One of my favorite parts of the Cushing’s Newsletter are the success stories. Brave men and women who have weathered the storm and beat Cushing’s share their stories. These stories are often accompanied by a before and after Cushing’s picture. I’ve often wondered about the in-between pictures? What stories would they tell? Would they reveal a common pattern for weight loss? Is there a special trick or diet customized for Cushings survivors? I put this question out to Karen who put out an Email alert to some of our members. “Great!!” I thought. “All I have to do now is to sit back and let the magic Cushing’s elixir be revealed. Why hadn’t I thought about this earlier?” I thought. “Oh, well. I did now. Sit back Rochelle and let the adventure begin”, I told myself. I sat anxiously by my PC awaiting my “meaning of life” moment only to discover that there really is no meaning of life secret related to losing weight. The ingredients of the Cushing elixir consist of three key things: discipline, hard work and self-love.

The responses I received were not the mind-blowing revelations I expected. Instead, they were common sense approaches. Weight Watchers, Atkins, South Beach, exercise, weight training. This could not be!! I wanted the secret Cushing’s handshake!! Instead what I got pretty much was common dieting knowledge and support. So what am I missing here? Is it really that simple? A key difference between Cushing’s and non-Cushing’s dieters is the level of motivation. Most of us were taken hostage and imprisoned by our friend Cushing’s. We never had a history of being overweight. Our history began when she entered our lives. Like a prison, she provides different levels of freedom. You might be put on parole where she sets you free for a moment and then throws you back in the slammer. She may set you free in stages, slowly releasing her grip. And then again, she might free you completely, leaving us to reclaim our lives, completely out of her reach. For some of us, she has held us so long that once freedom finally comes we want to go immediately to the quick fix and address extreme diets. It is highly recommended that we do not pursue quick fix methods but do the gradual common sense diets such as Weight Watchers or simply exercising more and reducing our caloric intake.

While there is no secret handshake for losing weight, there is something common we all need to acknowledge and keep active in our lives: self-love and honor. We are our own heroes and heroes. What we are fighting and how we have triumphed is nothing short of miraculous!! We identified the enemy, looked her in the eye, and kicked her to the curb!! We are living testimonies of courage, strength, and love. Love. I believe with the armor of self-love and a plan (Weight Watchers, Curves, etc), we can be successful in weight loss. Self-love will give you the courage to keep getting up, should you wander from your goal. Self-love will give you the permission to do different; if that is the way you want to go. Self-love gives you the confidence to love yourself today, now, in this moment and not when you become the person you were in a distant past or a not so distant future. Self-love is the secret weapon and I feel that Cushing’s patients should turn up the love to the notch of fierceness!! The people we have become as the result of our experience deserves a fierce self-love, one that will sustain us through any future challenges we may face. Ntozake Shange sums it up very well in her play “for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf”: “I found god in myself, And I loved her. I loved her fiercely” Be fierce in your love, don’t lose your edge. We have conquered a worthy adversary. Stand tall and recognize: YOU!

I would like to thank everyone who responded to Karen’s alert and my question. I appreciate your guidance and words of support. I have summarized your responses into three key strategies for weight loss:

1. Choose your weapon for success. Choose a dieting strategy that best suits you, your lifestyle and personality. Suggestions I received included: Weight Watchers , Curves, The South Beach Diet, a personal trainer, weight training, walking a dog, exercising 3-4X per week
2. Set your self-love to fierce. Your body has just survived a major shock and now you owe it to yourself to get in the best shape you can. Love always makes the difference. Be proud, be fierce, be you!!
3. Move forward, one step at a time. She released you. Don’t hurt yourself trying to lose weight. Be patient. It has taken years to gain the weight with Cushing’s. It does not come off overnight.

To keep myself on track, I will share my success story with you in the near future. I am still in my “in-between” stage. Thanks again for your support. If you’d like to offer support, or need support, please email me! Maybe all of us can work through this together by group email! I love you all – fiercely!!

Author: Rochelle Thurman