Sharla Pincock loses the baby weight, five times over

Pregnancy comes with many challenges. But for Sharla Pincock, giving birth wasn’t the hard part. Losing the baby weight was.

As a stay-at-home mother of five, she suffered from post-partum depression, and turned to food for comfort. She didn’t have time to cook balanced meals, and filled up on quick fixes to satisfy her hunger.

High-calorie carbs such as bagels and breads were always in hand. By the beginning of 2006, Sharla tipped the scales at 301 pounds.

Her health wasn't the only thing compromised by her weight. Sharla didn’t have the energy to give her kids the time and attention they deserved. Instead of joining them on the playground, she sat on the bench and watched. And coaching her daughter's volleyball team was exhausting.

Sharla knew she had to lose weight and get her life back on track, or risk serious serious complications. She tried dropping the pounds by exercising on her treadmill at home and playing on a volleyball team once a week. But despite her best efforts, nothing seemed to work.

But then her friend, Cami, turned Sharla on to L A Weight Loss. Cami was on the program, and had dropped 80 pounds. Sharla’s mother was also on the L A Weight Loss plan, and had lost 40 pounds. Inspired by their success, Sharla decided to give the program a try.

In April, she joined the Rexburg, Idaho, center, and worked with her personal weight loss counselors to adjust her diet. She incorporated more fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and proteins into her menu, and ate everything in moderation.

She also learned how to prepare healthy homemade meals and treats from her L A Lite cookbook. To round out her weight loss plan, Sharla exercised at home for 50 minutes three times a week on her stairstepper and treadmill.

Since joining L A Weight Loss, Sharla has lost 150 pounds -- half her size! She now runs 5K marathons with ease, plays volleyball with gusto, and has no problem keeping up with her children. Sharla even hiked 14 miles up Table Rock Mountain last summer.

One of Sharla's favorite parts about losing weight is shopping for her new size 6 figure. Plus, she lost all of her baby weight and then some! She's slimmer now than she was when she got married. In fact, Sharla looks so good now, people have thought her husband was cheating on her with a new woman! ;)

Here's Sharla at 301 pounds:



And here she is now, looking absolutely fantastic at 150 pounds:



FAST FACTS

Name: Sharla Pincock
Hometown: Sugar City, Idaho
Age: 33
Height: 5'8"

Starting weight: 301 pounds
Goal weight: 150 pounds
Current weight: 150 pounds
Program start date: April 2006

Favorite food: Steamed vegetables.

Biggest temptation: Brownie sundaes.

Biggest motivator: Keeping up with her five children.

Biggest obstacle: Staying positive.

Old eating philosophy: Munching on tons of carbs.

New eating philosophy: Eating more vegetables, proteins, and dairy.

Best thing about losing weight: Feeling more confident, and having more energy than ever before.

Best weight loss secret learned: Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Favorite recipes, from Sharla Pincock's table to yours

Sharla Pincock has been one busy woman recently. It's only the second week in January, and she's already appeared on the cover of People magazine for slimming down to half her size, and shared her incredible weight loss journey with the Today Show.

Now Sharla's sharing one of her favorite Controltrim recipes with us: melt-in-your-mouth crab cakes served with tarter sauce. Enjoy!

Crab cakes

2 tsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. minced onion
1 Tbsp. minced celery
1 Tbsp. minced green pepper
2 tsp. Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp. yellow or Dijon mustard
2 tsp. minced parsley
2 tsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Controltrim mayonnaise (see recipe below)
2 slices light bread, crumbled
1 lb. crab meat, picked over
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup bread crumbs
Nonfat cooking spray

Heat the oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onion, celery, and green pepper; cook over medium heat until softened, approximately 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool.

In a bowl, combine the Old Bay seasoning, mustard, parsley, lemon juice, mayonnaise, and crumbled bread. Fold in the crab, being careful not to break up the large clumps. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Form the crab into cakes, 4 oz. each. Dredge the crab cakes in bread crumbs, and then refrigerate until chilled, approximately 1 hour.

Spray a large skillet with non-stick pan spray. Brown the crab cakes on both sides over medium heat. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and tarter sauce (see recipe below).

Servings: 4
Serving size: 1 cake
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes



Controltrim Mayonnaise

1 cup light mayonnaise
3/4 cup Controltrim paste
Salt to taste

Whisk together the mayonnaise and paste until completely blended. Season to taste with salt if desired. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

Servings: 19
Serving Size: 1 1/2 Tbsp.
Prep time: 5 minutes



Tartar Sauce

1/2 cup Controltrim mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. minced dill pickle
1 tsp. minced parsley
1 tsp. lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch of sugar substitute

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, stirring well to blend. Keep refrigerated in an airtight container.

Servings: 5
Serving Size: 2 Tbsp.
Prep time: 5 minutes

Sharla Pincock stars in her own commercial

This month, Sharla Pincock trekked all around the country to share her amazing weight loss story with everyone from Ellen DeGeneres to the Today Show. And now, she's the star in her own L A Weight Loss commercial!

Check it out!

From blog, to magazine cover, to TV, these ladies do it all

The new year is off to a great start for Courtney Dawson of Louisiana and Sharla Pincock of Idaho. After slimming down to half their size on the L A Weight Loss program, they caught the attention of People magazine's editors.

The women were selected among thousands of candidates across the country to be featured on the Jan. 14th cover of People's Half Their Size issue.

Courtney went from 334 pounds to 168 pounds. And Sharla dropped from 301 pounds to 150 pounds. Click here to check out their magazine cover debut. That's Sharla on the left, and Courtney on the right.

Also take a look at their profiles on People's Web site, where Courtney and Sharla share their incredible weight loss stories with America. Congratulations, ladies!

But the news didn't stop there. NBC's Today Show caught wind of their stories, and interviewed the women live this morning. What a whirlwind!

Stay tuned, as I'll be sharing Courtney and Sharla's experience with People and the Today Show. I can't wait to hear about their morning with Matt Lauer. ;)

Courtney and Sharla together on screen again

Since losing weight, half-their-sizers Courtney Dawson and Sharla Pincock haven't stopped talking about it. They've shared their amazing weight loss stories on radio, in newspapers, on television, and (of course) on our blog.

I showed you Sharla's commercial last week, and now we're debuting their joint commercial below. Enjoy!

Sydney Bowen empties the nest and dumps the weight

For parents, when all the kids move out and the nest is empty, it can be difficult adjusting to the new household dynamic. But it's also an opportunity to try to new things. For Sydney Bowen, the empty nest was the push to take control of her obesity and get her life back on track.

Weight had been an issue for Sydney since childhood. Sydney remembers being left home alone after school and turning to food for comfort. Her parents both worked and her siblings had their own lives. To fill the time, Sydney snacked.

She started her first diet program at age 11, attending a weight loss center with her mom. As the youngest of five, she became her mother’s dieting sidekick.

Still, she couldn't help but indulge in Chinese, Mexican, and McDonalds. Never a big fan of sweets, Sydney enjoyed "real" food, in large quantities. She enjoyed eating out, and loved to fill her plate at barbecues. But food was only a temporary comfort. Sydney was miserable most of the time, toting around at 283 pounds.

Then Sydney got one of the worst scares of her life. She was diagnosed with borderline type-2 diabetes. But she was immune to insulin, and had to take pills to maintain her health and prevent full development of the condition.

With a family history of diabetes, Sydney feared she was headed down the same unhealthy path. She also had borderline high blood pressure, but refrained from medication. She needed to lose weight to get her health back on track.

Sydney's doctor prescribed her a diet pill. She lost 80 pounds on the medication, although eventually became immune to its effects and gained back the 80 pounds, plus some.

She felt miserable and couldn’t bear to feel that way, especially after all of her children moved out. She didn't want to be alone, unhealthy, and depressed.

She considered gastric bypass surgery, but realized it was too expensive. Then she saw L A Weight Loss member Sharla Pincock on the cover of People Magazine's Half Their Size issue, and on TV. Sharla's success inspired Sydney, and she decided to join L A Weight Loss.

She was matched up with a personal weight loss counselor, who taught her how to eat her favorite foods in the right portions. Sydney learned to not eat for pleasure, but eat to live. She cut out fast food, and instead filled up on healthy amounts of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole-grain carbs.

Today, Sydney is 125 pounds lighter. She weighs 158, just three pounds away from her goal weight of 155 pounds. Sydney no longer needs diabetes medication and has stopped taking diet pills. She vows never to take a diet pill again, and encourages others to do the same.

The reaction of family members and friends who haven’t seen her for a while is enough to keep her going on her path to success. She’s gotten to this place by mentally committing to losing weight.

She continues to eat healthy foods, including fruits, veggies, chicken, and fish. A new habit of Sydney’s is preparing her own food. She still eats out occasionally, but enjoys having control of what goes into her meals, and how much. Now, when she goes to a barbecue, she doesn’t feel the need to fill her plate. Sydney also enjoys L A Lites to curb her occasional sweet craving.

Pleasure in the little things is what Sydney loves most about her weight loss. She can play with her grandkids, shop anywhere, and fit comfortably into a waiting room chair. She even got a trampoline! Sydney jumps daily, a pastime that she had forgotten when her weight got in the way.

Most impressive is Sydney’s recent accomplishment of running in two 5K marathons. She is now training for the 1/2 marathon next year in Salt Lake City. For Sydney, training for these marathons is a hobby. Great choice of a hobby! Good for you, Sydney!

Here is Sydney at 283 pounds:



And here she is today, looking great at 158 pounds:



FAST FACTS

Name: Sydney Bowen
Hometown: Idaho Falls, Idaho
Age: 43
Height: 5'5"

Starting weight: 283 pounds
Goal weight: 155 pounds
Current weight: 158 pounds
Program start date: Jan. 2, 2007

Favorite food: Cheesy Taco Salad in the L A Weight Loss cookbook.

Biggest temptation: Mexican food.

Biggest motivator: Being able to pick up her grandchildren.

Biggest obstacle: Falling into a plateau.

Old eating philosophy: Eating tacos, enchiladas, chips and salsa, McDonalds, and Chinese daily.

New eating philosophy: Cooking chicken, turkey, fish, broccoli, spinach, salad, and strawberries instead of going out.

Best thing about losing weight: Getting off of type-2 diabetes medicine and feeling healthy.

Best weight loss secret learned: It's all about your mindset.

Best secrets from our "biggest losers"

We recently tracked down 11 of our "biggest losers" on the blog -- people who've lost over 100 pounds -- to find out their favorite weight loss secrets.

From portion control to finding the right foods, these successful losers share what helped them drop the pounds -- more than 2,000 pounds in total, to be exact. But these points of advice aren't just for the obese. We selected them because they're helpful for anyone trying to lose weight!

Sharla Pincock, lost 150 pounds: Eat more often throughout the day. Breakfast is the most important meal.

Tena Evans, lost 173 pounds: You can still eat out at restaurants while losing weight, just make the right decisions.

Arianna Chavez, lost 154 pounds: Drink lots of water! It really helps and can make a big difference.

Ben Shanahan, lost 130 pounds: You can eat anything and still lose weight. It’s all about portion control and making smart choices. For example, have veggie pizza instead of pizza with meat toppings.

Becky Harrold, lost 120 pounds: If you stick to the correct portions, you can still eat the foods you love. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change.

Connie Thone, lost 220 pounds: Keep variety in your diet.

John Lay, lost 160 pounds: It’s all about adding exercise to your life.

Kathy Kersting, lost 108 pounds: Use little mental tricks to dissuade yourself from eating bad foods throughout the day, like whether the person from work who made those brownies washed their hands.

LuAnn Zipp, lost 150 pounds: Moderation is the key to everything.

Margaret Mondragon, lost 188 pounds: By adding more fruit to your diet, you'll lose weight, and enjoy a sweet snack.

Michelle Dumas, lost 200 pounds: Don’t eat carbs at night.