Member Testimonials

"Hi, I'm Alissa :)

Wife, Sister, Daughter, Friend and Former-Executive-now-Stay-at-Home-Mom (FENSAHM) to three amazing kids...all of these roles seemed to have created an excess of weight on the previously slim and trim ME. In November of 2010, I had had enough and happened to pick up the book, 100 Days on a Diet...reading some material, getting online and a few clicks to BOOM SYD website. "Start my diet?" I thought...oh yeah...START NOW. So I did...Joined on November 16, 2010 right before the holiday season.

I love the community, can't say enough about the ample opportunities to connect on the Message Boards and in Blogs...connect with others and myself. Because, honestly, what I needed was to be REAL with MYSELF. The blog and the food log became my mainstays...helping me process my thoughts and reassuring me that I am not alone...I could not have gotten through the Holiday Season with out that support! I eventually ended up leading the Second Annual (we sure hope it becomes annual!) SYD Biggest Loser Contest with a group of ladies who also wanted an added challenge to keep them focused on their weight loss goals. WOW...where else could 16 ladies (to start with) who have never ever met, become such good friends and bond over common challenges and successes and setbacks?? Not to mention find endless support from others who are not participating in the challenge but WATCHING IT and CHEERING US ON?? SYD...that's where...SYD.

I am now down 35 pounds since I joined in November...some pounds lost a few times and all well earned. I have about 22 pounds left to go, and thought I have hit a plateau and leveled off my weight loss for a few weeks...I keep coming back to SYD and find the encouragement to push forward and just jump in where I am. There is no judging there, no criticism, no shame and no lack of empathy...it is a wonderful community that I keep coming back to and plan to for as long as I am welcome. Nearing my 6 month mark and targeting hitting my goal by August, I know the SYD community will be my backbone and strength when I am lacking. Not sure what else I can say...amazing people brought together by an amazing site that looks to offer it's members useful tools to assist on the road to health. So glad I happened by SYD...more than words.

One last message... BLOG, LOG and POST will get you there :)"

"Embarking on a weight loss journey for me was about regaining my health. In the past 15 years I had managed to gain 100 extra pounds which fueled a lot of weight and diet related illnesses. By 35 years old I had developed diabetes, high blood pressure, fibromyalgia just to name a few... I knew my only way to a life worth living was to shed the extra weight. But a hundred pounds seemed so overwhelming that I didn't know where to start! I remembered when I typed in "start my diet" in the search engine and found SYD (Start Your Diet). I was drawn to it because of the quality of it's graphs and charts, and it seemed like a great place to log food. There were lots of free sites that did similar things, but I really liked SYD and decided that if I was going to embark on losing 100 pounds, it would be worth the money to do it on a website that I really liked. The charts and graphs helped me to identify the things in my life that helped or hindered my weight loss, and helped me to find the balance of calories and exercise that I needed to lose the weight.

What I didn't expect was the support that I found! I started a blog, and soon after began to read other blogs. To me this is the heart of SYD. If I am having a bad day, there is always enough support to make it though the day. There are so many people on similar journeys on this website and the support that everyone offers is free of judgment and often tempered with great advice. I have read in the past that you need a support system to be successful in weight loss, but I thought it was a bunch of bologna, plus I wasn't about to go to "meetings" because I was too embarrassed about my body and my weight problem. On SYD I found that I was "safe" and could talk about anything, which gave me an outlet to find my way. After learning how much easier weight loss was with a support system, I finally understood why so many diet experts harp on the importance of having a strong support system... I really works!!!

My journey took over a year, and it was filled with great accomplishments, and hard times. Through blogging, I learned to find balance in my life and get the weight off once and for all. So here I am 100 pounds lighter and healthy! I no longer take ANY prescription medications, and I am free of diabetes, high blood pressure and fibromyalgia. My doctors have all been blown away by my success and the level of health I have achieved. I can run a 5K now in 32 minutes, ride horses, or hike a mountain. Two years ago I could hardly walk to the car!!! I recommend SYD not just for the graphs and charts (which are great!), but because you can find the support you need here to complete and maintain you weight loss. It doesn't matter if you have 10 pounds or hundreds of pounds to lose, the first step is to get started!"