How I Started in the Diet Business

 I was hired by a weight loss clinic to develop personalized exercise
programs for the clients, an opportunity that changed my life forever. I suddenly found
myself talking to clients about what they were eating, and what they wanted to eat, and
praising them for their progress. Soon, I was cheering and jumping excitedly when I
moved the bar on the scale down a few pounds. I wasn’t faking; I got caught up in their
goals, and truly wanted them to succeed. Soon it felt like I was succeeding every time
they did.  In a way, I was. I  learned a great deal when working at the clinic, and coupled it with my former education.  What culminated was a weight loss program that truly worked. I
made certain it worked, because I took care of each person privately and individually.
If they needed prayer, we prayed. If they needed encouragement, they got it. A hug?
Well, that was always happening.

 When my husband and I moved to Miami, I found myself close to the beautiful
beaches and abundant sunshine I loved so much (enough to leave everything behind for
it!). I was seven months pregnant and poor; the cost of living was double what we were
accustomed to in Georgia, but the pay had not increased. Being young and careless, we
hadn’t timed the move so well, and I lost my health insurance.  I was petrified.
One day it truly hit me how poor we were. As my husband left for work, he
asked what I was going to do that day. I replied that I was going to go shopping and get
a shower curtain. That may not sound like much, but that day was a “destiny decider
day.” Before he left, we found ourselves in a verbal conflict over the shower curtain. I
asked for fifteen dollars and he initially refused to give it to me, arguing that it was
frivolous and we couldn’t afford it.  As women can do, I nagged him mercilessly until
he gave me the money. He left angry, and I was alone and frustrated. As I looked
around the bathroom, I grudgingly admitted that we could actually make it without a
shower curtain.  Deciding to invest the fifteen dollars in myself rather than my meager
remodeling project, I called the local newspaper and placed an ad in the classified
section.
Almost immediately, the phone began ringing. People everywhere wanted to
lose weight. I couldn’t believe what was happening! It was a literal flood of calls. I
told each person that I was pregnant, and planning on opening a clinic after the baby
was born. But if they came to my house, I would give them fifty percent off of the
normal fee. Maybe it was my sweet southern drawl; maybe it was the fact I was very
pregnant. Either way, people trusted me enough to pay me money. I didn’t even have a
scale to weigh them – instead I asked, “What do you think you weigh?”  I explained that
my scale was on order.  And it was on order … in my head. I had to get the money
before I could actually go and buy it.  Remember, I’m the same one who still didn’t
have a fifteen-dollar shower curtain!
To my surprise, it took me only one day to make enough to get my scale.  I was
so happy to have it – a shiny new Mercedes wouldn’t have made me more proud! It
was an actual physician’s scale, purchased from Sears, the type that’s only waist-high.
Inspired, I went to the local printer (no one had computers then) and ordered five copies
of a diet to hand my new clients. People were giving me hundreds of dollars for weight
loss programs, and it made sense to let them walk out of my house holding a little
something in their hands. The printer was a curious fellow, and asked me what I was
doing. I told him, and he said, “Only five?”  I replied that at a nickel a copy, I had to be
frugal. But with a lot of prayer, maybe I would be back soon for more.
The printer and I became friends, as I was in there daily for the next month.
Always afraid of overspending, I could never bring myself to order more than five
copies at a time.  But God was indeed giving me His favor.  Within a month, I had fifty
clients. Before I gave birth, I did actually open a clinic.  My baby was three weeks
early, and I met my OB/GYN in the delivery room for the first time. God blessed me
with an excellent physician.  Because my baby was premature and in need of a
respirator, his doctor sat up all night watching over him. I’ve never known a physician
since to stay all night with a patient.
My newborn son was in a children’s hospital for a few weeks, so I went to work
immediately.  I made enough money to hire and train someone. Then I was able to
paint the office and decorate it. It was a true rags-to-riches story; I was just in my early
twenties, but already I owned a successful diet clinic, had two beautiful children and
lived in a land I felt was paradise.
Within a year, I was able to open two more clinics, and was legally set to sell
franchises. The same young woman who had driven a Blazer full of her belongings for
twelve hours (while pregnant and miserable, no less) was now flying to other places to
check on her businesses.  I simply knew that one day I’d be featured on “Lifestyles of
the Rich and Famous.”