Testimonials
Our goal for you goes beyond losing weight, because weight is just a symptom of a much larger problem. We want you to become healthier and happier through changing your lifestyle. It is only through a systematic and purposeful process that individuals can break free of the emotional, physical and psychological issues that keep them from living the healthy life they desire.
Do you have a Testimonial? Click Here to send it to us now!
Katrina’s Story
Katrina Gabbert
At the age of 37 years old I was at the heaviest I had ever been. I was not feeling very great about myself
and was feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. I have so much to be happy about such as a great husband, a wonderful family and some of the best in-laws a girl could ask for. It still did not take away the feeling I felt of being very uncomfortable.
Then one day something just clicked and I realized I was tired of feeling tired. I wanted to be able to have energy and just feel better in general. I had severe acid reflux and not the greatest of blood pressure. It was time for a change!!!!!!
January 15, 2010, was the day I started dieting. Unfortunately I started with another diet involving drinking protein shakes. I was not eating very much at all. I drank shakes for breakfast and supper and ate a salad for lunch. I lost some weight but come on – I was not eating. There had to be something better and healthier out there.
After praying and talking with my mother-in-law, we found the Weigh Station. I made my first appointment on March 29, 2010, and I’m truly grateful I did.
The Weigh Station has taught me so much. I have learned what to eat, how much and most of all how to get control of my weight. This isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. For a long time I made all the wrong 
food choices, this plan has changed the way I think about food. Food is not comforting, it’s an addiction. When I started this awesome journey I was in a size twenty, I then began maintenance as a size 6 and now 11 months later I’m a size 2! The best thing is that I’m no longer carrying those unwanted 120 pounds. I have the knowledge, strength and willpower to maintain my weight for good. I continue to go to The Weigh Station for maintenance visits every other month. Maintenance follow ups are so important, especially during the first 4 to 6 months (monthly is recommended). These visits ensure that you stay focused on making good choices until you can depend on yourself which I can do now that I’ve been doing maintenance for a while.
For any woman who puts themselves last, my word of advice is for once, put yourself first and get those unwanted pounds off. I’m truly grateful for the Weigh Station and their wonderful staff. I couldn’t have done this without their help.
Living Proof
Jeff Lyerly
My unhealthy eating habits had finally caught up with me, and I found myself unable to do many of the things I loved without sweating profusely and feeling like I was going to pass out. As someone who had always been very active, and as someone who enjoys doing outdoor activities like hiking, getting to the point of weighing over 300 pounds prevented me from doing many of the things I had grown up enjoying. I even had to stop things like giving blood to Red Cross on a regular basis because my blood pressure was above what they would allow for blood donors.
I knew I needed to make a change, but it seemed like nothing I tried stuck. I had tried on multiple occasions to just eat better on my own with varied results, but the one common thread was that I always gained the weight back, and usually ended up gaining back more than I lost. I was stuck in a cycle of wanting to lose weight, but being in such bad shape physically that the exercises that I could do were limited.
I first heard about the Weigh Station several years ago through my brother and sister-in-law, and saw both of them drop a significant amount of weight by following their guidelines. I also started to see other people around me that were a part of the program, and having great success with their weight loss and keeping the weight off after they lost it.
In October of 2010, I finally made the decision that it was time to get serious with my weight loss. When I went in for my initial visit, one of the first things that caught my eye was seeing Philippians 4:13 on the wall, a scripture I’ve lived by for years now. When I started my checkup, I was amazed to climb up on that scale and see 323 pounds looking back at me. I was also amazed by how friendly and encouraging the staff was, even in the little things like telling me they pray for everybody who’s a part of the program. I’ll be honest, the first week of the program was awful! My body tried everything it could to reject the changes I was trying to make, but I was determined to make the changes regardless, and it’s been manageable, and relatively easy ever since then.
The best advice I can give concerning the food is to find variety and get creative within the guidelines. I discovered a lot of ways to prepare fruits and vegetables that I never would have dreamed of a year ago, and I also discovered that the more things I’ve tried, the less I feel like I’m missing out by not eating the things I cut out. The other thing that helped me was exercising. I started out walking as much as I could on the treadmill, which wasn’t much at the time, and gradually and continually increasing the workload by adding things like weight lifting again. I love that I can go hiking up hills now and not even start breathing heavy! As of right now, I’ve lost approximately 125 pounds and my blood pressure has been at a healthy level for months now.
If you’ve struggled with weight loss or learning healthy eating habits, I highly recommend the Weigh Station. They teach you healthy eating guidelines, encourage you to get physically active, and they keep you accountable every step of the way. I’m living proof that the program works if you’ll just determine to stick through it no matter what!
A Graceful Journey
Tom Butterfield
I felt humbled when I was asked to write about my journey with The Weigh Station, for it has
not been a journey that I have made alone. I hope that this may be a way for me to “pay it forward”, and maybe help someone else – maybe you.
To give a little background, I am 65 and not too “old” to learn something new. For most of my life I have been a pretty active guy… an athlete in my younger years, and active artist, potter, woodworker and educator for many years; raised a wonderful family; and became an avid kayaker in later life.
Much of that changed however when I became disabled about six years ago, had to retire early, and eventually even had to give up driving. I have also had Type 2 diabetes for about 25 years and have experienced several major diabetic complications over the past 10 years. Needless to say, my active life really changed 6 years ago, and I soon began a long-term weight gain.
The summer of 2010 I found myself in the hospital for several days with a severe respiratory problem. I was placed on oxygen and was later diagnosed with severe sleep apnea (my breathing had stopped 120 times per
hour during a sleep study). My attending physician in the hospital convinced me that I had to lose weight, and he recommended the Weigh Station in Christiansburg.
Shortly after my release from the hospital, my daughter Alex encouraged me to check it out, and took me for a consultation with Dr. Dums, who explained the program to me. It sounded good and I was enthused but somewhat concerned about the cost. I was now retired on disability and living on a fixed income (as you will later see the cost turned out to be well-offset by savings in food costs and reduced medical costs).
After some prayerful consideration, I took a leap of faith and committed myself 100% to the program, asking God to help me on what I thought would be a difficult journey. I met with Dr. Shaffer, who was most encouraging and hopeful. He set up my specific plan and the first step of the journey had begun.
It has been almost a year now, during which all of the staff of The Weigh Station has shared their hope and encouragement with me – wonderful people. My daughter Alex had set up a “food system” for me at the start, carefully measuring out all my food portions, portioning them in baggies and organizing them in the refrigerator. She also printed out shopping guide lists for me and placed a chart on the refrigerator that numbers all of my daily servings of protein, fruits, vegetables and water. I just keep track by moving magnets as I go through the day. It’s a great visual aid that I highly recommend. My daughter Lauren, to whom I am very grateful, has driven me to almost all of my appointments and helped me keep up with my food system. Many thanks also to Irene, who helps me with most of my food shopping, keeping me fed and full of hope.
So, my journey has not been alone. I had promised to be faithful to my effort, and asked God for His help. I have not strayed even a bite from my program, and He has graced me with vigilance, kept me from temptations, guarded me from hunger, changed my appetites and tastes, given me patience whenever I hit plateaus, and to this day has brought me within 9 pounds of my goal, with a loss of 118 pounds.
In the past six months I have come off my insulins, with great blood sugar control; have been taken off of a blood pressure medication and a cholesterol medication; have had my oxygen discontinued and have had my kidney function go from 45% to normal.
My energy level is great, my mobility is greatly improved, and I feel much more full of life. All of my doctors are thrilled, as is my family, who have all been a great support for me. I also thank all my “brothers” and “sisters” at The Weigh Station, and look forward to good things in my life – and hopefully yours.
Weight Loss Without Travel
Beverly Cook
Every time I’ve gone to a European city I’ve lost weight because I walked everywhere! Not so though back in the US. I had 95 lbs to take off that I gained while grieving over my little granddaughter’s diagnosis of cancer and an incurable autoimmune disease. I turned to Weigh Station for help.
My blood pressure was 140 over 90; I had weak knees and a painful back On the outside though I wore my fixed smile; on the inside my heart was in so much pain. I had always fought my weight, but I had never been this heavy.
I immediately felt comfortable at the Weigh Station. I also was filled with hope. Maybe this would be different.
I began to feel different as the weight started to fall off. I was eating better and didn’t feel bloated or stuffed anymore. I looked forward to my fresh fruit for snacks. I learned to use portion control even with the size of the fruit. As I kept learning new habits of eating my weight continued to come off.
It wasn’t always easy. The accolades I got from the Weight Station staff helped so much during the struggles. I learned to ask for help when I needed it—something new for me. A staff member was always there to answer my questions and to encourage me to continue losing.
Reaching my goal of losing 95 lbs was a huge victory, but maintaining the loss is even bigger. A good part of my success here hinges on the accountability with free monthly follow-up maintenance visits I’m doing for a full year at Weigh Station. I started eight months ago and I’m finding these monthly visits essential in keeping me focused because it’s all new and questions pop up as well as concerns about maintaining. The staff is caring and encouraging and gives me the support I need to go back out into the real world armed with the knowledge I need to maintain my loss.
Meeting with the registered dietician when I first reached my goal taught me how to transition from losing to maintaining my weight. This was an area that scared me, but I learned I could maintain my new weight by gradually adding back in healthy foods in the right portions.
Today we are saving money as we prefer to eat at home rather than dining out. Nobody grills fresh veggies as my husband does. But when we do eat out, I now know what to order from the menu to enjoy and still maintain my weight. I continue to make my large crunchy salad for lunch and look for the same when I eat out. I usually ask the restaurant to modify theirs a bit and add more veggies. The variety of our menu is endless. Our food choices are so much healthier than they were before Weigh Station.
Although I didn’t exercise regularly while losing, I did take a water movement class 3 times a week and now I take an aerobics class. I’ve gone from a size 20 to a size 10. My blood pressure is a youthful 120 over 70. All the help I needed was right here in Christiansburg; I didn’t need to go back to Europe to accomplish my dream!
Dead Man Walking
Rick Benson
April 1st 2010 I “walked” into The Weigh Station in Roanoke completely broken. My life was over. I had given up on everyone and everything. The five hundred and twenty three pounds was just too much for my mind, body, and soul to cope with any more. I was pessimistic as Dr. Shaffer told me he could melt me and the entire time I kept asking myself what am I even doing here wasting this man’s time. One year and five months later I now have the answers to all of those questions, two hundred and seventy seven pounds lighter. God is in control of my life and I live for him. He has put everything in place for me to succeed!
More Testimonials
Katrina’s Story
January 15, 2010, was the day I started dieting. Unfortunately I started with another diet involving drinking protein shakes. I was not eating very much at all. I drank shakes for breakfast and supper and ate a salad for lunch. I lost some weight but come on – I was not eating. There had to be something better and healthier out there.
Shelley’s Story
The staff, physicians and nurses saw something that I couldn’t — a slimmer, more confident woman hiding behind all my extra weight. I will never be fat again!
Michelle’s Story
I already feel SO much better! I have more energy and I just really feel good about myself! I’ve been able to buy some new clothes….already 2 sizes down!! It really is easy! I eat the allowed foods….yes…there are a plenty of choices!!
Renee’s Story
You must start thinking with your HEAD and HEART and NOT with your STOMACH! Choose the apple over the Hershey’s chocolate bar. Choose the grilled chicken over the fried extra crispy chicken. These little changes will change your life FOREVER!
Click to read more of Renee’s story.
Click here to read her testimony!