HERLIFE Magazine

“I had to tell myself that itwas time to stop making excusesand do something about beingoverweight. I worked extremelyhard to get to where I am now,and I will always have to work hardto ensure that I don’t ever get towhere I was.”small victories, celebrate for a short time, and then move on.”She had to learn to set small goals and when she reached them,rewarded herself. She did not reward herself with food. “I would rewardmyself with being able to go to my favorite tanning salon, Le Soleil, forRed Light Therapy or a quick spray tan.”Anytime your lifestyle changes, good or bad, there are ups anddowns. She had weeks where she would walk out of the clinic on“cloud nine” and there were times she didn’t think she could make itthrough the week. “I had a lot of friends and family who encouragedme every step of the way. What I have noticed more than peoplejudging me due to being overweight is a person that did not like thefact I was losing weight. Why did they not like it? I have no idea. Therewere people I saw at least four to fives times per week throughoutmy journey and they never once said anything kind to me about myweightloss. While in the beginning I got my feelings hurt because Itruly thought they were my friends; in the end I just had to ignore it.”What Heather couldn’t ignore is how the weight melted off.She has lost 85 pounds to date and wears a size 2-4 and weighs in at130 pounds. She completed her first 5K race last September (wherecrossing the finish line for the first time was one of Heather’s biggesthighs). “It is what encourages me to continue running,” she adds. Sheis also hoping to compete in the Disneyland Half Marathon or the LasVegas Rock-n-Roll half marathon at the end of 2012. “My end goal is torun a full marathon by the end of 2013.”Heather has been nominated as a candidate for the Leukemia andLymphoma Society’s 2012 Man and Woman of the Year campaign.This competition attracts Kansas City’s best and brightest professionals.Candidates competing for the title of Man or Woman of the Yearare judged solely on a philanthropic basis—on their success ingenerating funds for The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society from thedate of the Kick-Off Party on March 1, 2012, until the Grand FinaleCelebration on May 17, 2012. The funds raised through this campaignare translated directly into services provided by The Leukemia andLymphoma Society’s Mid-America Chapter. These services includepatient financial aid, local support groups, education programs formedical professionals and caretakers, and research.Nowadays, she enjoys activities with her children more, doesn’tget tired easily, is on the board of directors for Camps for Kids, is aswim mom (her daughter swims competitively for Tsunami SwimTeam of Kansas City), and most of all loves to go shopping for clothes.“I hated shopping before,” Heather confesses. “I felt like there was noway I would ever be thin again. I hated dressing up, and I absolutelywouldn’t be caught dead in exercise clothes. I really felt badly aboutmyself. Now, I love to shop. I try on clothes just for fun; something thatwould have NEVER happened before and I feel good in just aboutanything I wear. I definitely have more confidence in my appearancethan I used to.”As still waters run deep, so does Heather’s passion to reach outand help people. Not only does she find fulfillment in leading theway in weight-loss, but as the National Accounts Manager at CrecheInnovations, she finds solace and satisfaction working with a companythat provides medical supplies to optimize life-sustaining care andnurturing for premature babies. She admits that she feels at homeworking with scientists, physicians, nurses and lactation consultantson a daily basis. Creche Innovations has dedicated over five yearsto developing and perfecting a valuable instrument, the PenguinNutritional Warmer, for use in NICUs, PICUs and birthing centers toensure protection of the nutritional properties of infant feedings andcreating a standardized practice for all hospitals.“This job means the world to me not only because of who I workfor and with, but because my niece, Olivia, was born premature andspent a few days in the NICU,” Heather says. “It feels good to helpbabies just like others helped my niece ten years ago.”Is Heather done losing? Her goal weight is 125, something shehopes to achieve by the end of 2012. She loves talking to people abouther weight-loss victory in hopes of helping and inspiring them. ForHeather, realizing that she has been an inspiration to others meansthe world to her, but she also realizes that it’s not a destination, but alife-long journey. “Let’s face it, all of us look at women in magazinesand wish we were blessed with their genetics. We look at them andthink they don’t have our problems, or our metabolism and they don’thave to work nearly as hard to look as good as we do. They’re justlucky. I had to tell myself that it was time to stop making excuses anddo something about being overweight. I worked extremely hard to getto where I am now, and I will always have to work hard to ensure that Idon’t ever get to where I was.”HERLIFE Magazine applauds you Heather! ■If you would like to become involved and join Heather’s LeukemiaLymphoma campaign team, or if you’d like to learn more about how youcan donate to her campaign, please contact her at teamtownsend2003@gmail.com.HERLIFEMAGAZINE.COM 35