I felt ugly; out of shape, no clothes fit me any more, and was really reluctant to buy new ones, saying to myself I need to lose weight!!! I’ll just get a couple of pant suits and that might just do it. But no way!! I even felt unloved!! Undesirable!! But that was all in my “HEAD”. My family accepted me the way I looked, but they could see I was not happy with myself. That lead to depression, plus being menopausal and a breast cancer survivor did not help. The more depressed I got, the more unhealthy foods I’d put in my mouth. My family saw the rollercoaster I was riding and finally after so many tries, they got really serious and talked to me about “Curves”. What do I know about Curves?! I’ve no energy, no motivation, “why can’t they leave me alone?” Their persistence, and standing by me was the God sent gift! In that due course, while they were so insisting for me to join Curves, I met a friend who told me she goes to Curves and has seen amazing results and that I should join her. My daughter happened to hear this, so reluctantly I tagged along and joined. Well 3 years have passed. I am still going to Curves and I love it. If I don’t make it due to some reason I miss being here. Really miss it! I’ve lost pounds and inches. I started weighing 126 lbs and went down to 98 lbs. that was a bit too much, so I eased up on exercising and eventually go up to 105lbs. My dress size went from 11-12 to 1-2. I feel great and beautiful. I am not craving unhealthy foods, not eating at odd hours as I used to before. Curves have disciplined me. That kind of exercise I call it “preventative medicine.” It prevents lots of ailments – makes your blood run through your system well – strengthens your heart, lowers your blood pressure, and controls any on coming of diabetes type 2 and many other ailments. Now because I feel good, I socialize more which I didn’t do before. Curves is not only curving your “BODY”, it is much more than just that. Feeling good emotionally, physically, spiritually, mentally and psychologically, every bit helps and the above adds more to your life which is a gift from God. What a transformation I cannot even begin to describe it. At Curves you are not judged!! All women for women!! That’s great! Communication is open, laughter is there and most of all music is energizing!! Curves has taught me to chose my thoughts with care and my words with love. All ethnic background people come of all ages!! What a combination! It is like a Big Happy Family!! My family has seen the change, “Big Change” in me. I am more energized therefore I spend more quality time with my family. Who would think that Curves can do all that??!! Thank you Curves!! Curves is a powerful tool used in a right way. Therefore I’d say “Go Curves Go” Try it out, it will surely surprise you, as it did me. I am definitely not giving it up!! I sincerely thank my daughter Zabrina, son Imtiaz, my hubby Amin and my good friend Yasmin.

Hi, my name is Marcela and I am a 2 year member with Curves. When I signed up with Curves two years ago, my goal was to be thin by the time I turned 40. Unfortunately, I did not meet my goal by my 40th birthday, but that did not deter me from continuing to achieve my ultimate goal. Now some of you may be asking, what is my final goal, how much do I want to lose? Well, I don’t have a number for which I am striving. I believe that I will know when I reach my goal. That is to say, when I am completely satisfied with my body, I will have reached my goal. For those of you just starting out with your goals, or having difficulty reaching your goal, I have some words of wisdom that have helped me along the way. 1. Don’t give up. In spite of every obstacle that comes your way, just keep focused on your goal and keep going. I know that may be easier said than done, so just remember why it was you decided to take this journey in the beginning. 2. Compliment yourself every day. It is so much easier to find something negative than positive. But I assure you, if you say one good thing about yourself every day, it will change your outlook about yourself. Take a look in the mirror in the morning and just tell that person in the mirror at least one nice thing. It can be about your looks or anything else that you like about yourself. 3. Don’t get discouraged. When it comes to weigh-in time, it can be very easy to feel discouraged when the scale doesn’t move much, if at all. This is something that I have experienced regularly throughout my journey. So I think on the positive. “Well, the scale didn’t move, but I lost inches.” Or “the scale didn’t move and there was no change in inches. It doesn’t matter, because I feel good. I know I gave it my best and I just hit a snag. I will meet the scale and tape measure next month and there will be a change.” 4. Another thing that has helped me is to not worry so much about the number. The scale is only a tool to follow us along the journey. Muscle weighs much more than fat, so when we feel we’re improving, the scale may not agree. Well that’s because the fat is coming off, but our muscle mass has improved. Hence little weight loss. 5. And finally, to quote Gone with the Wind, “after all tomorrow is another day”. I hope that this may help some of you along your journey, whatever it may be. I continue to be a dedicated Curves member, and would be happy to assist any of you who feel you are having difficulties. Even though this is an individual journey for each of us, none of us are alone, as we have each other at Curves to give us that extra boost of support.

Cecile Biais is a young woman who lives in Berkshire, a county in southern England. Cecilia approached her thirties, an age considered by many women as the "ideal age", but she bought her clothes in shops reserved for large sizes. She wanted to lose weight at any price, but did not know how to get started. "The more I swelled, the more I was depressed ... I totally lost my confidence, both at work with my friends. " In just one year, Cecile literally melted. With a size 50-52, she now has a recognizable figure with a waist of 38. She lost over 30 kilos and 167 cm distributed throughout the body! She says she spent a challenging year, but "without Curves, I could not have done!" In addition to her phenomenal weight loss and greatly improved fitness, Cecile also sees life in a much more positive way. Today she has more confidence in herself and feels more "balanced". Her health has also greatly improved, her attitude is positive and style of living has improved, elements that have brought her closer to her family. According to Cecile, this Curves adventure has changed her life. "It's the best decision I ever made."