Think Thin: Heidi Bylsma Lost 100 Pounds

Heidi Bylsma, 46, of Cool, Calif., used to swing between hiding behind an overweight body and extreme exercising and dieting. A stint at Weight Watchers left her thinner but feeling obsessed with food and her body. “I’d lose weight but the problems would still be there,” she says. When a friend introduced her to the mindful-eating-centered, faith-based plan Thin Within, Bylsma realized she could ask herself,  “Am I physically hungry?” If the answer was no, the question became,  “What am I looking to food to do for me right now?”  Bylsma began heeding her body’s hunger signals—and she lost weight. Now, at 150 pounds from a high of 250, she says, “I feel free. I could never go back to weighing food.”