An emotional wreck is a great way to describe my life before NutriSystem Advanced. I have always had to deal with being heavy. In fact, when I was 8 years old, I already weighed 100 lbs. As a result, I was teased and the subject of many jokes growing up. Once, I was to sing in front of the student body, but I could hear the snickers so I ran off—without singing.

Since I have always been overweight, I have always felt like I didn't matter, that I was invisible. That was a very hurtful way to grow up. Physically, I was unable to do the simplest of things. I had always dreamt of the time that I could just tie my shoes without unbuttoning my pants and taking a deep breath before bending over to do so. Climbing stairs was nearly impossible; I became too winded and felt faint. So being overweight stopped me from doing so many things that I should have done in my youth. I quickly learned how to fade into the background.  Click - To View The Entire System Now

Hi, I'm Aliette. I'm a 51-year-old married, retired surgical nurse with four wonderful children and four grandchildren. This is my weight loss story.

My decision to lose the weight resulted from a combination of events. Being a nurse gave me firsthand knowledge of the dangers of obesity. But sadly, it wasn't enough to make me take a good, hard look at myself. Also, my family has a history of heart disease and diabetes, so I was on a fast track towards debilitating illness. However, the breaking point came while our family was together ringing in the new year of 2005, when I was limping around with a hurting foot. One family member said that I should go to see my doctor. But another family member said, "Oh, we just shoot lame horses around here!" I was both shocked and hurt that in this stage of my life someone who was supposed to love me could bring back all the old feelings from my childhood with just one comment.

Soon after, I saw an ad for the NutriSystem diet program and once I did the research, choosing NutriSystem was simple. Every diet on the market had come and gone in my life, only to fail each and every time. There was too much prep work, or the food tasted bad, or you only had liquids to drink. (And to think that I have tried all of these and wasted so many precious moments of my life doing the wrong things.)

Man NutriSystem is the exact opposite. The food is wonderful and it comes right to my door, everything is ready to go with very little prep work, the food travels well, and just to say, "I can have tacos and chocolate"...well, it doesn't get better than that. Oh yeah, it actually does—I ate all of my favorite foods and I lost 101 lbs.* doing so! I love to say that NutriSystem is my "goof-proof" program. There is no way you can fail if you follow the plan.

The biggest challenges came in the beginning, when people doubted me. One time, a family member said, "You'll never be a Twiggy. We are not a thin family." Only recently, another family member admitted to me that people were thinking, "Here she goes again...only to fail again" when I had ordered my first shipment. But I was determined to succeed on this program!

And the rewards have been endless. Going from a size 16-18 down to a size 4 is fantastic. Plus, trying on everything while shopping to make sure it isn't too big is sometimes beyond comprehension—it's so very nice to buy the small sizes that I have never had my entire life. I was so used to going into a store and picking up 2-3X clothes and when the salespeople would ask if I'd like to try them on I'd quickly reply, "No, thank you. I know it will fit." How sad—I was so ashamed of my size, but unwilling to do anything about it.  Click - To View The Entire System Now

Having lost the weight has also opened so many doors for me. Not only do I feel better, look better, and shop for awesome clothes, I can now pull my jeans on straight out of the dryer, and don't have to lie on the bed to zip them up! Plus, I can now fit into a regular-sized restroom stall, whereas before I always had to use the larger stall. I can also now say with a straight face that I exercise—and I'm even known as "The NutriSystem review Gal" at my fitness center. Members will come up to me if they are new and say, "You don't look like you ever had a weight problem." Well, that's when it's time to pull out the well-worn "before" picture. Not pretty, but I do.

Now my entire outlook on how I approach food, and life in general, is very different from the old me. I'm all about the positive now; negativity is gone from my life forever. I realized this after I got home from a recent cruise—the first one on which I took part in activities on board. I took Pilates, entered the country line dancing class, and also entered the pig calling contest—and won! When I was heavy, I never would have done any of those things. And I'm not one of those people with five sizes of clothing in my closet, either. I gave everything away, with the exception of the big blue shirt from my "before" picture, which I kept as a reminder of where I have come from (not that I will ever forget!). Click - To View The Entire System Now

Most importantly, people closest to me have been noticing my weight loss, too; my family and friends are amazed by my transformation. They find it so unbelievable. For example, I have a daughter who lives on the east coast and hadn't seen me in years other than in pictures. She asked one of her sisters, "How does it feel to hug mom?" She told her it feels like hugging Magi (my 5-year-old granddaughter). And in July, I was invited to Philadelphia for a NutriSystem photo shoot. Well, when my daughter and granddaughters took me to the airport, Magi said that I looked like a balloon with the air let out of it! She was so serious when she said it—it was all we could do just not to laugh! She hadn't seen me in a while and has always known me heavy. As the saying goes, "Out of the mouths of babes!"

My favorite thing to tell members who e-mail me looking for support is to stay with the program, because NutriSystem does not set you up to fail. As I said earlier, it is a "goof-proof" program. Work with your menu to find your favorite foods and drink your water, and you will lose weight. This has been the easiest way for me to lose the weight—and keep it off!

This has been my lifelong dream: to get healthy, to lose weight, and to be a weight-loss inspiration to others. It has been a very humbling experience for me. I used to feel invisible. Now I'm getting noticed! Click - To View The Entire System Now

—Aliette