WEIGHT LOSS STORY
2005 Student of the Year

Kris Henderson

"I'VE ALWAYS HAD A WEIGHT PROBLEM"

I've always had a weight problem, when I was younger I struggled to put weight on. My mother went so far as to take me to the doctor. Isn’t it ironic that now I'm struggling to get the weight off? 282lbs!! That is what I weighed in December of 2004. I couldn't believe I had let my weight get so out of hand. When I was a cheerleader in high school I would work out for hours just so I could stay at the required weight limit. Now I struggled to pull my pants up over my thighs, hips and belly.

How did my weight affect my life? Let me count the ways. I would hurt all the time, getting out of bed was difficult because my feet would often hurt after being off them all night. But the worst part was that I felt like a failure as a mother. I couldn't even keep up with my child. I was always too tired and irritable and that made me feel guilty, which caused me to be short with Jordan. (I was miserable. Why shouldn’t everyone around me feel the same way?) Breathing for everyone else is natural, for me it was a chore. Sleeping was a scary event because I never knew if that would be the last time I saw my family. The weight had caused sleep apnea and snoring (the fat was compressing on my chest when I laid on my back) and a host of other illnesses. I was depressed and cried all the time my blood pressure was up and to top it all off I was now borderline diabetic.

Sometimes I would even cry out to God to help me, or even ask why he had made me this way. I did this to myself and couldn't blame anyone but myself. I had to fix it, but how? I had tried everything. I even was going to overeaters anonymous and nothing was working.

After talking to Meg about everything I was feeling and my frustration with trying to lose weight I got a call from Sensei and that call changed my life. I had asked "how?" That how had become who?: Sensei!

Through out this process there were times I would have liked to choke the life out of him. He gets results though for many, many ladies and that is what counts the most.

I don't even know where to begin to tell you the driving force that man is and what a difference he has made in my life and in me. Words cannot express what he has done for my and my child. Believe me losing weight is not a piece of cake, but to have some one there to call you in the middle of the night (and I mean the middle) is comforting. You know that someone out there really believes in you and that makes you want to try harder. And after a while you even start to believe in yourself.

Even though I haven't reached my goal weight I know that you will be there for me and all the ladies at the Dojo. I now look forward to what the future holds. Thank you Sensei.

Thanks to all that have helped me on my journey and continue to be there for me. Know that what you have done for me will never be forgotten. 2006 brings a new year and a new me and I look forward to facing the new challenges it brings.

Kris has lost at total of 81 lbs going from 280.5 lbs on January 2, 2005 to 199.5 lbs on January 2, 2006. Kris still has about 40 lbs more to go. What will the future hold for Kris?? Only time will tell!