*** 300 Words ***

300 Words ... on losing 200 pounds

A middle-school teacher who overcame obesity tells her story.

By JULIE SHERWOOD
Messenger Post Staff

STAFF PHOTO/RIKKI VAN CAMP
On the campus of the Canandaigua VA Medical Center, Vivian "Bunny" Dimmel, a
columnist and inspirational speaker, tells the story of how she lost more than 200
pounds. The photo projected on the wall behind her shows Dimmel when she
weighed close to 400 pounds.

CANANDAIGUA - Bunny Dimmel wasn’t obese when she was 12. But she did weigh more than most of her peers - girls built like toothpicks, she said, who used less-than-flattering terms to describe the way she looked.

But nine years ago, when her husband made her promise on his death bed to lose weight, Dimmel weighed 383 pounds. Eventually, she lost 220 pounds and has maintained her new lifestyle while devoting much of her time to inspiring others.

"It didn’t happen overnight," she said while telling her story last week at the Canandaigua VA Medical Center.

"You have the ability to change," said Dimmel, 55, a middle-school teacher and contributing columnist for the Syracuse Post-Standard newspaper.

"Yes, it’s hard work," added Dimmel, who lives near Syracuse. "You have to eat less and exercise the rest of your life."

Though her recipe for success sounds simple, the story of her life and journey back to health is far from it. And Dimmel understands what others in the shoes she once wore are going through.

"She is very inspirational," said Benita Allen of Phelps, who attended the presentation hosted by the VA as part of a series of events promoting health and wellness.

Dimmel said her life hit rock bottom in 2004. Her obesity and related health problems, including a broken thigh bone that took two years to heal, caused her to lose a job and admission to a university program, she said. "It was the worst medical abyss I had ever fallen into," said Dimmel, who discovered the weight-loss plan Weight Watchers.

She didn’t have to give up favorite foods, like olive oil and bread, but it did require changes. With no quitting allowed.

"If you fail, struggle, you pick yourself up," she said. "It’s possible."

For more information, visit
www.bunnydiet.com.

Julie Sherwood can be
reached at (585) 394-0770, ext. 263,
or at jsherwood@mpnewspapers.com.