Well, since I’m a girl who never wins contests, I thought what the heck, typed out my responses, and hit the send button.
That’s how it began. I’d reached a good weight, lost 65 pounds, and kept it off for awhile. Good! But enter a contest? Why not? When I saw the “Medifast Happy Afters” contest application online, I filled it out, attached some photos, and hit send. I thought, naively, that it was over.
After all, I’m a girl who never wins contests.
Fast forward a few months, and the phone rings. Sweet voice over the phone breaks the news. You are a finalist! A what? I thought to myself? Really? Do they realize I’m not a size 6? Or that my left leg isn’t even a size 6?!? A finalist. For the Medifast Happy Afters. Wait a week, we’ll let you know if you’re chosen.
You know what? In a world of internet, email, instant messages, texting and the like, I’d forgotten what it feels like to sit by the phone and wait for it to ring. Ugh. For a girl who never wins, I was really hoping I’d won.
When the call came the next week, I was in shock. Again. Really? I’m going? I’m chosen? One of ten? Oh my. How cool. And intimidating. And real. Hmmm. Guess I can’t gain the weight back now! Ha! So many things went through my mind. The thought that dominated all others was, “Lord, be glorified.”
See, once again, I was confronted with the why and how of this whole process. This wasn’t like the other attempts. This wasn’t just a diet. God had changed my heart. Cleared out some spiritual junk in my life. And, Medifast, helped the process along. The more I prayed, the more it was clear that this was something God was saying “yes” to. So, off I went.
Boarding the plane as the “former fatty” I found myself having a blast of a week. With new friends who knew exactly what I had been through, and why this was such a success. No competition or comparison – just celebration. We were treated incredibly well – spa day, shopping day, and photo shoots.
our medifast spa day, I'm on the far left.
Oh, the photo shoots. Now, for the girl who didn’t expect to win, I think I was the last to realize the photos had a purpose. We were going to be in the company’s ads! In magazines and such! As success stories!
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, my name is Jennifer Devlin, and I lost 65 pounds on the Medifast program.
Oh my. I’m now one of “those people” – but you know what? I thank God every day that I found Medifast online – in that moment when I hit rock bottom and needed a solution, crying out to God for help. Between my faith and my food choices, success was achieved. And, I do believe, this success will last.
I’m so thankful for the Medifast team and how sweet they’ve been to me and the other winners. There’s no way to convey how special it is to have the company tell you “you did good!”
