Virginia Anderson
Terre Haute, IN

In January 2002, there was a notification in the Terre Haute, Indiana, First Baptist Church bulletin that a weight control program would be commencing in February.   Since I was very much overweight and had only been successful in losing ten pounds on my own volition, I decided to go to the orientation meeting to see what the program entailed.   I concluded that I should be able to keep most of the commitments of the First Place program, so I became a member.   I didn't have a lot of faith that I would lose much weight and thus began the program as a "doubting Thomas."   As many overweight people do, I had several excuses for being obese, some of those were valid, others obviously were not.

About one week before the class began on February 13, 2002, I saw my Internal Medicine physician for a regular six-month check-up.   It is an understatement to say he strongly suggested that I lose weight.   I told him that I had signed up for a program at church, which would be starting the next week.   Although I did not have the health problems that are most often associated with obesity, I feel certain it would have been just a matter of time before I developed some of them.  

I had always had low blood pressure but as my weight increased, so did my blood pressure.   However, I had only been told one time that I should start being concerned about it.   Because some members of my family have had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, arthritis, diabetes, and some have died from heart attacks, I was probably a likely candidate for any of these had I remained obese.

Prior to joining First Place, I had never been on an organized diet.   Consequently, I've had to learn a lot about foods and how to count and record them.   I am now assisting by reading other class members' Commitment Records and providing some feedback.

I was surprised when I lost weight the first week of the program and continued to do so most weeks of that first session.   Because I was successful in the first session, I signed up for the second session and each subsequent session.

When I saw my Internal Medicine physician in October 2002, he thought it was a miracle that I had been successful in losing weight.   He then suggested that I have a blood test done to see if I needed to have any of my prescriptions changed.   The blood test results were very good.   He also said my triglyceride count showed that I was on a good diet program.   By that time, my blood pressure had dropped below my normal readings.   When I saw him in May 2003, he thought perhaps I had lost too much weight.   Some of my siblings and friends had also voiced such an opinion.   After asking me about my appetite, how I felt, and checking my vital signs, he did not say anything additional about my weight loss.   He did ask me to provide him with information about the First Place program so he could share it with other patients who need to lose weight.  

My allergist has also commented about my weight loss and how much healthier I seem to be.   This was the first winter in many years that I did not have even a mild case of bronchitis.   Therefore, I didn't have to take any antibiotics, for which I am very thankful.

Scripture reading is another recommitment.   Although I have attended church most of my life, I had never read my Bible daily or even frequently.   This year. I bought   " The One Year Bible," and each morning I try to read it.

Since I was successful in losing weight, I lowered my goal weight each session of First Place and ultimately chose my lowest healthy weight after age 21.   Because I was close to my ultimate goal and felt good, I decided to keep trying to reach this goal after I saw my doctor.   With the help of God, the encouragement of fellow class members, family, friends, and my own perseverance I reached my goal on July 16, 2003.   On that day, I had lost a total of 92-1/2 pounds, and gone from a size 2X to a medium. I have more energy now and I am able to do things physically that I haven't been able to do since my accident five years ago.

My new goal is to maintain this weight and be one of the five percent of people who do not return to their beginning weight in five years.   I am very thankful that Lynn Vollmer started the First Place program and that God saw to it that I joined, was successful in losing weight, and that I continued the program.   Although the weight is gone, I have come closer to being a well-rounded person because of this program.

Back to Success Stories»