’t own a scale. I didn’t want to know," says Sarah, now 30-years-old, who at her highest hit 243 pounds.

The Exercise Quotient

Last June, after the fateful vacation photograph, the offhand comment and six weeks on the couch recovering from knee surgery, Sarah was seriously motivated to give weight loss another go. She decided to monitor her progress. "I bought a scale. I wanted to keep track of how much weight I was losing." Because, before she only weighed in when she had to--at the doctor’s office.

In addition to the changes to her daily diet and being more diligent about taking her nutrition and diet supplements, Sarah became dedicated to exercise. "I’d had knee surgery years ago, and used that as an excuse not to workout. But I soon learned that excuses never get you anywhere."

Gradually, this former couch potato became an exercise queen, and that acted as a catalyst to losing weight and transforming the contours of her body. Three times a week, Sarah did--and still does--her regular workout: 20 minutes on the elliptical trainer at a local gym (it’s easy on her knees), followed by resistance training with weight machines to tone and strengthen muscles, then 20 minutes more on the elliptical. "The thing to remember is exercise alone isn’t the key," says Sarah, "you can still gain weight by exercising and eating wrong. I really started seeing results when I combined eating five mini-meals a day with and hour of exercise three times a week and GNS supplements. This way you attack fat in three different ways."

As the pounds have melted off, the muscles beneath have emerged--stronger and more defined--and she has been amazed at her newly toned, lighter body. "That was a definitive moment for me when I started realizing I look good. In the shower, my arms and legs felt more toned. The muscles felt stronger."

Sarah Transformed:
The Payback of Weight Loss

Overall, Sarah has had a profound shift in how she views herself. "I feel more confident. I don’t feel ashamed. I don’t hide my body anymore. I used to wear oversized t-shirts and baggy pants. Now I am wearing clothing that is more flattering. I feel more beautiful."

Others would agree. "My husband who is my biggest supporter always said I was beautiful, but I can tell his face shines a bit more when he looks at me. He gets a bit jealous, which he never used to. Our relationship is definitely stronger."

And her 10-year-old daughter, who is overweight, has taken notice of her mother’s changing habits and physical transformation. "She’s starting to mimic my healthy choices, even asking to come workout with me. Aside from my husband, she was one of my biggest supporters and one of the main reasons I kept going. If I can teach her now to make healthier choices, she will not to struggle with her weight as an adult. This is one of the greatest gifts I could give her."

Previous Failures, Why This Effort Succeeded

Why did other diets fail? "I always tried to change who I am to make it work, and that didn’t work," Sarah says. This time, she didn’t deny her tastes and food preferences--she just learned to modify them in a way that actually made this dieting regimen successful. "I have an enormous sweet tooth," she says, in fact a "caramel-aholic. "The Slim Body Matrix shakes really helped satisfy my sweet craving, and they taste great. I could stand in the candy aisle at the grocery store and not buy sweets like I use to. Slim Seduction and Lipo Matrix really helped with the cravings and made me feel fuller."

Also, she didn’t deny herself the flavor she loves. The shakes were like dessert, and the low-fat, low-sugar yogurt flavors she ate each day were sweet enough to feel like a treat (key lime, a favorite). And on this eating program she still got to eat her favorite foods--like pizza and pasta--but in smaller portions.

Another pitfall previously for Sarah was eating out. "I love to have someone cook for me, to be waited on." So she learned to save her "splurge meals" for the times she and her family were dining in a restaurant. Those nights "off" a diet ironically made it easier for her to stay "on" her diet

And Sarah has an important weight loss tip for the rest of us. One thing she did was to give up her beloved soft drinks and opt instead for water. "I drink lots of water, and I really feel better. Plus I save myself from all those empty calories."

Out of gratitude for her newly trimmed, toned, slim body she wants to spread the word about how she got to where she is today and inspire others. In particular, her mother who has battled excess weight for years. Says Sarah, "I told her, if I can do it, you can do it. What do you have to lose except all that weight that’s been holding you back?"

Sarah exclaims, "I’m so glad I made the decision to get involved in the Slim Body Challenge and lose the weight. If I hadn’t, I’d still be stuck in that old body. It didn’t take me long, and all I had to do is replace some bad habits with new, empowering ones."

Congratulations Sarah, you’re a big inspiration to us all--but in a much smaller body!

For information about how you can join the new 2006 Slim Body Challenge--and see all the incredible prizes up for grabs--just