Sharon Holder feels good. She’s walking. She’s working. She’s learning to drive.
She even rode the rides at Six Flags Elitch Gardens in Denver this summer, something she couldn’t do for decades because of her weight. Elitch’s sent her free tickets after someone at the company read about her in the Daily Times-Call.
At her heaviest, Holder — who is 5 feet, 7 inches tall — weighed 377.9 pounds, the first weight she recorded at Weight Watchers’ Longmont office Aug. 16, 2004. In January, when she was interviewed by the Times-Call, she weighed about 164 pounds.
Today, she’s a trim 145 pounds. Her doctor and Weight Watchers counselors say it’s a good weight for her to maintain. So far, she’s remained at that weight for three months.
“I’m much more self-confident,” said Holder, 46, who lives in Firestone with her husband. “I just feel so much better about myself. I have so much more energy.”
Her weight loss has given her freedom. She bought a car, and her husband is teaching her to drive. She hasn’t driven since her early 20s, although she says the decision to stop driving had nothing to do with her weight.
She walks three to four times a week for a half-hour. She still faithfully attends Weight Watchers meetings, although now that she has reached her goal, she attends only once a month.
“I love the (Weight Watchers) program,” she said.
Holder offers this advice for others struggling to lose weight: “Know that you are worth it. Don’t give up. Don’t kick yourself when you have a bad day. Just keep at it.”
Her next hurdle is to quit smoking, she said. She still smokes a pack a day. She also hopes to study nursing or teaching.
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