Darlene is a surgeon’s wife and part-time real estate agent who currently resides in Lumberton, North Carolina. She is passionate about the volunteer work and fundraising she’s involved with through a number of charities and foundations.
“I have always been a nurturer at heart,” Darlene explains. “And I have spent most of my life putting the needs of others above my own.”
This selflessness, along with genetics and factors in her youth, likely contributed to Darlene’s longtime struggle with weight—which began in early childhood. As she grew into a teenager and young woman, Darlene continued to struggle with anxiety and even added depression, bulimia, and anorexia to the mix. She met her husband and got married in her thirties, and she gained even more weight as they faced challenges in trying to start a family. After Darlene went through in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive her only child, a daughter, more weight piled on, and it would not come off after her baby was born. In time, she had reached 267 pounds.
“During this period in my life, it seemed that the harder I worked to lose weight, the more weight I gained,” Darlene reflects. “I was so depressed; I didn’t even recognize myself when I looked in the mirror. It was almost as if I was wearing a fat suit; the real me was inside, but I couldn’t get out.”
Darlene knew it was time to lose weight, but nothing she tried worked. From diet pills to Nutrisystem®, SlimFast®, and beyond, nothing helped her shed the pounds, and her health began to decline. In addition to depression and anxiety, Darlene was dealing with insomnia and pre-diabetes, and she was taking a strong statin prescription to keep her high cholesterol under control.
