How I Learned to Think Myself Thin

By Debbie Johnson
Author of Think Yourself Thin

This is the story of my struggle with weight gain, then loss, then gain, loss, gain, ad infinitum, until my ultimate success! I gained forty pounds dieting, then lost it all "Thinking Thin" and have kept it off for over twenty-five years. Perhaps you will be able to relate to some of my struggles. If nothing else, you will see that I am in no way more perfect, smarter or more talented than anyone else. If I can do it, so can you.

It All Started in Fourth Grade

I lived with an unusual family. My mother was overweight, and my father was skinny. My brother, who was adopted, like me, was also overweight. Even though I had been adopted at age seven and a very skinny kid, I wondered if I would turn out like my father or mother. Still, I ate all the junk I wanted, preferring to think of myself like my father.

All went well until the fourth grade. My mother was a hairdresser and she loved to cut hair. She loved it so much one day when she was cutting mine, she just kept going and going. I was too afraid to say anything to my overbearing and very critical mother.

Later, when I looked at the mirror, I was completely shocked and began to cry. My hair was so short, I looked like a boy! What could I do? My subconscious thought it knew, it would protect me with fat!

I remember seeing my fourth grade picture, it was so different from all the rest of my class photos. I was chubby but happy. I don't think I even realized I was overweight. My mother had started giving me better haircuts after awhile, not as short. Subconsciously I decided that I could now safely lose the weight, because I didn't have to protect myself anymore.

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