The following program discusses
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sensitive issues
related to addictive behavior.
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Parents are
cautioned that some material
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may be too candid
for younger children.
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Today, I'm gonna introduce you
to Melody. She lost 125 pounds.
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Welcome back. And, you know,
what's really amazing to me?
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We are on our eighth season.
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And this season,
we are really looking
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at not only the
drugs and alcohol,
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and the addictions that we have,
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but how does our body actually
function and what hijacks us.
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And today, we're gonna be
talking to a friend of mine
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that lost like a 100 pounds.
It's amazing to me her journey.
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And I want to
get right into that
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because we're gonna
talk about her story
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and where she came from.
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But then she's gonna
teach us to cook a little bit
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and what's good for our
body and what kind of things
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we can do in order to
help us not only get healthy,
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but think healthy, be
healthy, all of that stuff.
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And I'm such a baby.
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Melody, I wanna just
say welcome to the program.
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I am really a baby because I
even coming into my recovery,
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like I stopped doing drugs,
but you know, give me pizza
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and 15 cups of
coffee and some ice cream,
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and I'm happy. Do
you know what I mean?
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And I don't think we
put those things together
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and you had to with
your journey. Right, right.
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You know, I didn't have a
drug or alcohol addiction,
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but I still have an
addictive personality.
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So, you know, I
smoked for 10 years,
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and food
addiction is what I had.
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You know, a lot of
people look at me and think,
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"Oh, you're not that bad."
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I didn't even think I was
that bad at one time. Right.
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But I did have a food addiction
and I can't say I did, I do.
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I have to everyday watch,
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you know, in my
choices and what I eat.
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And I think a lot of people
when they think about addiction,
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they think about
the chemical stuff.
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You think about drugs or,
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you know, heroin or alcohol
or even sexual addictions,
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but a few-- not
many of us think about
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food as an-- as an addiction.
It can be types of food. Yeah.
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I mean, just
certain types of food
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that that causes the addiction,
you know, the emotion.
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You know, I feel
like my addiction to food
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was emotional. Yeah.
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We're gonna-- so I
wanna hear your whole story,
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but I want you
to know that this--
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this season we're talking about
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kind of what hijacks
your pleasure center.
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You know, we really
do seek after pleasure.
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And sometimes what hijacks
that is the comfort and like,
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you said, that you
know, food was your comfort,
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mine was heroin, drugs, party
and all that kind of stuff.
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And so I want you to start
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from even the very
kind of the-- the beginning,
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were you always--was food
always an addiction for you,
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and how did that start,
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and does that make sense that
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that you got
hijacked along the way.
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It does, but no, it was
not a problem in the beginning.
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You know, as a
child grow-- growing up
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I was more underweight
than I was overweight.
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So I was a very thin child.
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Actually my mother
took me to the doctor once
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and he said, "Don't
worry about her weight,
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she'll get to liken
food someday." And I did.
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But, you know, I
didn't have that problem
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where they talk
about it lot now,
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if you're an obese child,
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you're gonna be an obese adult.
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I did not have a
weight problem as a kid.
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I actually did not
start to gain weight
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until I was
pregnant with my first child.
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That's when I actually
started gaining the weight.
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But gaining the weight
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with the pregnancy
is pretty normal, so--
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Well, it is, but
not 75 pounds normal.
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I gained an
immense amount of weight
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and the doctor never
said anything to me about it.
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And I have to say I
married at 17 years old,
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so I was a very, very
young girl, very active,
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I loved to run and
play tennis and swim,
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you know, I just
didn't know how to stop.
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And I never had a problem
with eating too much food.
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I ate when I was hungry. Right.
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So then I get
married at 17 years old,
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and that's when
everything started to change.
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You know, your body
is changing, here I am.
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You know, I got
married and I got pregnant
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right away after I was married
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and I went to this
totally different life.
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And, you know, I'm
looking back on it.
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Now I didn't
see it then, Cherri.
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But here I am, 17
years old I marry.
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I didn't have
access to my friends,
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the people I
went to school with.
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Everything changed for
you. Everything changed for me.
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I became a woman who
sat at home, watch TV,
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had nothing to do till my
husband got home. And ate.
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And--what else
was there to do? Yeah.
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And what was really interesting
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'cause I know that
your dad was a chef,
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so you grew up with some,
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you know, with your dad cooking
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and some good foods
and all that kind of stuff,
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so you've somewhat had food
as a comfort thing growing up.
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Always in a
hospital. Drug abuse.
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Right, my mother
was a great cook too.
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You know, my
dad had restaurants,
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he cooked in the
navy for the officers.
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So my father loved cooking
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and I take a lot of my
love of cooking after my dad.
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But you know, I have
three brothers and a sister.
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And my older sister was the only
one who struggled with weight,
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but for most of us as
kids, you know, we didn't know
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I have a weight
problem, so there was not,
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you know, even
though we had popcorn night,
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like any another family, it
was not the focus of our home,
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but it was nice to sat around
the table and talk, you know.
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So now you're
married, you're 17,
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starting to-- Did you
think there were some--
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was there a
depression with all that change,
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I mean, did you feel like--
I know what it is now. Okay.
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I see that now because
looking back into my life,
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like, what
happened to me? Right.
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Where did Melody really go?
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What happened to
Melody over that time?
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I--my husband--I went
from my father raising me
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to my husband raising me,
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and so I grew up
with my children,
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I was a very young mother
and I had to adapt that. Right.
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And I do
believe I was depressed.
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Looking back on it, now
absolutely I had to eat.
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And I don't wanna--
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I don't wanna say this
kind of disrespectfully,
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but you know, I
can't even imagine
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'cause my addiction was heroin,
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my addiction was drugs,
and if I wanted to feel better
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I would have to go find
someone to buy some drugs from,
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I would have to cook it up,
I'd have to shoot up whatever,
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I can't imagine if I all I had
to do is go to my refrigerator.
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Well, but it's
not that simple. Okay.
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Going to the refrigerator,
you know, here's this emotion,
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you don't know
what's wrong with you,
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you're just not happy. Right.
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So when you start to
eat food you just begin,
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become eating it,
and that could be pizza,
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it could be potato
chips, it could be anything,
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you just go in there to
put your hands on. Right.
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Because it's
almost like a nervousness.
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You're not really hungry. Right.
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Your stomach's not growling,
you're not really saying.
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Okay, I need to eat now.
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I need this
nutrition in my body. Right.
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You're eating
first another reason
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and then you go to bed at night,
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Cherri, I cannot
tie you the nights,
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I have called in my bed at night
and literally beat myself up
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because I was so fool,
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I think I don't ever
want to do this again. Right.
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And you do it over. Right.
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And over and over--
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Because like any addiction
it works for maybe an hour,
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maybe minutes
even-- Shopping. Yeah.
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Whatever it is. Right.
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You know, these addictions
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and we--and people don't
think they are addictions.
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You know, they don't see
it as a problem, but it is.
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Not everybody who is
overweight has that problem,
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but I think if
he was to look into
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some of what's
going on in their life
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without they even
have a knowledge of it.
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There is something hidden there.
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Right. So you ended up.
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When did you
started to gain weight,
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75 pounds during the pregnancy?
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And I lost quite a
bit after my first child.
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And then I started
putting the weight back on
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and it just
continued and it continued,
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and up and down, up and down.
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You know, this is
my 40th anniversary
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this year for years. Yeah.
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And I cannot tell you,
2 years of the 40 years
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that I have been
at a good weight. Wow.
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And my husband
never complained about it.
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So you were constantly battling?
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Constantly
battling my weight. Right.
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And what I think
for a lot of people.
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Can you talk
about the-- the cycle
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'cause you did a little bit,
you'd go to bed and feel like,
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I can't believe
I did this again,
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I felt horrible, you know that
that kind of anger at yourself
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and then the next
day you get up and grab-
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Food starting again. Go
to bed that night so full.
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And you don't
wanna go to bed full in.
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And, you know, I right now,
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you know, with the 100
pounds I've lost so far
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and I still-- How much?
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100. See, I love that.
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100 pounds. That is so cool.
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20 to go. Yeah.
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And, you know, I could not
even pictured myself that way.
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All those years I
wanted to be that way
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and I still look at myself.
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And today, I can go to
the mirror, look at myself
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and I see a fat
woman. I still struggle.
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You know, people say, oh, you--
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'Cause you really do
have to change your mindset.
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You have to change your mindset.
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I don't see me the
way you see me at all.
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You know, and I used
to struggle with that
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when I see somebody who
is like, 5 pounds overweight.
00:09:05.72\00:09:08.58
They're like, "Oh, I'm so
fat. I've got to lose weight.
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And I just wanted to--
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I just want to kill
them, choke them, you know."
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It's like, "What
do you mean 5 pounds?"
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So that's been hard.
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But, you know,
where I started out,
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you know, I'm a
second generation
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Seventh-day Adventist. Yeah.
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My mother and
father raised five children
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in the Adventist Church
and I was very rebellious.
00:09:25.01\00:09:28.13
You know, I
have that personality
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that if I
wanted to do something,
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Melody just wants to
do. You can see that.
00:09:30.96\00:09:33.74
So it got me into
trouble, you know.
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I just kept
wanted to do my own thing
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and I look back now as an adult
and I think why in the world
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would my mother and daddy
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ever let me marry
at 17 years old. Right.
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And they probably didn't.
They probably thought we better.
00:09:44.90\00:09:47.27
You know, 'cause I--
If she would runaway,
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you should take--
Something, something.
00:09:48.75\00:09:50.35
And I look back and I didn't
want an Adventist husband.
00:09:50.38\00:09:55.10
I did not want a Christian
man. I wanted a well boy. Right.
00:09:55.13\00:09:59.30
You know, I wanted-- I wanted
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a rebellious
person along with that.
00:10:00.76\00:10:03.41
So I went into a
marriage with a man
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who struggled
with alcohol. Yeah.
00:10:05.09\00:10:07.59
Smoking, had never been in
an Adventist Church in his life.
00:10:07.62\00:10:10.96
He's not from a Christian home,
not from the Christian family.
00:10:10.99\00:10:12.36
Not from a Christian home,
00:10:12.39\00:10:13.76
his father would
drink quite a bit too.
00:10:13.79\00:10:15.16
So there was quite a bit
turmoil and things going on
00:10:15.19\00:10:17.76
in his family
that I wasn't aware,
00:10:17.79\00:10:19.18
but at 17 years,
00:10:19.21\00:10:20.71
that's the last
thing on your mind. Right.
00:10:20.74\00:10:22.72
You know, I
didn't care at that time.
00:10:22.75\00:10:25.33
So then I get into a marriage.
And I told-- I told my husband.
00:10:25.36\00:10:28.17
I said, "I will never
marry a man who drinks."
00:10:28.20\00:10:30.61
So he quit until
after we got married. Yeah.
00:10:30.64\00:10:34.46
So then I also had
this kind of baggage
00:10:34.49\00:10:36.87
into the
relationship of the alcohol
00:10:36.90\00:10:40.21
and the partying,
be staying in a home,
00:10:40.24\00:10:43.18
where he wasn't there.
Now, that was kind of hard.
00:10:43.21\00:10:45.89
So again where did I go?
To the refrigerator. Right.
00:10:45.92\00:10:49.21
'Cause a lot of times
where people don't realize
00:10:49.24\00:10:51.23
when you marry somebody
that's partying and using,
00:10:51.26\00:10:54.37
is they're not
coming home some nights,
00:10:54.40\00:10:55.94
they're out at the bar,
00:10:55.97\00:10:57.34
they're doing all
that kind of stuff,
00:10:57.37\00:10:58.74
so you emotionally
have all this chaos.
00:10:58.77\00:11:00.78
And your answer
was food to eat. Food.
00:11:00.81\00:11:03.85
Well, there weren't whole
lot else for me to do. Yeah.
00:11:03.88\00:11:06.85
You know, my husband worked
in the oilfield at that time,
00:11:06.88\00:11:09.09
so we traveled around.
00:11:09.12\00:11:10.56
So I might have
been into the city
00:11:10.59\00:11:12.19
where I knew nobody. Yeah.
00:11:12.22\00:11:14.23
And my husband has
the type of personality
00:11:14.26\00:11:17.79
to where he likes
to, you know, dictate or,
00:11:17.82\00:11:20.40
you know, wants me to
do what he wants me to do.
00:11:20.43\00:11:23.28
So that was good for him.
00:11:23.31\00:11:25.95
You know, kept me where
he needed me to be. Right.
00:11:25.98\00:11:28.62
So to explain what it's like
and unless you've been there,
00:11:28.65\00:11:33.07
it's really hard to
know this, but what it's like
00:11:33.10\00:11:36.19
year after year
after year to know that
00:11:36.22\00:11:39.10
it's just
continuously getting worse,
00:11:39.13\00:11:41.73
I'm gaining more weight,
00:11:41.76\00:11:43.13
I'm out of
control, I'm not happy.
00:11:43.16\00:11:45.80
This is not how I wanted to be
00:11:45.83\00:11:47.82
and yet I'm still
going to bed for, right?
00:11:47.85\00:11:51.61
So what's that
like year after year?
00:11:51.64\00:11:53.41
Well, you--you go into a
shell, but people can't see it.
00:11:53.44\00:11:58.46
You're always
happy on the outside.
00:11:58.49\00:12:01.20
It should be noticed by
people, you would notice it
00:12:01.23\00:12:05.09
who struggles with
type of addiction yourself
00:12:05.12\00:12:09.18
because you're always
wanting to fix people,
00:12:09.21\00:12:11.23
you're always
wanting to do something,
00:12:11.26\00:12:12.63
you don't think of yourself,
00:12:12.66\00:12:14.17
you're always
trying to help other people
00:12:14.20\00:12:15.87
because you're trying to take
focus of your own self. Right.
00:12:15.90\00:12:19.23
'Cause I'm out of
control. I'm out of control.
00:12:19.26\00:12:21.37
But I
wanted--inside, I'm screaming.
00:12:21.40\00:12:24.15
And I'm like,
"Does anybody see this?
00:12:24.18\00:12:25.69
Can anybody help me?"
00:12:25.72\00:12:27.09
But you don't wanna
admit it on the outsides.
00:12:27.12\00:12:29.07
You have to paint this beautiful
picture to everybody outwardly.
00:12:29.10\00:12:32.73
And so in that situation--
could you had another child to--
00:12:32.76\00:12:37.18
Well, I had--
actually had three babies.
00:12:37.21\00:12:39.08
I miscarried a last one
00:12:39.11\00:12:40.56
when I was almost--
almost 6 months pregnant. Okay.
00:12:40.59\00:12:43.71
So I lost him. I'm sorry.
00:12:43.74\00:12:45.85
So, what--what happen,
you know, 'cause it's like,
00:12:45.88\00:12:49.80
you know, with any
addiction is after while
00:12:49.83\00:12:51.78
you almost give up even trying
00:12:51.81\00:12:53.96
'cause I know for, you
know, you look at the statistics
00:12:53.99\00:12:57.41
on eating disorders on obesity
00:12:57.44\00:12:59.80
and people are
spending a ton of money,
00:12:59.83\00:13:02.34
I mean, they really
are buying every product
00:13:02.37\00:13:05.31
and taking everything and
doing every kind of fat diet,
00:13:05.34\00:13:08.48
but after a few--after years
of that you almost slow down
00:13:08.51\00:13:12.44
and stop trying without
what kicked in for you finally,
00:13:12.47\00:13:14.95
what--what happened that
you finally said okay. I'm done.
00:13:14.98\00:13:19.06
Well, I tried all those diets.
00:13:19.09\00:13:20.86
I have done weight watch--
I have done weight watchers.
00:13:20.89\00:13:23.42
I can't--I can't
even remember all of them,
00:13:23.45\00:13:26.15
the carbohydrate diet, I
mean I tried everything. Yeah.
00:13:26.18\00:13:29.42
And--some of that would
work for a little while,
00:13:29.45\00:13:32.01
but then it, you
know, then I go back,
00:13:32.04\00:13:34.27
I just revert back
to my old habits. Yeah.
00:13:34.30\00:13:36.88
And I had-- there
was a transition there.
00:13:36.91\00:13:40.34
I left the church, did
not go to church anymore,
00:13:40.37\00:13:43.67
I was not, you
know, reading my Bible,
00:13:43.70\00:13:47.13
living my own life,
doing what Melody wanted to do.
00:13:47.16\00:13:49.89
And I was so empty.
00:13:49.92\00:13:51.40
I'd shopped and
I couldn't fill it,
00:13:51.43\00:13:52.95
I'd eat and I couldn't fill it.
00:13:52.98\00:13:54.68
You know, why there is
an emptiness there because
00:13:54.71\00:13:56.77
God instills
all of us to worship
00:13:56.80\00:13:58.77
and just to worship Him.
00:13:58.80\00:14:00.51
And if we don't then we
try to worship something else.
00:14:00.54\00:14:03.57
And I just kept
trying to find out
00:14:03.60\00:14:06.33
what it was I really
wanted and I couldn't.
00:14:06.36\00:14:08.42
But I woke--
00:14:08.45\00:14:09.82
That emptiness
is pretty intense.
00:14:09.85\00:14:12.30
And I'm not talking
about just food additions
00:14:12.33\00:14:14.53
'cause most addictions
have the sense of emptiness
00:14:14.56\00:14:17.10
that somehow--
somehow I'm not enough,
00:14:17.13\00:14:19.66
somehow I have to do something,
00:14:19.69\00:14:22.30
I have to either get involved,
sexual addiction, drug addiction
00:14:22.33\00:14:25.39
whatever,
something has to fill me up.
00:14:25.42\00:14:27.36
Shopping, you mentioned--
Shopping, I used to shop a lot.
00:14:27.39\00:14:30.34
When I worked on
Corporate America,
00:14:30.37\00:14:32.13
I wouldn't work 40 hours
a week, it is 50-60. Yeah.
00:14:32.16\00:14:35.08
You know, I
always had to do more.
00:14:35.11\00:14:36.96
But I come to the--
to the place in my life
00:14:36.99\00:14:39.83
where I wanted
to know about God.
00:14:39.86\00:14:43.84
I had been raised as
an Adventist Christian
00:14:43.87\00:14:46.66
and I knew what
those values were.
00:14:46.69\00:14:48.91
And I had never had a personal
relationship with the Lord,
00:14:48.94\00:14:51.65
and this was in my early 50s.
00:14:51.68\00:14:53.93
And I thought,
"Lord, how--what can I do?
00:14:53.96\00:14:55.90
How can I get to know You?"
00:14:55.93\00:14:57.56
So I started kind of secretly
reading my Bible and praying,
00:14:57.59\00:15:02.75
you know, with
nobody knowing about it
00:15:02.78\00:15:04.51
and I just started
feeling, "God, take over me
00:15:04.54\00:15:07.19
and I wanted to do
something for Him."
00:15:07.22\00:15:09.73
And my sister had just
lost her husband recently
00:15:09.76\00:15:12.83
and moved back to Ohio,
00:15:12.86\00:15:14.32
that's where I
live at. How did he die?
00:15:14.35\00:15:16.35
He died of cancer. Okay.
00:15:16.38\00:15:17.96
And she said, "If I come back,
will you go to church with me?"
00:15:17.99\00:15:21.11
And I said, "Sure.
00:15:21.14\00:15:22.51
Anything that
get around my hair."
00:15:22.54\00:15:24.18
Actually on our way
to church that Sabbath,
00:15:24.21\00:15:26.04
I had to stop by stores,
so we could lay on a mattress
00:15:26.07\00:15:28.75
like one of
those little animals.
00:15:28.78\00:15:31.29
That's how, you know, I
mean, I was so far away from it.
00:15:31.32\00:15:34.37
And we went to that church
00:15:34.40\00:15:35.77
and I thought, "No, I
don't like this church.
00:15:35.80\00:15:37.43
There was nothing there."
00:15:37.46\00:15:38.83
And we left that
church at Sabbath and I said,
00:15:38.86\00:15:41.53
"Hey, I had a friend
that kept coming by my office
00:15:41.56\00:15:43.65
and we should come back to
church and come over here--
00:15:43.68\00:15:46.73
come to this church,
we have a great pastor."
00:15:46.76\00:15:48.85
And I went the next Sabbath.
00:15:48.88\00:15:50.32
And when I went to church
that Sabbath, it was like,
00:15:50.35\00:15:52.85
God said, "This is your home.
This is where you need to be."
00:15:52.88\00:15:55.13
And I asked Him to
transfer my membership.
00:15:55.16\00:15:58.02
And I started going
back. And I started praying.
00:15:58.05\00:16:01.12
So for you, this what--
00:16:01.15\00:16:04.76
the step you took to
take care of yourself,
00:16:04.79\00:16:07.45
the first step was to connect.
00:16:07.48\00:16:09.75
I had to connect. Yeah, so--
00:16:09.78\00:16:11.15
And I knew my
disconnect was God. Okay.
00:16:11.18\00:16:13.26
I knew that was
my disconnect. Okay.
00:16:13.29\00:16:15.36
And I had to connect with Him
00:16:15.39\00:16:16.76
'cause how could I
connect with my husband,
00:16:16.79\00:16:18.62
my children, myself. I
had no way of doing that.
00:16:18.65\00:16:21.68
I had to connect
with God first 'cause
00:16:21.71\00:16:23.23
He's the only one
that can fix me. Okay.
00:16:23.26\00:16:25.35
And I knew I had to do that.
00:16:25.38\00:16:26.75
Well, you know, for any to
watch the program that's also,
00:16:26.78\00:16:28.73
you know, step one.
00:16:28.76\00:16:30.13
First, I have to
admit, I am powerless. Yes.
00:16:30.16\00:16:31.53
And then I have to admit,
00:16:31.56\00:16:32.93
there is a God that
can restore me to sanity.
00:16:32.96\00:16:34.63
And then I have to
admit, there is a problem.
00:16:34.66\00:16:36.60
Yeah. And there
is a problem there.
00:16:36.63\00:16:38.00
And I knew, it
took me all this time
00:16:38.03\00:16:40.72
to just within the
last year that I realized,
00:16:40.75\00:16:44.27
there is a deeper
problem in Melody.
00:16:44.30\00:16:46.84
And I--they had
a cooking program
00:16:46.87\00:16:49.47
that was at this
church and I went.
00:16:49.50\00:16:51.45
And that's what started me
00:16:51.48\00:16:53.17
into what I call
the health message
00:16:53.20\00:16:54.91
that I do now.
00:16:54.94\00:16:56.31
So what was the--
the cooking program?
00:16:56.34\00:16:59.07
Because you've seen a lot
of stuff up in at that time,
00:16:59.10\00:17:01.47
you tried a lot of
things. I mean, why then--
00:17:01.50\00:17:03.92
It was all plant-based.
It was all plant-based.
00:17:03.95\00:17:05.97
And I was so addicted to cheese.
00:17:06.00\00:17:08.22
I had this addiction to cheese
00:17:08.25\00:17:09.72
that I just couldn't
get it out of my diet.
00:17:09.75\00:17:11.86
And when I went and I
heard this information,
00:17:11.89\00:17:14.38
again God just told me,
00:17:14.41\00:17:16.38
"Melody, this is
what you've got to do."
00:17:16.41\00:17:18.25
And with my personality, I
don't go in and start slow.
00:17:18.28\00:17:22.44
I go in and I do it 100%.
00:17:22.47\00:17:25.03
So--so I've got
to just picture this.
00:17:25.06\00:17:27.43
You're at least a 100
pounds heavier than you are now.
00:17:27.46\00:17:29.97
I was 255 pounds
and I weigh 155 now.
00:17:30.00\00:17:33.14
So 255 pounds, you
decide that I'm gonna end up
00:17:33.17\00:17:39.42
allowing God back in my life.
00:17:39.45\00:17:41.89
I'm gonna finally admit to Him,
00:17:41.92\00:17:43.29
I'm powerless, I can't do this.
00:17:43.32\00:17:46.09
And you just slowly start
to allow information to get in.
00:17:46.12\00:17:51.35
I did 'cause God knew
how much I could handle.
00:17:51.38\00:17:54.91
And then when I
through-- this whole time
00:17:54.94\00:17:58.22
I was working at the
Corporate America, and God--
00:17:58.25\00:18:00.99
I got to stop you for a second.
00:18:01.02\00:18:02.94
'Cause my head is just screaming
a couple of things. Okay.
00:18:02.97\00:18:06.87
I am 30 pounds overweight
00:18:06.90\00:18:09.09
and when I first
started to even look at like,
00:18:09.12\00:18:11.23
you know, all year
I've been working too much
00:18:11.26\00:18:13.23
and I'm not paying attention
and all that kind of stuff.
00:18:13.26\00:18:15.65
Just to get up and take
a walk with a lot of work.
00:18:15.68\00:18:18.22
And you're talking
about 250 plus pounds.
00:18:18.25\00:18:22.36
And so there's got to be
something that I'm not hearing
00:18:22.39\00:18:24.88
'cause just to
get up saying that,
00:18:24.91\00:18:26.87
"I'm gonna get
up and go do this."
00:18:26.90\00:18:28.71
It is not the
easiest thing. It's not--
00:18:28.74\00:18:31.57
I have to show you pictures
I forgot to bring in 'cause
00:18:31.60\00:18:34.08
I stayed away from
the camera. I still do.
00:18:34.11\00:18:36.95
You know, that was
one thing I thought of.
00:18:36.98\00:18:38.35
If I don't see
myself-- I wanted all you do.
00:18:38.38\00:18:41.08
If I see myself in that
camera, there is no way,
00:18:41.11\00:18:43.88
so I avoided them, but I do
have a few of those pictures
00:18:43.91\00:18:46.48
and when I see them
now, I just want to bowl.
00:18:46.51\00:18:49.70
You know, I just think,
"oh, who is that woman"? Yeah.
00:18:49.73\00:18:52.11
You know, but you
probably didn't to tell
00:18:52.14\00:18:54.70
I weighed that much
'cause I've people now say,
00:18:54.73\00:18:56.62
"you don't weigh that much."
00:18:56.65\00:18:58.02
You know, when I-
'Cause you learn to dress
00:18:58.05\00:18:59.58
and you learn to do
all that kind of style.
00:18:59.61\00:19:00.98
Yeah, you do learn to do that,
00:19:01.01\00:19:02.38
but, you know, I
can only walk a block
00:19:02.41\00:19:04.51
when I did that and
I've a Golden Retriever
00:19:04.54\00:19:06.50
and he had pulled me. Oh.
That's how I had energy to do.
00:19:06.53\00:19:09.47
What got you there first
00:19:09.50\00:19:10.87
for somebody
that's watching right now?
00:19:10.90\00:19:12.27
What got you to get up
and even walk that block?
00:19:12.30\00:19:14.73
My health. Okay. So you
knew, I've to get apart.
00:19:14.76\00:19:16.74
With heart disease, and I
was taking heart medication,
00:19:16.77\00:19:19.48
then diagnosed with
hypertension and they said,
00:19:19.51\00:19:21.84
there's two
medications you've to take.
00:19:21.87\00:19:23.97
I just learned that nutrition
00:19:24.00\00:19:25.69
and diet had
everything in the world to do
00:19:25.72\00:19:28.02
with what was
going on in my body
00:19:28.05\00:19:29.42
and I knew that
was the only thing
00:19:29.45\00:19:30.82
that's gonna get me out of it.
00:19:30.85\00:19:32.22
So I had to--you
know, eating got me there,
00:19:32.25\00:19:34.52
eating takes me out.
00:19:34.55\00:19:36.47
Okay. It was that simple.
00:19:36.50\00:19:37.87
So you push up to move. Yes.
00:19:37.90\00:19:40.25
You take your
dog out to pull you.
00:19:40.28\00:19:42.71
And you get
your first mile down.
00:19:42.74\00:19:45.08
No, block. Block.
00:19:45.11\00:19:46.58
I walked up the block in there.
00:19:46.61\00:19:48.49
I love that. And you come home--
00:19:48.52\00:19:49.89
But I've to just
say that sometimes,
00:19:49.92\00:19:52.36
you know, with
most of our addictions,
00:19:52.39\00:19:53.91
we really do wanted
to happen right away,
00:19:53.94\00:19:55.80
but sometimes it's
just a matter of doing
00:19:55.83\00:19:57.59
that first
little thing. That's it.
00:19:57.62\00:19:59.21
You know, and even
with somebody is just like,
00:19:59.24\00:20:03.17
you know, eat a carrot a day,
00:20:03.20\00:20:05.41
grab an apple, do
something to work,
00:20:05.44\00:20:07.72
you know, today I'm actually
going to do one little thing,
00:20:07.75\00:20:10.17
I'm not going to
do everything today,
00:20:10.20\00:20:12.58
but one thing. So
you started there.
00:20:12.61\00:20:14.13
Yeah, started there.
00:20:14.16\00:20:15.67
Should with a church you preach,
00:20:15.70\00:20:17.34
you know, lot of
people discount that.
00:20:17.37\00:20:19.19
But sometimes just
connecting with other people
00:20:19.22\00:20:21.83
is going to help you
more than anything else
00:20:21.86\00:20:23.48
'cause we isolate and we tend
to in all of our addictions,
00:20:23.51\00:20:26.68
we tend to like stop connecting.
00:20:26.71\00:20:29.22
And the only
people that we connect
00:20:29.25\00:20:30.62
where there's somebody
that's gonna feed my addiction,
00:20:30.65\00:20:32.19
like I'll hang out
without other heron addicts,
00:20:32.22\00:20:34.73
but I won't hang out
with something that is,
00:20:34.76\00:20:36.64
is--not choosing to use drugs
00:20:36.67\00:20:38.78
or you know, like when you eat,
00:20:38.81\00:20:40.32
that's a very-- you
can do that by yourself.
00:20:40.35\00:20:43.38
Very personal. Yeah.
00:20:43.41\00:20:45.36
And so you
connected with people.
00:20:45.39\00:20:47.21
Got up and started
doing little things.
00:20:47.24\00:20:49.86
And how did it
open that from there.
00:20:49.89\00:20:52.90
Well, from there I thought
God calling me to do ministry
00:20:52.93\00:20:56.90
to help teach other
people I thought me.
00:20:56.93\00:20:58.93
How funny is that
'cause you're like-
00:20:58.96\00:21:00.69
I'm sick God, and I
was still. Look at me.
00:21:00.72\00:21:03.26
You know, I had
lost some weight,
00:21:03.29\00:21:04.66
but I hadn't lost
all my weight. Yeah.
00:21:04.69\00:21:06.49
Who's going to listen to me?
Is that way you have feel that.
00:21:06.52\00:21:08.98
I was sitting in my living room
audibly arguing with God. Yeah.
00:21:09.01\00:21:12.43
To the point that my animals
00:21:12.46\00:21:13.83
were looking at me like
she-- we've lost her. Yes.
00:21:13.86\00:21:16.25
And I was screaming at Him
00:21:16.28\00:21:17.65
and saying, you cannot use me,
00:21:17.68\00:21:19.05
I have to be thin first
'cause they won't listen to me.
00:21:19.08\00:21:22.22
And God said, "no I
need you right now."
00:21:22.25\00:21:24.88
And I argued and
argued and He won the battle
00:21:24.91\00:21:27.87
'cause my heart was
softening, you know.
00:21:27.90\00:21:29.92
And I said, I told
God right then fine,
00:21:29.95\00:21:31.80
if you want me to
make a fool out of myself,
00:21:31.83\00:21:33.39
then I'll just do that.
00:21:33.42\00:21:34.79
I'll go out and make
a fool out of myself.
00:21:34.82\00:21:36.19
But that it
felt like that to you
00:21:36.22\00:21:38.05
that for you to
even say anything about
00:21:38.08\00:21:40.28
positive living
or healthful living,
00:21:40.31\00:21:41.91
it would be like,
they would laugh at me.
00:21:41.94\00:21:44.19
Oh, please me. Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:44.22\00:21:46.88
And I got to tell Mel,
the first time I heard you,
00:21:46.91\00:21:50.95
I didn't laughed at you.
00:21:50.98\00:21:52.70
You know, I wanted to taste
00:21:52.73\00:21:54.10
what you were getting together
00:21:54.13\00:21:55.50
where you were cooking and so,
know that its really interesting
00:21:55.53\00:21:58.47
is that as you stood up
and got more confident in that
00:21:58.50\00:22:02.35
or did you get
confidence at first.
00:22:02.38\00:22:03.79
It took, I did seminars on,
00:22:03.82\00:22:07.52
you know, these
diseases for two years.
00:22:07.55\00:22:10.84
And I was at a
standstill with my weight.
00:22:10.87\00:22:15.40
Nothing come off.
00:22:15.43\00:22:16.80
Well, for two years
00:22:16.83\00:22:18.20
in two language
you were teaching--
00:22:18.23\00:22:19.60
And I'm teaching. I love that.
00:22:19.63\00:22:21.00
You know, I'm gonna--
we're gonna break here
00:22:21.03\00:22:23.04
and we're gonna come
back on the second half.
00:22:23.07\00:22:25.28
I'm gonna hear--we're gonna
hear little bit more of Melody
00:22:25.31\00:22:28.72
and how she stood up.
00:22:28.75\00:22:30.12
But I think its funny that,
00:22:30.15\00:22:31.71
you know, God didn't wait
for her to get it all together
00:22:31.74\00:22:34.29
for her to loose all the weight,
for everything to come off
00:22:34.32\00:22:36.89
and He's not waiting for
you either to do all that,
00:22:36.92\00:22:39.32
He says, stand up
now, do the little things,
00:22:39.35\00:22:41.75
teach somebody else
00:22:41.78\00:22:43.15
and you will be
surprised that how cool
00:22:43.18\00:22:44.84
that is for your own recovery.
00:22:44.87\00:22:46.70
When we come back,
Melody is gonna show us
00:22:46.73\00:22:49.00
some healthy things as
she finishes the story.
00:22:49.03\00:22:51.89
And I love the fact a
100 pounds, that is amazing.
00:22:51.92\00:22:56.93
We'll be right
back, stay with us.
00:22:56.96\00:22:58.72