Sylvia Reversed her Declining Health and Added Years to Her Life!

My decision to start “The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss” began July 13, 2016. I weighed 257 and was having considerable knee pain which hindered my ability to travel. After looking at my X-rays, my doctor informed me that my knees were almost bone on bone but he could not even refer me to orthopedics for possible knee replacements until I lost 70 pounds! Losing that much weight seemed insurmountable! Fortunately, a dear friend had given me a copy of Dr. McDougall’s book “

My journey has been a roller coaster ride since 2014. Gaining and losing weight has been a constant in my life since I have six kids. I went vegan and initially lost a lot of weight. I went from 185 in 2014 down to 142. I stayed vegan for years. Well as life would have it, I went back to my old ways a few times. Yet I always ended up coming back to vegan because I just felt better and ethically knew better. I have Hashimoto's disease, so weight loss is not an easy thing for me. Most top thyroid

At the age of seven, I was a competitive gymnast, and body image and the effects of food were ingrained in me. When I was 16 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare brain condition called Chiari Malformation and had to have immediate brain surgery – my life as a competitive gymnast was over. After my long road to recovery, I dived into unhealthy fad diets and disordered eating to maintain my athletic build without gymnastics. My unhealthy eating habits spiraled in every direction and became a p