“Today, I’m the one who motivates myself.”

Amanda Pochatko had been on the up and down roller coaster of fad dieting for almost her entire life. Always the heaviest among her peers, she can still feel the embarrassment of being weighed in front of her fifth-grade class as a child. In fact, it was that experience, she says, that led her to her first diet. Since that time, she has tried almost everything. And while each time she’d lose a few pounds, the weight always came back. Amanda knew that she was looking for convenient weight loss, but she didn’t know how to attain it.

After a harder push in graduate school, Amanda lost 60 pounds—but even then, it crept back after graduation. What she needed was a lifestyle change that was manageable. That’s where Nutrisystem came into play. Amanda says that it was a convenient weight loss program that fit into her busy life—letting her take control over her eating habits without being too much work. With Nutrisystem, the changes became part of everyday life. Down over 100 pounds,* Amanda has made the lifestyle change that she never knew was attainable… until now.

Here’s her incredible story:

 By Amanda Pochatko

I’ve been overweight pretty much my entire life. As a child, my family used food to fix or celebrate everything. This pattern of overeating and using food as a crutch became my norm, and it quickly got out of hand. I was always the heaviest person in the class. I tried various fad diets or programs and was able to lose a little but always gained it back, plus some. In graduate school, I hit my highest weight at 260 and dedicated myself to losing weight and exercising more. The result was losing 60 pounds and I felt great. But as had happened in the past, it didn’t last.

In September 2014, I saw photos from a trip, and I was mortified. I hadn’t fully comprehended how big I’d gotten. I was 275 pounds and a size 24/26. I decided to try Nutrisystem with the goal of losing some weight by my 40^th birthday. At first, I only told my husband. I was so afraid of judgement. but I set mini goals for myself that I could achieve within a month or two, along with larger goals that I could hit every six months.

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Recently, I surpassed my goal of losing 100 pounds and was shocked to be able to purchase size 10 clothing.* I’m also training for a half marathon. I would tell someone considering Nutrisystem how easy it can fit into your busy life. If you want to lose weight but feel like you don’t have the time, this is the plan for you.

Today, I’m the one who motivates myself. At first, I started this to please others and was more concerned about how I was viewed. But now it’s about me. I’m worth this. I’ve achieved an amazing accomplishment already, and I don’t want to go back to that “other Amanda.” Every time I think about giving up, I tell myself I did not work this hard for three years to revert to the sad, overweight and tired person I see in that photo. My greatest success is that I have taken control of my eating and ended up a wiser, happier, more confident person as a result.

Get started with your convenient weight loss plan from Nutrisystem today!

*$10,000 Contest Winner.  Weight lost on prior program. Expect to lose an avg 1-2 lbs per week.