The AC Phoenix: More than a Newspaper, a Community Institution -- Issue No. 2014, June 2014

Page 3 June 2014 The AC Phoenix
One Woman’s
Courageous Journey
to Lose 100 pounds
By John Raye
Peggy McDougal
[continued from page 1]
There are many people who would be
happy to lose 10 or 15 pounds. At a laundry
mat, last week, one woman overheard
talking to her friend about losing weight
said, “Girl, I’d be happy if I could just lose
6 or 7 pounds!”
But don’t say this around Peggy McDougald,
a long time Bunnlevel, North Carolina
business entrepreneur and community
leader, whose long term, weight loss
goal, staggers the imagination.
She wants to lose a solid 100 pounds from
her five-feet, three inch frame.
McDougald, once described by some,
as a “fine young thang”, also once had a
coke-bottle sized physique and tipped
the scales at a head-turning 135 pounds.
But that was, as she said, “many moons
ago”.
Today, her once, movie star size waist
line, has ballooned to as astounding, 244
pounds, a weight that matches or exceeds
some NFL pro football players.
“But that’s good when you consider what
I used to weigh”, she said. “I was once
up to 276 pounds”. Standing a just a few
inches over 5 feet, you can imagine what
she once looked like. “But I’m determined
to lose this weight and regain my
good health”, she said.
Widely known for her leadership skills
and community service projects, McDougald
was once so small that few people
believed that she was pregnant.
“In my 20’s my weight was steady between
110-115. In my 30’s it was still
pretty steady at 115-125. Lord yes, when I
was pregnant no one thought or believed
I was pregnant because I didn’t look like I
was carrying a baby” she said. “I was always
real small”.
After child birth, some women often gain
weight. However, this didn’t happen to
McDougald.
“I started to gain all of this weight after a
bad auto accident in 1992. They started
me on steroids, and I was in my early 40’s.
That was when I first started to blow up.
Anyone who’s been on steroids, like prednisone,
knows exactly what I’m talking
about”, she said.
A self-described, “hard worker who can’t
resist helping people”, McDougald managed
to lose most of the weight, but
some six years ago, got sick again, and
afterwards started to regain most of the
weight she had lost. So far, she’s successfully
battle a number of life threatening
situations including heart disease. Currently
she wears both a pacemaker and
difibulator.
“A pacemaker keeps your heart beating at
a constant pace. The difibulator restarts it
when it stops. In the last four years, my
heart has stopped twice. But thank God,
I’m still here”, she said.
Many people facing such severe health
challenges would, perhaps, limit their active
participation in community affairs,
but McDougald is just the opposite; she
thrives on developing and participating
in community-based projects, and issues.
“God didn’t put us here to sit, wait and
watch things happen”, she noted. “Things
won’t get better until we make them better,
which is why I believe in the philosophy
of self-help. You cannot help other
people without ultimately helping yourself”,
she declared.
So, some two weeks ago, McDougald
embarked on her latest mission, and one
of her greatest challenges--- being overweight
and morbidly obese. She started
a weight management-weight control
program, especially formulated to help
overweight or obese individuals lose,
manage and control their weight.
“I’m on a proven weight loss program.
All I have to do is follow the plan. It’s all
laid out for you, plain as night and day.
It’s a three-part program that begins with
a 9-day cleanse… and the first step is to
detox, clean out your body. This is why
part one is called the Clean-9 program,
and so far, I’ve lost 12 pounds and I feel
pretty good”, she said.
McDougald, the long time founder of the
Golden Eagles Awards, a prominent program
that salutes and recognizes community
leaders, has set goals and time
tables to achieve her weight loss dream.
“I have both short term and long term
goals for getting this weight off of me.
My ideal weight is to get back to 137
pounds. Short term, I want to be under
200 by the end of September or no later
than the end of October. I plan to lose 10
pounds a month until May 30, 2015.
Her weight loss program calls for a limited
amount of daily physical activity which she
has to monitor carefully because of her
heart condition.
“People say that I am a hard worker, and
am always trying to help someone. Well, I
believe in helping others and I try not to
let anyone down because I know people
believe and trust me”, she said.
“I’m on a journey to lose 100 pounds. Now,
I am not foolish enough to believe it will
be easy. I also don’t expect it to be quick.
Things that come quick don’t last. This is
where my faith comes in. I’m going for a
total lifestyle change because my life depends
on it. I definitely don’t want to be
confined to a bed for the rest of my life”,
she said.
More than 22 individuals have joined
McDougald’s efforts on what is being described
as a “national campaign to reduce
and eliminate obesity in the USA”. It is estimated
by the CDC that within the next
few years, 4 out of every 5 Americans will
be overweight or obese. Already, it is the
major cause of all catastrophic illnesses
and diseases including diabetes, kidney,
cancer, stroke and heart disease.
“I know I am overweight. Actually, I am
obese. Nobody has to tell me that because
I can see it myself. However, I am not about
to sit around, complaining and whining
about it. I want a healthy body, and I intend
to have one”, she said. “This is why I
am on this special weight loss program. I
know all too well what being over weight
can do to you”.
“And I know that I can best help others by
first helping myself. Losing this weight will
help set me free from the limits that bad
health has placed on me. I know that I can
help someone else gain their freedom
from bad health”, she said.
McDougald is reaching out to others to join
her weight loss caravan. “I am a mother
and grandmother and if I can knock off 100
pounds with this special weight loss plan,
then there is no excuse for anyone else not
being able to do the same. You just have to
be sick and tired of being sick and tired of
being fat, tired and overweight”, she said.
“I want people to know that I am serious
about losing this weight, which is why I
freely give out my contact information
(910) 729-9159 including this big fat photo
of myself to anyone serious about improving
their health. Like the old folks used
to say…if I can help someone, somewhere,
then my living will not be in vain”, said Mc-
Dougald.
--John Raye, a life-health coach, is an 8 year
cancer survivor. He lives in Kernersville, NC.
(rayeandrosie@ aol.com (336)782-8383
Just Do It!
Bruce Mallatratt
Presents
June 28, 2014
(And the Last Saturday of
Every Month!)
Red River Grill
247 West Kings Highway
Eden, NC 27288
8:00 – 11:00PM
July 19, 2014
Highlander Restaurant,
Lodge and Pub
2500 Riverside Dr.
Danville, VA 24540
9:00PM – 12:00AM
September 20, 2014
Riverfest
Washington St.
Eden, NC 27288
Time TBD