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At more than 270 pounds, John Pounardjian, Research Education, Lerner Research Institute, knew he needed to make a change. Pounardjian was a smoker, had been diagnosed with fatty liver disease and finally realized how inactive he actually was. He started attending weekly Weight Watchers meetings and joined the W.O. Walker Fitness Center. At the end of his first week in Weight Watchers, Pounardjian learned he had already lost five pounds. When he noticed his clothes needing alterations, he realized his hard work five days a week at the gym was paying off. “I was getting used to portion control and was happy with the progress I was making.” He started a “paperclip chain” to track his weight loss and help his motivation. “Each clip represents one pound of weight loss. Every time I lost a pound, I added a clip; every time I gained weight, I removed a clip. You would be surprised how motivated you get to keep your clips and continue adding to the chain.” Since his first Weight Watchers meeting on January 29, 2009, Pounardjian has lost nearly 80 pounds. “Don’t get me wrong, the weight didn’t just come off. It was hard and it took a lot of work, but I was proving to myself that it could be done,” he says. On top of his success with weight loss, Pounardjian also has been smoke-free for seven months and has entirely reversed his fatty liver disease. Pounardjian is living proof that with self-direction, motivation and dedication to a commitment, a person can turn his or her life around. He has run several 5K races and is now training for a half marathon in May. “I know I couldn’t have done this without the support of my co-workers or the resources provided by Cleveland Clinic,” says Pounardjian. “I am very happy with the way I look, and it is truly a dream come true. I am grateful for being given the opportunity to change my life.”  To send John a message, click here and sign his guestbook.

Weight Watchers Helped One Employee Lose 130 pounds!

Once a marathon runner who didn't know a thing about healthy eating, Cleveland Clinic employee Nazalee O'Hearn found herself more than 100 pounds overweight when she stopped training. Weight Watchers helped her learn how to nurture her body the right way.

Even after gaining 120 pounds in three years, said O'Hearn,  "I still saw myself as that thin girl. I was very prideful, I suppose, and for me to admit I'd done this to myself was huge."  Her weight gain began while she was recuperating from tailbone surgery and wasn't allowed to run. She could have walked, but for an avid marathoner, that seemed wimpy and unthinkable. "It was running or nothing, and nothing won," she said. But she kept eating like a runner.  "I ate mindlessly because when I ran, I would just burn it off." After three months, she was 20 pounds heavier and a confirmed couch potato. And so it went. Her eureka moment came when her slacks waistband ripped, and ripped again and again. And she kept returning to the Nordstrom seamstress for repairs.

She weighed 272 pounds when she joined Weight Watchers. She learned to eat properly and lost almost 130 pounds. She's kept it off almost five years. "It's all about changing your habits and re-programming yourself and your relationship with food.  Obesity is a disease but with Weight Watchers they have the wellness prescription to fight it:  attend your meetings, exercise, think first and pick your food plan."   "Being a Weight Watchers leader is the most rewarding experience and getting members to goal, guiding them thru self awareness and having fun in my meeting rooms is an out of this world experience!"  O'Hearn, 38, also had to accept that the gray zone between marathon runner and couch potato was acceptable. She spins an hour a night and allows herself two days to rest. "I never did that before. Now I'll walk and listen to how my body is feeling."

Weight Watchers is available to any Cleveland Clinic Employee Health Plan members.  To learn more, visit the employee health plan website at http://www.clevelandclinic.org/healthplan

Nazalee is currently a Weight Watchers leader and welcomes employees who would like to communicate with her and receive her weekly inspirational email.  You can email Nazalee directly by clicking here