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My
self-image was my birthright – my family had an obsession
about “thin and attractive.” I first discovered this after
I found a letter written by my mother to my father, who was
out of town on business, about me when I was 2-3 months old.
She wrote, “Robin is doing well, loves to eat and is a
little piggy.”
In
preschool I was not fat (or thin). The first time I remember
needing to lose weight was for an orthopedic problem – my
doctors insisted that I must take some of the pressure off
my leg to relieve the pain in my knee. So, at age 6, I was
put on amphetamines for the first time. I didn’t like meat
much as a child and often felt nauseated when I ate it. But
every other fattening food from cookies to cakes to candies
was on my diet.
Because my
weight fluctuated, over the next few years I was offered
every imaginable “diet,” – Weight Watchers, Stillman,
Atkins, Jenny Craig, Grapefruit diet – you name it and I
tried it. At 13 my parents had me on amphetamines again – I
lost a lot of weight, but kept getting sick with viruses and
colds – plus they affected my behavior. One evening, I had
a hysterical fit, yelling at the top of my lungs while
dumping out all my dresser drawers, just because I couldn't
find something. I knew that was enough amphetamines for me
– I gained every pound back to where I soon weighed 155
pounds at 4 feet 9 inches, and at sweet-sixteen. I felt
unattractive, lonely, and depressed – and needless to say, I
did not date. Reinforcing my poor self worth, I saw a doctor
who told me, “Robin, if you don’t lose weight you won't find
a man. “
My next
efforts to look great were with binging, purging, laxatives
and a dieter’s tea. To this I added an exercise regimen that
lasted anywhere from 2-4 hours daily. Bulimia ruled my life
for the next 12 years. But I was still fat and ugly deep
down inside. When I was 18, I went back to a low-calorie
diet and got down to 115 and then down to 112 for my wedding
in 1973. But, I was never slender, and was never toned.
And I still felt trapped in a fat, ugly body.
My life
changed in January of 1995 when an acquaintance, who was
getting his PhD in exercise physiology at Florida Atlantic
University, told me about Dr. McDougall's program. This was
a turning point for me. I began to eat healthy food, and
immediately, I began to feel healthy – I could tell my body
was getting what it needed and wanted. When I ate
vegetables, fruits and grains, my cells felt like they were
breathing deeply and filled with energy. As a lay person I
read whatever I could about nutrition,
but my own body was my research subject – giving me my most
reliable information.
My weight
now ranges between 99 and 102, and I am muscular and
slender. I wear a size 0-1 which is appropriate for a woman
my height. I don't starve, count calories, binge or purge –
and I do love what I eat. I exercise about 45 minutes to an
hour a day – 30 minutes of aerobics and 30 minutes of
resistance training.
There have been other important changes in my
life: I now know that no cake, cookie, chocolate candy or
even a big thick steak is going to take away any of my
problems. I stopped weighing myself (haven't owned a scale
in over 10 years). I don’t need a scale, because I see
myself as slender and I feel alive. As a child I was
embarrassed by my looks – now I am just the opposite – I’m a
singer/songwriter and performer -- and I have no hesitation
to strut my stuff in front of thousands of appreciative
music fans, every chance I get.
Dr.
McDougall's Comments: "Pictures speak a thousand
words. My only comment is that you deserve the same
physical health and fit appearance as Robin and you can
have these gifts for free -- in fact, you can't buy them."
We
encourage you to pass this Star McDougaller along to
friends.
 2004
John McDougall All Rights Reserved
McDougall
Wellness Center P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA
95402
http://www.drmcdougall.com |
