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Courtney worried for her daughter. Lindsey was ten years old, and she was constantly looking in the mirror and telling herself that she didn't want to get fat. Courtney knew that looking in the mirror at this age is normal, for the onset of puberty is eagerly awaited at this stage. But the incessant comments about weight lay heavily on Courtney. Courtney knew why. She herself was heavy: she tipped the scales at 353 pounds. It was so embarrassing to go to the doctor because they had to bring in a special scale. Last time she was escorted to the sports acceleration weight room to be weighed - in front of all those kids who were training and exercising! Courtney went home that day and ate a whole bag of donuts. All 24 of them.

It didn't help though. Courtney knew she had a serious problem, but her doctor was a young man who said she should just "not eat as much." He said she should watch what she eats, write it down, and then realize how much she is eating. Like that's going to ever happen. But the HMO she belonged to didn't allow her to go to a specialist unless her primary care physician referred her, and he told her to tighten her belt, so to speak. But Courtney was continually loosening her belt as she gained more and more weight. Her stomach was flabby and it lopped over her pants. Her pants were stretch fabric: nothing else could stay up. She hated it. She hated being fat, and she hated herself for it.

But she loved Lindsey. Lindsey was her only child, and she would do anything for her. That's why, when Courtney caught Lindsey's continuous glances at her profile, Courtney sought help. Professional help from someone who would understand. Not some skinny little doctor who hadn't a clue about obesity.

Courtney went to a weight specialist and paid for it herself. At first she was required only to write everything down that she ate, the time, and what her mood was. She didn't have to eat less; in fact, the doctor told her it would benefit Courtney if she tried to eat as normally as she could.

And so she did. Then the hard part came next. Courtney was given vitamins and minerals to help curb her appetite. But they were not going to make her thinner. That was up to Courtney. Courtney had to learn why she ate what and when.

With a supervised diet, exercise, and weekly counseling sessions, Courtney began to lose weight. She spoke honestly with the doctor and was able to confront some unresolved issues left over from her childhood, which was for the most part happy. Courtney realized that she didn't eat to satisfy a physical hunger; Courtney ate to feed an emptiness inside her, an emotional hunger.

Lindsey also came to visit at the clinic and learned about proper food choices. She learned that she didn't have to become obese like her mother, which was Lindsey's greatest fear. And Lindsey learned how to eat to live, not to live to eat.

The two are making great progress. Lindsey is becoming a beautiful young woman who is proud of her body and who takes good care of herself. She doesn't feel that she needs to be a certain size or wear certain clothes to fit in. She is learning to trust herself to be the special person she is.

And Courtney is also making progress. She has lost 162 pounds so far. Her goal weight for her 5'2" frame is 145 pounds. She has only 46 pounds to go and knows she will make it. It's been two years now, and the difference has been incredible. Courtney feels better, not to mention looks much better, and is gaining confidence in herself. She hadn't realized that she was becoming somewhat of a hermit because of the embarrassment over her looks. Now she is learning to take care of the body that God gave her, the body that God loves, the body that she is learning to love.