Dorothy B.

Back in 2012 after six months of talking with a naturopath doctor finally convinced me to do HCG injections. My gut was telling me this wasn’t right but she was convincing and finally I said okay. I weighed 379 pounds.

I took the injections for six weeks and lost 40 pounds. After three weeks of being off the injections I was allowed to add fat back into my diet including butter. Of course I gained some weight back. I also had to wait six weeks before I could start doing the injections again.

Each round I had to add an additional two weeks of wait time before I could go onto the following around. I was also limited to around 500 calories a day.

It got to where I was dreading the start of the next cycle of injections. It would make me so weak and so incredibly exhausted it was even hard to breathe at times.

After a year and a half I ended up losing 100 pounds but this diet ended up doing a lot of damage to my body. I ended up in the hospital.

The doctor said a lot of my hormone levels were very out of whack and my adrenal glands had been taxed. It was also a very long recovery and I was out of work for two full weeks. When I returned I still wasn’t up to par. I would have to sit down because I would get incredibly winded and exhausted. I knew I could not do HCG again.

I gained all that weight back except 20 pounds because I hadn’t learned anything about eating properly. My heart hadn’t changed.

At the end of 2014 I knew I had to start losing weight without any gimmicks. I had tried so many diets and had been praying to Ahayah, I Am who I Am, about my weight for at least 35 years. I didn’t know what else to do.

I confided in my home fellowship and people start praying with me about my weight loss. I quit eating the hot tamale candies and went from 359 to 347. Then I found Julie and Jerry and the Protective Diet.

After reading on the website and watching the free introductory video I knew Ahayah answered my prayers. I knew I would succeed.

I joined Protective Diet in the middle of January 2015. I weighed 347 pounds. That first 30 days I gathered supplies to stock my cupboards and bought a couple of appliances when my income tax return came in I got the Blendtec high speed blender and the pressure cooker.

I started making different recipes and found which ones were my favorite. I was not 100% PD yet but I still lost eight pounds that first month.

In the middle of February I committed to the 30 day taste bud reprogramming detox. I was very determined. I knew this was for the rest of my life.

As Julie says this is sustainable and for me it was. I did not look back. If there was a glimmer of want for something in the Standard American Diet I would say no I don’t eat that way anymore. I lost 14 pounds in 30 days and I was feeling better about myself.

The support has been incredible. The recipes that Julie creates are unbelievable. When I first started with PD there were so many times I had to ask myself if I was cheating. The food tastes so good I did not feel like I was on a diet. Who can eat apple pie and brownies for breakfast? Unbelievable! And it’s all whole food plant based. It’s actually good for me and helping my body heal from the inside out.

From then on I have been active in Protective Diet Living, our support group on Facebook. It really has helped seeing others achieve their goals. It has been very inspiring to hear when somebody had an off day, week, or month and regroup, reach out to us and come back strong with PD and start losing weight again. I was able to ask any question I wanted even if it sounded stupid. There was always somebody, including Julie, that would give me the answers I needed to know. People would encourage me and cheer when I did well.

A couple of weeks ago I was at 293 pounds. I am moving much better. I am not running out of breath anymore even though we have been having quite a few fires in the area and there’s been a real heavy smoke in the air.

I enjoy taking longer strides when waking down the halls at work. It actually feels good and my hips like it.

I am off one of my diabetes medications. Another one has been cut in half.

My husband complements me almost every day on how much weight I’ve lost and that he can see it. Today he said I’m starting to get a curvy shape. (It used to be a wide box.)

I still have to lose another whole person weighing 153 pounds to reach my goal of 140 pounds, but I have already lost a young child!

I know by following PD I will get there. Protective Diet is my forever. This is who I am now. Thank you Julie for coming up with this incredible way of life. Thank you to the Great I Am for answering my prayer.