I had been looking for some kind of weight-loss help for about a year.  I’d check out the Internet, but it seemed most programs involved surgery!  The one thing I absolutely knew was I did not want surgery.  So I’d get discouraged and leave it for awhile.  Then, at the beginning of last summer, I searched again and Laurel’s website popped up.  I thought about it, and decided why not, and made the call.  And after a half-century, my life took off!

 When I first met with Laurel I was pleased with her openness, but also with how pragmatic she was.  It was explained that in addition to the acupuncture treatments, I would need to “diet” and to exercise in order to maximize the benefits.  I felt I could be honest with her about my feelings about my weight and about programs that I believed capitalized and exploited heavy people.  I told her I was comfortable being moderately upholstered but that currently (and for the last ten years) I was overstuffed and would like to transcend that.  I said I wasn’t expecting miracles, I wasn’t in a hurry and I needed the program to fit me - I wasn’t willing to be programmed to fit it.

 The acupuncture treatments themselves are amazing.  I come out of a session feeling strong, and energetic and balanced.  If I have a headache, Laurel deals with that ... I hurt my knee, she was able to treat that and the pain was gone.  I feel totally safe and healthy in her care and able to talk about health issues far beyond the weight.  But Laurel and I discuss my food, my feelings about the food, my physical being and all that entails, weekly and assess what’s working and what isn’t.  Together we find what will meet my particular need and help me achieve.  Trial and more success than error.

 For the first time in my life I feel in control of my weight.  I don’t diet ... I just have a new way of eating.  I don’t get hungry and I don’t get cravings.  The food program is made up of just that - food!  Regular good food that is satisfying.  In the past, when I found a program that worked for me I’d keep the weight off for 2 or 3 years, but it would creep back.  I tried the fast, the pills, the shock therapy, and while I’d lose weight, I’d constantly be planning on that first meal when I was no longer fasting or popping or buzzing and I could eat what I wanted ... and what I wanted was the first step back to and beyond where I started.   With Laurel’s guidance, I now absolutely know that I will follow this way of eating the rest of my life ... doesn’t mean there isn’t a hot fudge sundae in my future, but I realize now that it will be my choice and not satisfying some blind obsession.

 When I first started working with Laurel, I recruited a friend of mine to help me “move”.  For four months we would meet a few times a week and gently work out.  Laurel was encouraging and non-judgmental about it.  When my friend was unable to continue with our “sessions”, I talked with Laurel about it and decided perhaps I ought to look into a gym.  With her help I found a gym I feel comfortable in and my exercise has intensified encouragingly, and I have never felt as strong as I do now in my mid-50s!

 Best of all, I feel that I am in control and not being controlled.  I am empowered and Laurel has been the director of it all.  The treatments, the talks, the encouragement - it’s been exciting and exhilarating but also the most natural path I’ve ever walked.

 Oh, did I mention?  I’ve lost 123 lbs!

Anne, Santa Monica

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