Congrats to FFTV member – Chad Findlay – for winning last week’s contest – a six-pack of Kim’s Light Bagels – one bag of each flavor – Plain, Wheat, Cinnamon, Blueberry, Onion and Everything. Enjoy!

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When Kim Bensen couldn’t find a light bagel that tasted good enough, she came up with her own recipe. They have just 110 calories each plus 5-7 grams of protein and 4-5 grams of fiber, depending on the flavor.

Lightening up recipes is her thing – that was Kim’s strategy in losing 212 pounds! Check out her story here.

Now back to this week’s giveaway… you could win a six-pack of Kim’s Light Bagels, compliments of Kim’s – one bag of each flavor – Plain, Wheat, Cinnamon, Blueberry, Onion and Everything. How, you ask? Easy. Just sign up for FFTV’s weekly newsletter to get entered in the drawing. If you’re already signed up, you’re automatically entered.

A few contest details: It ends at midnight EST this Friday, November 14… you have to have a U.S. mailing address to enter… and a random number generator will pick the winner.

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• FREE Boca Meatless Products!

Meet: Kim Bensen

Age: 47

Occupation: Owner, Kim’s Light Bagels

Where she lives: Connecticut

Pounds Lost: 212

How long it took to lose the weight: 2 years

How long she has kept it off: 5 years

When I first read about how Kim lost 212 pounds, I wanted to know more! As we chatted, she told me the aging process seems to have started going in reverse for her – she feels better and better as she gets older, now that she doesn’t weigh 350 pounds. Keep on feeling younger, Kim – you definitely look younger! Here’s your Weight Loss WooHoo! – Just FatFighterTV’s fun way of celebrating healthy weight.

How Kim gained the weight:
“I was always a little bit chubby, but with activities and cheerleading I was able to keep my weight at a normal range in my young years. I started dieting and wanting to lose weight – just like that 10-15 pounds – in high school. That’s kind of where the yo-yo’ing started. In college, the spread of pounds grew to 30… then 40.”

“I was a really great dieter and I tried all the diets out there. And I was always able to get to a somewhat normal range before kind of feeling good enough and going back to my old way of eating.”

“Right after I got married (25 years ago) my weight got up over 200 and I couldn’t believe it! Basically for the first 10 years of my marriage I struggled in the 200 pound range, always increasing. Then for the second 10 years of my marriage – in the 300 pound range.”

Turning point:
“A lot of people think I was this strong woman and I was ready to do it again, and nothing could be farther from the truth. I was broken. I was eating myself to death and I knew it. I basically cried my heart out to God. And I was just begging him to save my life. And I really feel that in this brief moment of prayer one morning, God gave me the strength to try one more time. Two days later, I signed up for Weight Watchers.”

How she shed the pounds:
“I did Weight Watchers and I loved the program. But this time, I approached things completely differently. I put more time and more effort into what I was doing than ever before. A lot of people want to get out of the kitchen – they don’t want to think about food; they want to think about it less. What I found was the more I focused on it and put into it and planned and cooked and lightened things up, the better I did and the more excited I got about it, and that kept me motivated. I made it a priority in my life.”

Weekly workouts:
“Okay, you had to ask that, right? I’m still a work in progress. Exercise has really been hard for me. When I was a year into losing my weight I said, ‘Man, I gotta do something about these flabby arms.” And I got down on my knees and I tried to do a girly pushup and I fell on my face and I couldn’t get up again! So I tried and tried and I worked myself up to a little routine of 20 guy pushups and 100 crunches and I do that every morning. And I’ve added to it some walking. But I do great for a few months and then I blow it, so I’m still working on it.”

Diet Philosophy:
“Enjoy the journey. I learned to find the things that I liked that I really enjoyed. Because if you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, you will not live it and you’re going to yo-yo.”

Daily Challenge:
“Right now my weakness for food is in the evenings. So I’m having a cup of Chai tea latte and it’s almost like a dessert – it’s a new recipe I came up with that has really helped.”

Tips from Kim:
“The only way you’ll never lose weight is if you stop trying. So if you don’t succeed this time and you’ve kind of fallen off and you’re not liking it, the only thing you can’t do is give up. You’ve got to keep trying. If I hadn’t tried that last time I don’t know if I’d be here today. So keep trying!”

Favorite healthy recipes:
Cream of Broccoli soup

Cobb Family Cheese Cake

Kim’s Weight Loss WooHoo!:
“I can finally buckle up in a car, I can cross my legs, I can hop out of bed in the morning and my feet don’t hurt. I sleep through the night without sleep apnea and I don’t have nine sizes – one size clothing is the best! Out of all that, the biggest WooHoo would be – my husband can put his arms all the way around me.”

#####

Oh, that just gave me chills!

Now, remember how Kim said she’s all about lightening up recipes? She told me she’s always loved bagels but didn’t want to waste 300+ calories on one, so she came up with her own 110-calorie recipe. Her friends convinced her to market it and that’s how Kim’s Light Bagels came to be – find out how to win a bag of each of the six flavors here.

See more weight loss success stories on the Weight Loss WooHoo! Wall of Fame.

If you know of someone who deserves this honor, just let me know – send me an email at sahar [at] fatfightertv [dot] com

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