Former Miss Tennessee gets back to pageant weight
When Deby Gooch was crowned Miss Tennessee in 1975, she was a physically fit size 6. She went on to the Miss America pageant, where she became a top 10 finalist and won the talent competition.
After years of singing and entertaining (she did the USO tour four times), Deby got married, and settled down to start a family. Over the next 25 years, Deby slowly put her family's needs before hers, and stopped exercising and eating right.
Fast food and chips replaced the healthy foods she once ate on the pageant circuit. She became ashamed of the body she used to show off on stage. She was even too embarrassed to attend the 2005 Miss Tennessee reunion.
Deby's breaking point came when she hit 227 pounds, and started buying size 20 clothes. She knew diabetes ran in both sides of her family. And she was starting to have foot and back problems from carrying around the extra weight.
Then her son Joey, a medical student, told her he was concerned she wouldn't be around to play with her grandchildren.
About that time, she saw some commercials for a new L A Weight Loss center that had just opened in Jackson, Tenn. Deby checked it out. When she walked in the door, she knew she made the right choice.
Amanda Sledge, her personal counselor, helped her design a meal plan that would fit Deby's lifestyle. Amanda also encouraged her to keep going to reach her goal of 145 pounds.
Deby dropped two pounds a week. She's now 153 pounds, and a size 6/8 -- the same size she wore on stage 32 years ago! Plus, she's learned to put her health first. She walks the treadmill, lifts free weights, and does stomach exercises every day.
And she's now planning to go to the 2007 Miss Tennessee reunion!
That's Deby on the left, at 227 pounds:
And Deby after at 153 pounds. Just call her Miss L A Weight Loss!
FAST FACTS
Name: Deby Gooch
Hometown: Humboldt, Tenn.
Age: 54
Starting weight: 227 pounds
Goal weight: 145 pounds
Current weight: 153 pounds
Program start date: April 2006
Biggest temptation: Chocolate.
Biggest motivator: Getting healthy so she could be around to see and play with her grandkids.
Biggest obstacle: Learning to put herself first.
Old eating philosophy: Any kind of junk food, especially hamburgers, French fries, chips, and candy.
New eating philosophy: She still eats hamburgers, but she doesn't eat the whole bun, and she skips the fries. She also tries to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into her day.
Best thing about losing weight: Learning how to eat, what to eat, and how much.
Best weight loss secret learned: Don't start the program unless you know in your heart that you can do it.
After years of singing and entertaining (she did the USO tour four times), Deby got married, and settled down to start a family. Over the next 25 years, Deby slowly put her family's needs before hers, and stopped exercising and eating right.
Fast food and chips replaced the healthy foods she once ate on the pageant circuit. She became ashamed of the body she used to show off on stage. She was even too embarrassed to attend the 2005 Miss Tennessee reunion.
Deby's breaking point came when she hit 227 pounds, and started buying size 20 clothes. She knew diabetes ran in both sides of her family. And she was starting to have foot and back problems from carrying around the extra weight.
Then her son Joey, a medical student, told her he was concerned she wouldn't be around to play with her grandchildren.
About that time, she saw some commercials for a new L A Weight Loss center that had just opened in Jackson, Tenn. Deby checked it out. When she walked in the door, she knew she made the right choice.
Amanda Sledge, her personal counselor, helped her design a meal plan that would fit Deby's lifestyle. Amanda also encouraged her to keep going to reach her goal of 145 pounds.
Deby dropped two pounds a week. She's now 153 pounds, and a size 6/8 -- the same size she wore on stage 32 years ago! Plus, she's learned to put her health first. She walks the treadmill, lifts free weights, and does stomach exercises every day.
And she's now planning to go to the 2007 Miss Tennessee reunion!
That's Deby on the left, at 227 pounds:
And Deby after at 153 pounds. Just call her Miss L A Weight Loss!
FAST FACTS
Name: Deby Gooch
Hometown: Humboldt, Tenn.
Age: 54
Starting weight: 227 pounds
Goal weight: 145 pounds
Current weight: 153 pounds
Program start date: April 2006
Biggest temptation: Chocolate.
Biggest motivator: Getting healthy so she could be around to see and play with her grandkids.
Biggest obstacle: Learning to put herself first.
Old eating philosophy: Any kind of junk food, especially hamburgers, French fries, chips, and candy.
New eating philosophy: She still eats hamburgers, but she doesn't eat the whole bun, and she skips the fries. She also tries to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into her day.
Best thing about losing weight: Learning how to eat, what to eat, and how much.
Best weight loss secret learned: Don't start the program unless you know in your heart that you can do it.
Labels: 74 pounds, Deby Gooch, Diabetes, Miss Tennessee
posted by Jackie Zima-Evans @ 5:14 PM
