Friday, June 11, 2010

Redefining “Comfort Food”

Sunrider Helps Effect Lifestyle Change and Weight Loss

Born into an Italian family where the “language of love was food,” Michelle Rynning of Broken Arrow, OK, says, “We ate when we were happy, we ate when we were sad, or bored, depressed, etc. So I was overweight as a child and then transitioned into a morbidly obese woman. At one point I tipped the scales at 242 lbs. on my 5’ 5 ½” frame, and wore a size 22.”

Michelle tried all the latest diets and usually found short term success, but it just didn’t last. “The weight crept back on, with a few added pounds. It was a vicious cycle, trying to lose weight and always having the food cravings for different things, especially sugar. I determined sugar was like a drug—the more you ate, the more you wanted,” she says.

In 2007, Michelle was 53, weighed 235 lbs., and was a size 20. She knew this wasn’t good for her health and that she needed to change, but she wasn’t sure how. After trying many diets over the years with little success, she was discouraged. Later, though, someone introduced her to Sunrider with Calli®. Eventually, Michelle and her husband attended a Sunrider meeting where they learned about Sunrider’s other products and how they work to nourish, cleanse, and balance the body. Michelle says it was then that “my husband and I agreed this was the path for us and that God had directed our steps to this place. We couldn’t wait to get started!”

In April 2008, Michelle, who now weighed 200.8 lbs., and her husband became Sunrider Independent Business Owners and began a vegan, whole-food lifestyle. “I began drinking the Calli®, and eating the NuPlus®, Quinary®, and SunBars…I also incorporated stretching exercises and five to ten minutes a day on our little rebounder trampoline. The pounds just melted off and within several months I had lost 30 lbs. and several sizes,” Michelle says, “but the best part was that there was never any cravings, or saggy skin.* This was amazing because I had quit eating sugar, meat, and dairy all at the same time. I knew it was the Sunrider® foods that satisfied my body. Besides not having cravings, my husband and I both noticed increased energy and endurance.”

Now, two years later, Michelle weighs 149 lbs., and is a size 10 (down from a size 20)! Today, she continues to lose weight, although at a slower pace, but this time it’s stayed off.* It’s the first time that’s happened in all her years of dieting! Now that Michelle’s eating healthy, nutritious foods, her “comfort food” days are a thing of the past. She says, “This is the way we live now, eating Sunrider® foods and following a vegan, whole food lifestyle. We’ve agreed we never want to be without our Sunrider® foods. People tell me I look 10 years younger, and the best part is that I feel great!”

*In conjunction with regular exercise and a healthy diet. Results not typical.

1 comment:

Diana Walker said...

Very inspiring story, Michelle!

Thanks for sharing this, Sunrider!

Diana Walker, Sunrider Leader