Weight loss success: Colleen’s lost 250 pounds!
Colleen Tate used to weigh 435 pounds. The last time she shared her story, she’d lost 75 pounds. Today, it’s 250! Here’s how she reached her healthy weight.
Everyone’s weight-care journey is different, and deserves a different approach. That's what led to success for these three Found members.
You want to lose weight—for good. You’re invested in getting healthier, eating better, moving more, having more energy, and getting better sleep. But we bet you’ve also been invested maaaany times before, and here you still are. The finger wagers would tell you that it’s simply a lack of willpower, but that’s not what the latest research shows. Obesity is a complex disease that requires a program tailored to your unique needs (unlike the fad diets so many people jump on—and inevitably—off).
That’s where Found can help. The average Found member loses 10 percent of their body weight during their first 12 months on the program. We take a science-backed approach to weight care that considers lifestyle factors, your biology, and medication needs to develop a plan that will help you reach your goals. It’s a modern 360-approach compared to the old-school view of what leads to lasting weight loss. Our quick, personal health quiz can get you started.
Want to meet some of the Found members who have finally gotten the results that eluded them for so long? Here’s what Elizabeth Daniel told us:
“I decided to join Found initially for a silly reason: If I was paying for it, I felt like I would stick to it! Who wants to throw away money, right? I had been trying to lose weight since January of 2021, and it wasn’t working. That August of 2021, I was 6’ 3” and weighed 263 pounds. By the following March, when I joined Found, I was 251 pounds. At that rate, I felt like I would never lose enough weight to love myself.
After the first month with Found, I loved it, and my reasons for staying went beyond just sticking to a program. My coach was amazing! She seemed to have an answer for all my excuses. Haha. She had me eating all kinds of healthy carbs and just pushed me through. The Facebook community is also great! They are so supportive, and there’s no judging. It's like your own personal cheering section.
I am currently down 46 pounds and feel so much better. I can walk more and play with my grandbaby more. I am also not as tired as I used to be—which is a huge plus. I can actually look in the mirror and feel good. I can share my pictures with complete strangers in the Found community and not be embarrassed. This program has really worked and is still helping me reach my goals! Their support has been very personalized and has helped tremendously.”
Here are just a few more member stories:
It wasn’t until Xavier Cordova-Figallo came to the United States to pursue a master's degree in 1999 that he began to notice unwanted weight gain. Originally from Venezuela, where fresh food was abundant, he says he was never concerned about his weight before.
But faced with a different food landscape and having much of his time and energy spent on his studies, Cordova-Figallo felt he had little time to take care of himself and his health. “I was grabbing a lot of fast food,” he says. And that eventually led to a 20-pound weight gain.
After years and countless unsuccessful attempts to lose weight and maintain it, Cordova-Figallo began to think that there was no way out—and that yo-yo-ing was his new way of life. “I thought about joining Noom, but it didn’t feel like the right approach for me,” he says. And he was skeptical in general about joining a weight care plan. He then discovered Found and added weight loss medication to his changing lifestyle habits. “I had never tried medication,” says Cordova-Figallo. “But after doing my due diligence about weight loss medications, I was like, ‘What the heck. Let me try.’” He’s now down almost 23 pounds, and while he’ll be the first to admit that his original plan was to take prescription meds until he reached his goal—and then stop quickly after—he’s realized that to sustain his weight loss, he needs to keep up his new healthy behaviors and medication.
Now Cordova-Figallo is moving forward and taking it day by day. “It makes me a little emotional. I never gave myself grace,” he says about his life before joining Found, “I never thought about myself and my needs. But I realize that I deserve it.” Cordova-Figallo is focused on prioritizing himself and has seen the results—ones that go way past the scale. Not only do his clothes fit better, but he’s also sleeping better, trying to exercise more, and making an effort every day to be proactive about his health.
Sometimes it takes losing someone you love to make you look closer at your own life and how you want to live it. That’s how Julie Watkins found her way to Found.
Overweight, Watkins had battled Crohn’s disease for years, and it posed seemingly never-ending obstacles when it came to losing weight. Her dad was always her biggest advocate and cheerleader on her journey to lose weight and get healthy. When he passed away in January 2020, Watkins realized she was ready to make the change for good. “I finally was like, ‘You know what, I’ve got to do something. I'm sick of this. I'm sick of being overweight,’” she says.
And so she did. Googling a number of weight loss programs, Watkin’s learned about Found, and its multi-faceted approach to weight care really spoke to her. She wanted to lose weight in a sustainable way and learn the tools she needed to keep it off long-term—and she says that having access to both a doctor and a health coach felt like the complete package. “It's nice to know that I can ask a doctor questions and also have a coach who helps me figure out food options and meal ideas. Whenever I feel like I've hit a wall, they can help give me ideas on redirection. That was my biggest thing,” says Watkins.
Watkins has lost 75 pounds to date. She has hit her goal weight and is no longer on the medication prescribed by Found. And while she continues to manage her Crohn’s symptoms, they have improved as a result of her weight loss and positive lifestyle changes. Watkins is also feeling more confident in her own skin. “I just feel better about myself. I don't feel self-conscious. And I enjoy clothes shopping again,” she says.
About Found
Found is among the largest medically-supported weight care clinics in the country, serving more than 200,000 members to date. To start your journey with Found, take our quiz.
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