Mary Smith Beats The Odds

Looking through the many LC articles I have in my e-mail tonight, I found a story I just couldn't help but post here. It's more than a story of weight loss, it's a story of overcoming abuse and tragedy. While this article doesn't get into detail, it gives you enough information to know that this woman has overcome some frightening obstacles. Here's just a snippet:

But beyond the shrinking waistline is a bigger story. The transformation of this 40-year-old woman is more than lettuce and Jazzercize.

It begins with a pretty little girl with long, blond hair in Terre Haute, Ind., who at age 8 mustered up the courage to ask: Is life really supposed to be like this?

He hurts her, this man in the big God-fearing family she has been adopted into. He touches her, she tells her adopted mother, makes her do things, private things she does not like or understand.

"And she looks at me and tells me he didn't do anything, it never happened, never talk about it again," Smith says. "Then she cuts my hair off, dresses me like a boy and chubs me up."

So she ate, her body becoming her prison, her isolation from hurt, from letting anyone else touch her again.

How very sad. We all probably know someone who is over weight, but have we ever stopped to consider the reasons? It's not always because we are too lazy to exercise, or have no will power. There are many people who deal with the same situations and emotions that Mary did. They feel their only line of defense is to hide behind a body that they feel sure no one would take interest in. For some, there is a certain amount of security in being obese. It's a way to protect and separate yourself from the world.

But this story definitely has a happy ending...

Then she met Richard.

"He was the first person in my life who loved me unconditionally," she says. "He was my saving grace."

She credits him for giving her the strength to face her past and go on to her future.

Thank God for people like you Richard! People are sometimes so busy looking at the outside that they forget there is a real, wonderful, yet vulnerable human being inside.

But of course, the good news doesn't stop there. Mary discovers low-carb, gets married, and loses 125 lbs! Now she is determined to help others by telling her story. She's also trying to start a local support system for low-carb dieting.

To read the article in it's entirety, click here.

I'm giving you a standing ovation Mary! I know you will continue to inspire, help and encourage. Thank you, from one who has been blessed by hearing your story.