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Did you ever think waiting in the grocery line could open up a whole new life for you? Well, that’s just what happened to Novella.
Getting ready to pay for a cartful of groceries, Novella saw an article in First Magazine (June 2006) that said "You can drop 9 lbs this week!" "Yeah right," she said to herself. But then she noticed the small print – it was the Rice Diet Program in Durham, N.C. Novella had a lot of respect for Duke, where the program started out back in 1932, so did something she rarely does. She bought the magazine.
Once home, Novella read the article, checked out the website and told herself, "This is something I really think I can do." As a School Resource Officer in a local high school it takes a lot to keep up with 1,800 teenagers, and Novella’s weight wasn’t making it any easier. She began gaining weight when she joined the Sheriff’s office nearly sixteen years ago – driving all day and eating fast food. Novella started the Rice Diet at 241 pounds.
For 10 years Novella had gone on several diets, lost some weight, gained more, but never found something that worked for her. She’d tried Weight Watchers, L. A. Weight Loss, "every diet pill known to mankind and every crazy fad diet you can name." She had some luck with a few diets, but it was always short-lived and the weight would come back with a vengeance.
Novella ordered the Rice Diet book right away. The day it arrived, June 12, 2006, she sat on her back porch, read it cover to cover, and began the Diet. Novella did not attend Rice House, but between the book and the forums Novella found the Rice Diet very easy to follow. "The simpler I keep it, the better chance I have to do it," says Novella. On the go all the time, Novella doesn’t have the time to cook extravagant meals. She found the recipes could fit her lifestyle.
With the Rice Diet, Novella found a diet that worked and that she could stick to. Early in the diet, Novella attended a weeklong conference with catered meals and "desserts to die for." Instead of dining with everyone and indulging, Novella went to her room and "cooked my baked potatoes and ate my veggies like a good girl. I lost weight at a conference!"
With her confidence growing, Novella was able to cook the burgers and hotdogs at a family 4th of July party, while she grilled zucchini and dipped it in salt free ketchup for herself. A few months later, in October, her second husband of 12 years left her. About that period she said, "How I was able to stick to my diet I will never know, but it was something that I could control and I did." Just two months later, Novella’s job of nine years changed. She had to leave the school – her alma mater – that she loved for a different position, a change that sent Novella into a deep depression. Although this event caused Novella to steer away from the diet a bit, she is "learning to make the best of it now and [is] back on course."
During this period, only a few months into the Diet, Novella’s colleagues – even the men – began noticing her weight loss: Novella had gone from a size 24 to a size 12. They all thought she had a gastric-bypass surgery since she lost weight so fast. Wherever she went she had to allot extra time because everyone wanted to know how she lost her weight and she had to brag about her "dieta." By mid-October Novella had lost 55 lbs, and by Christmas 66. Her doctor was ecstatic. All her friends were so proud of her and really encouraged her to continue the good work. Novella’s students noticed her weight loss, too. Novella is proud to be a positive role model to young women struggling with weight issues and encourages them to try the Rice Diet.
Although Novella admits that recently she’s not stuck to the Diet "like glue" and hasn’t lost more weight, she hasn’t gained any weight back. She just "got back on the wagon" with the Diet, her parents bought her a membership to a local gym, and she plans to finish losing the weight. So far Novella has lost 72 pounds.
Outside of weight loss, one of the best – and surprising – things to come out of spontaneously picking up that magazine and committing to the Rice Diet was a reunion Novella had with an old friend. When she first started the Diet and participated in the online forums with other Ricers, Novella asked for an e-mail buddy to support her along her new path. The "Goddess of the Rice Diet – Bludaffodil" responded, and Novella was ecstatic! Bludaffodil was very knowledgeable about the Diet.
Bludaffodil told Novella that she lived in Burgaw, NC, just 10 minutes from her hometown of Castle Hayne. Novella could not believe it. She gave Bludaffodil her work number and told her to call her sometime. Bludaffodil called and learned that Novella worked at Hoggard High School. She left a message – she and her sisters had graduated from there. "Small world," Novella said, she had graduated from there too. She left Bludaffodil her home number. The next morning Novella’s phone rang. It was Bludaffodil, a woman named Kathy. She wanted to know if Novella had been on the forum yet. "No," Novella said. Kathy told her to sign on. "When I did….the tears began flowing," recalled Novella. Kathy was the sister of Novella’s best friend Karen from high school. They had lost track of each other after their 10-year reunion; Karen had been searching for Novella for 19 years. With both women remarrying and changing their names, Novella never thought she’d see Karen again. "Everyone on the forum brought out the waterproof mascara!" said Novella. Kathy then told Novella that it was Karen’s birthday that day. Novella called, wished her long-lost friend a Happy Birthday, and the "screaming" began.
After a nine-hour reunion the very next day, the two women discovered that they started the Rice Diet on the same day; had both lost 10 pounds up to that time; had both met their respective husbands in the fall of 1990; Novella had remarried on October 15, 1994 and Karen on October 16, 1993; and, to top it off, they wore the same style and brand of bra! You never know what the Rice Diet can bring into your life.
About her experience with the Rice Diet, Novella says, "I can never thank this "dieta" for everything it has done for me and helped me achieve. This has been the best experience I have ever had when it comes to weight loss. I have always been energetic, but now I bounce off the walls! I refused to shop for clothes before; my wardrobe was t-shirts and sweatpants. Now, I have a Fredericks of Hollywood catalogue and I love to dress sexy to go out. (Yes…I am starting to date!) My feelings about myself have changed. Yes Lord, how much better I feel about everything."
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