Success Stories

Leslie F.

Age: 54
Height: 5'5"
Start weight: 214 lbs
Current weight: 167 lbs
Goal weight: 140 lbs

Leslie is a successful real estate agent with a history of dieting failures and a love of fattening foods.  Before Joy's plan, Leslie's diet willpower was nonexistent, but after a couple of months on the plan, she has lost 47 pounds* and looks like a new woman!  She now tucks her shirts in — something she hasn't done in a long time — and she values setting a healthy example for her children.

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.

Jon S.

Age: 32
Height: 5'11"
Start weight (on the Joy's plan): 250 lbs
Current weight: 200 lbs
Goal weight: 200 lbs

Jon hails from the Lansing, Michigan, area. In 2007, he weighed 430 pounds, had high blood pressure, and was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He met Joy Bauer through a mutual friend and signed on for her plan in September 2008, starting at 250 pounds (he had already lost the initial chunk of weight on his own). Joy's program helped him focus his efforts toward reaching his final goal weight. As a result of following Joy's meal plan, he lost an additional 50 pounds*. Today Jon weighs 200 pounds (a total drop of 230 pounds!) and accomplished this feat without surgical intervention.

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.

Debra A.

Age: 55
Height: 5'5 1/2"
Start weight: 165 lbs (6/27/08)
Current weight: 140 lbs (12/01/08)
Goal: Weight loss of 20-25 lbs
Pounds lost: 25*

Debra is a 55-year-old woman who became concerned with weight gain related to peri-menopause. After the passing of her father and, two weeks later, a 21-year-old cousin, she realized that life and health are not guaranteed. When presented with the opportunity to try the Joy's program, she signed up with the simple goal of improving her health, rather than losing weight for aesthetic reasons.

Not only has she met her initial goal, but she has exceeded her own expectations for herself.  She now exercises with a DVD (something she would never have done prior to starting Joy's plan) and has cut out foods she would have never cut out before (salt, wine, and bacon). As a woman who has never enjoyed being photographed and who has been relatively shy about her appearance, she was surprised to be complimented by bank tellers, former coworkers, and even her OBGYN for her amazing weight loss. Her energy has increased and she says she now really does feel extraordinary.

She admits she had been wearing baggy clothes for years and resisted donating her old clothes to charity once she started losing weight. But one day she noticed that her pants were literally falling off.  When she went to the store, she realized she had shrunk two whole pant sizes.  Now she no longer shops in the plus-sized department, and a local charity is the grateful recipient of  several shopping bags of gently worn women's clothing.

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.

Andrea D.

Age: 24
Height: 5'4"
Start weight: 148 lbs
Current weight: 113 lbs
Goal weight: 117 lbs
Pounds lost: 35*

Andrea says that weight has always been a big issue in her family. When she was growing up, her father was known as big papa bear because he weighed nearly 400 pounds. She refers to being overweight as the “triple-H effect” — heavy is a handicap and humiliating. While Andrea never considered herself fat, she felt chubby and a bit padded. She didn’t enjoy shopping or exercising with friends because these group activities always made her self-conscious. One of her daily challenges was to hide her flabby belly.

Andrea aspires to be a dentist, and one of her professional goals is to give people a reason to smile. Her personal goal was to lose weight and give herself something to smile about. After starting Joy’s program and sticking to the meal and fitness plans, she not only hit her goal of losing 30 pounds, but also recently surpassed it. She went from a size 12/14 to a tiny 2/4! Andrea, a successful example of how well Joy's plan works, is now happily flashing her pearly whites!

As a bonus, Andrea's dramatic weight loss was featured in a January 2009 Woman's World cover story about walking off the pounds!

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.

Nick C.

Age: 43
Height: 6'0"
Start weight: 380+ lbs
Current weight: 278 lbs
Goal weight: 200 lbs
Pounds lost: 102+*

As a young adult, Nick was heavy, but his weight wasn’t out of control. Eventually, though, his body took a turn for the worse. At 38, he had a minor heart attack. By 42, he was pushing 400 pounds, his blood pressure had soared dangerously high, and he was at risk for type 2 diabetes. That year, at Nick's annual physical, his doctor bluntly said, "I don't know what else to tell you, Nick. Change or you’ll die."

Nick changed. By closely following Joy Bauer’s healthy eating principles, Nick lost more than 100 pounds, and he continues to lose. He doesn't intend to stop until he weighs 200 pounds.

In His Own Words

Personal Diet Struggle: I need well-defined boundaries. I could go a year without eating pizza, but if I eat a single slice today, I'll want two slices tomorrow — and a whole pie next week!

Life Changes Since His Weight Loss: I can bend far enough to tie my shoelaces, ride on a subway or bus without shame, buckle up on an airplane without a belt extender — and wear jeans!

Life Plans: I'm already registered to compete in a full triathlon in 2010. I will be ready!

Life Dreams: I'm on my way to getting what I've never had: self-esteem, self-respect, self-acceptance, and self-love.

Life Lessons:

• - Who knew water was so important?! I drink two glasses 15 minutes before meals. By the time I eat, I feel too full to overeat.
• - I start every dinner with a low-calorie, fiber-rich salad or vegetable soup to help fill me up, keep my appetite under control, and extend the meal so I don't feel deprived.
• - I avoid personal trigger foods, the things I simply can't stop eating once I begin. For me, pizza and candy bars are dangerous.
• - I stick with my meal plan when eating out by making special requests — serve the salad dressing, sauces, and condiments on the side; grill the chicken instead of frying it; and please don't bring the bread basket to the table.

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.

Susan T.

Age: Late 50s
Height: 5'2"
Start weight: 144 lbs
Current weight: 114 lbs
Goal weight: 119 lbs
Pounds lost: 30*

Susan is the director of services of Joy Bauer Nutrition. Ironically, when Susan was hired she was between 20 and 25 pounds over her normal, ideal body weight. Luckily, having spent years in the fashion industry, she knew how to dress to disguise her figure faults. She thought that she hid those extra pounds pretty well, but she knew they were there and she was miserable. She knew that her clothing was getting tighter and tighter and that she was very out of shape. Susan secretly hoped that by working in an environment centered on healthy nutrition, she would be able to take off the weight that made her 5'2" frame look thick and shapeless. When Joy asked her to try out her new diet plan, Susan jumped at the opportunity.

Now about 30 pounds lighter (as is her husband, Neil — that's almost 60 pounds lost between the two of them!), she feels and looks as if she has a new lease on life. She is the talk of their town!

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.

Sheri H.

Age: 39
Height: 5'8"
Start weight: 164 lbs
Current weight: 141 lbs
Goal weight: 141 lbs
Pounds lost: 23*

Sheri struggled with her weight since she was a teenager. For her, the most painful aspect of being overweight was feeling that she was an embarrassment to her two boys. Nothing hurt her more than the thought that her own children might feel humiliated by their "fat mom." Although she never disclosed her fear, the thought often haunted her.

Instead of taking action, she generally just ate more to ease the pain. Eventually, though, she said, Enough is enough — and made a commitment to herself to turn her life around. Sheri lost 127 pounds on her own through sensible dieting and exercise. She was inducted into the Joy Fit Club in September 2008, with 23 pounds to go to reach her goal weight of 141 pounds. Sheri made a pact with Joy to drop the last pesky 20-odd pounds using Joy's healthy eating principles as her guide.

Now, after just four months on the diet, Sheri has reached her goal — the first time she's weighed less than 150 pounds since she was a freshman in high school! A tough cross-training routine helped her drop the last few pounds, and she has participated in several 5Ks in the past year. She even got her teenage son to hit the gym with her! Sheri is in the best shape of her life — and she’s thrilled with her success. "More than anything," she says, "I appreciate what I see in the mirror every day, and that is very cool!"

*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.