This 51-Year-Old Lost So Much Weight That She's Unrecognizable

If you've ever felt the need to lose a few pounds, you know how much of a head game it can be. Now imagine having a couple of hundred of those pounds to lose and knowing that, if you don't, you will probably die. This was life for Clara Williams. At over 400 lb, middle age was starting to seem like the end of the line, and, with so much at stake, she needed to make a change. She did, and — wow! — the difference is something you have to see to believe.

Life At 420 lb.

At 51 years of age, Clara had struggled with her weight her whole life. Anyone who has ever struggled with their weight knows how hopeless the dream of being a socially comfortable size can feel. Clara was getting older but not healthier; her weight was always a problem and now, she was facing the costs.

A Grandmother Who Wants To See Her Grandchild Grow Up

When she became a grandmother to her grandson, Isaac, she began to think about her weight in a different way. It was this life change that made losing weight about more than looks and clothes; living a long, healthy life became the motivator.

“It was hard to even get up off the couch by myself, let alone with a baby in my arms,” Clara said. "I was sick of being sick and tired. So I decided to fight to live life to its fullest.”

Hitting The Top With TOPS

After making the decision to start the process of losing weight permanently, Clara needed support and she found it. She joined TOPS, which stands for "Take Off Pounds Sensibly," a nonprofit support group for people who are ready to lose weight in a healthy, reasonable way. It was there that she began to transform her life and thus, her body.

Her Results

Clara did not use a strict, unrealistic diet to get these dramatic results. The TOPS program featured weekly contests and weigh-ins to keep her motivated and focused. The group kept her accountable and honest about her progress and habits, which made the transformation possible. Clara was quoted saying, “The support from the group gave me all the encouragement I needed, and in so many ways, it saved my life.”

Walking Is One Foot In Front Of The Other

Every journey, long or short, starts with a single step. Clara's is no exception. She walked and walked and walked to get her body into shape and keep her mind focused on her goals. She would also follow Leslie Sansone's Walk-At-Home tapes to keep her going.

One Step At A Time, Look How Far She's Come

At 5'10", Clara collectively lost 243 lb. That is a whole other adult person! Now, at the healthy weight of 183 lb, she reports being both relieved and mortified at the dramatic transformation she made to save her own life. The difference is huge in both mind and body. No looking back!

Continue Reading

Knitters And Crocheters Needed To Make Beanies For Newborn Babies

Advertisement

If your fingers can fly with a pair of needles, the American Heart Association needs you. They've put out a call for volunteers with skilled fingers to knit and crochet beanies for newborns.

They're building up a supply of adorable little red caps for Little Hats, Big Hearts, a campaign that gives a little beanie to every baby born in February, which is American Heart Month.

Little Hats, Big Hearts started small, with a chapter in Chicago making about 300 hats back in 2014. Just three years later, it has become a national deal, with more than 40 states taking part. 

It's all part of a big movement to get families thinking about heart health and congenital defects.

Local Heart Association groups get together to make hats for babies in their areas. 

However, anybody can go to the Heart Association's website and download a few different patterns to crochet or knit for babies or preemies. They're also accepting donations of yarn.

So if you have the skills, consider lending them to the Heart Association for this amazing campaign!

Just think of how your work could be warming some precious little noggin! 

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Meet 'The Iceman': He's Climbed Everest In Just Shorts And Has Mastered The Cold

Tragedy is an inescapable human experience. 

You either don't live long enough to experience it, and in that case have missed out on something as universally human as making love, or you live so long, you learn to dance in tragedy's madness. Most of us fall somewhere in between those two extremes. We're in a flux. We understand tragedy helps us grow but are unable to embrace the tragedy when it first arrives.

This brings me to Wim Hof, The Iceman.

If you haven't heard of Wim, you're about to get a crash course in one of the humankind's most untapped bipedal treasures. He's a man who is revolutionizing medicine, pushing the human body to heights it's never before been and all of this was made possible by an almost unimaginable tragedy in his life.

"The cold is a merciless but righteous teacher." — Wim Hof

Wim Hof (The Iceman), 59, is a Dutch-born daredevil, healer, 20x Guinness World Record holder, climber, runner, and renowned speaker. He's been featured on Vice, UPROXX, Entrepreneur, and the Joe Rogan Experience Podcast.

His claims to fame? Being able to withstand cold temperatures for periods of time that were, in the past, considered to be impossible feats.

Hof's journey into the cold began when his journey in marriage ended.

"I was to be with her forever. She was the love of my life and she died. She suicided," Hof said of his wife, Olaya, who committed suicide in 1995.

"It's a black hole within yourself. It breaks your heart and you don't know why, but the train of a daily life is going on and you gotta catch up otherwise you lose it. So I had to be there for my children. And yes, we created a new nest. My children made me survive in that time but nature healed my wounds."

"The cold gave me a direct understanding of deeper breathing and how to heal a broken heart."

"Then I went and did all kinds of remarkable challenges," said Hof in an interview with UPROXX. 

Remarkable challenges. That's a modest way of describing the feats Hof has accomplished. Here are a few:

-> Running a marathon on sandals above the Arctic Circle wearing only shorts
-> Running 1/2 a marathon barefoot above the Arctic Circle wearing only shorts
-> Officially swam under ice for 66 meters, unofficially swam under ice for 120 meters with one breath
-> Hanging on one finger at an altitude of 2000 meters
-> Climbing the highest mountains on Earth in only shorts
-> Heat tests with a constant body temperature
-> Full marathon in the Namib desert without water consumption

There's a great infographic breaking down Hof's message on the next page.

"One after another, they challenged me more, more, more, more!" 

And with each challenge Wim took on, the more popular he became. And with the increased popularity, his challenges kept getting more extreme. And with his challenges getting more extreme, the more we learned about the length in which the human body can be metaphorically stretched.

"According to Maria Hopman of the UMC St Radboud Nijmegen, what Wim is capable of is viewed as scientifically impossible," reads an excerpt from Hof's site. "Hopman conducted a cold physiological experiment with Wim as subject and examined him as he stood in a cylinder filled with 700 kilograms of ice cubes. In these conditions, an untrained person would most likely die from hypothermia. Wim, however, has never had the risk; his body temperature remained constantly at around 37 degrees."

For those wondering, a human's average body temperature is 37 degrees. In 700 kgs of ice, the Iceman's body temperature did not change.

Perhaps Hof's most impressive feat was his hike up Mount Everest...in nothing but shorts.

"I'm confident because I know what my body can cope with," said Hof.

Experts revealed during deep meditation, Mr. Hof's brain is able to send messages to other parts of his body telling them to keep warm.

And now, an entire method has been born...

The Wim Hof method is being experimented with in universities, talked about on podcasts, and taught, by Wim himself, with tens of thousands of people taking part in the movement.

"To me, God is cold."

"You could say that I think of the cold as a noble force. It's just helping me. It's training me. It's bringing me back to the inner nature the way it was meant to be."

I want to focus on that last sentence for a moment.

Bringing us back to the inner nature.

Think about how most of us react to the cold. Societally, socially, even culturally (and I come from Canada, a country that's covered by ice for six months every year), we've been trained worldwide to despise the cold.

We've been trained to avoid the cold at all costs. To shower with scalding hot water. To avoid underdressing for fears of getting sick. To talk negatively of winter. To lament the snow-covered roads.

And while there is a legitimate reason to fear the cold, as it can kill us a lot faster than the heat can, it's within our physiology to expose ourselves to the cold — as Hof is demonstrating with his method.

The best part about The Wim Hof Method?

Anyone can do it. Anyone.

“What I am capable of, everybody can learn," writes Hof on his website.

Are the Iceman's methods something that interest you? That's good! Let me show you how you can start practicing them on the next page.

The best place to get started: Wim Hof's website.

It's a wealth of information about his method, about the science and about himself. For the right price, he'll even come to you and try to break a world record. Pretty cool, huh?

You can also download his app, Innerfire, for Apple and Android devices.

Or, conversely, you can just head to YouTube and watch the wealth of videos people have posted there. 

I know the phrase "this changed my life" gets thrown around a lot and as someone who hasn't practiced Hof's method in any substantial way, I couldn't make such a bold claim. But I know for SURE Wim Hof has changed what scientists and athletes know about the human body's capacity to withstand, and even thrive in, cold temperatures for long periods of time. That's not an overstatement. 

But before you master the cold...

Stick around a while longer and watch this phenomenal documentary made by VICE on the Iceman himself.

Continue Reading

Wanderlust Woman Attempts To Become First Female To Travel To All Countries

Most of us grow up with the encouragement that if we dream and work hard enough, we can have anything we want in this life. However, somewhere between pre-school and high school, we're told to be realistic. We're told to manage our expectations, try our best, and have a plan B (just in case). Nothing is for certain. Dreaming and working hard is half the battle. This continues until one day, some of us just stop believing. We fall in line. We aim lower. We play it safe.

And we wonder. What if?

One woman knew she didn't want to wonder her life away. Rather, she wanted to wander. This is her story.

Meet Cassie DePecol. She's not your average wanderlust woman. 

She was raised in rural Washington, Connecticut. Her educational background is as vast as the oceans she wades her days in now. She was home-schooled, went to top private schools, and then headed into an impressive stint of post-secondary schools including Long Island University, Global College in Costa Rica, Green Mountain College, Post University, Santa Barbara City Colleges and Galleleo Travel School.

At 25, Cassie had three-and-a-half years of university completed. She was feeling unfilled and rather restless.

"School just did not fulfill her inner yearning for living life to the fullest." It's a common qualm. You see, since she was a young girl, Cassie wanted to be an inspiration to others. It's hard to do this through traditional means. 

When August 2009 rolled around, she decided to take a trip with her brother. 

The two spent a month touring Europe. They went to Belgium, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany, and Switzerland.

After their Eurotrip, her brother went home. Cassie was changed. She knew traveling was the inspiration she'd been looking for.

Right then, she made the decision to continue on, solo.

With just $2,000 in her name, she toured four continents over two years.

It wasn't always easy.

"She slept in train stations, lived off of bread, swept floors, and hitchhiked her way through the Middle East, Africa, South America and Asia while pursuing Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality through independently gained internships."

Nothing was too much to change her mind.

The passion was in place: Travel would be the way she inspired others. Now she just needed a way to make this dream a reality and keep safe and fed at once.

At 25, this happened.

Cassie paired up with Louis D'Amore, the founder of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT).

Together, the two would make both of their dreams come true. She would travel to all 196 sovereign nations in just over three years.

 Cassie's travels would now focus on promoting peace.

With mentoring and finances in place, she set off to be the first documented woman to travel to every single country.

She creates weekly vlogs and always updates her Instagram so her 35K followers can keep up with her. You can find her under the name "Expedition 196."

Some people are calling her the fastest woman around the world.

Here are her solo-traveling stats so far:

Oceania (14/14)

Asia (46/50)

Europe (44/44)

North America (23/23)

South America (11/12)

Africa (40/53)

Cassie and her crew have taken great measures to make sure this record-setting trip is as inspiring as possible.

They even considered her carbon footprint.

Her website reads: "Skal International and Expedition 196 are partnering together with the Skal Chapters around the world to plant trees in order to offset Cassie’s Carbon Footprint!"

"In addition to advocating sustainable tourism by staying in eco establishments and embarking on eco tours, Cassie is now contributing by physically planting the national tree of the country she visits, with the extraordinary help of Skal International!"

Definitely not your average wanderlust experience!

28 trees have already been planted in this project's name.

Her experiences and platform have only made her goals that much easier to accomplish. While she's working on becoming the first documented female to visit every country on earth, she's leaving pieces of her spirit behind to inspire others toward a more peaceful coexistence.

If you're wondering more specifically how she is promoting peace, her website has a plethora of information. For now, I'll leave you with this: "Throughout her expedition, Cassie will be carrying the banner for World Peace as she meets with the Mayors [sic], Skal Presidents (skal.org), and Ministers of Tourism of Nations throughout her expedition. It is here that she will present to them the Creo of the Peaceful Traveler in a form of a ‘Declaration of Peace’. She will be delivering this to each leader in front of students of local schools and she will be interacting with the students and discussing with them what their meaning of what peace is, and how they believe we can enhance our world through responsible tourism efforts."

We wish Cassie all the best with her goals. With her focus and determination, it's not hard to see these dreams becoming realities really soon.

Would you ever do this? Let us know in the comments!

Continue Reading

Elderly Woman Finds Rare Bill Worth Over $60K And Donates It To 'Help Young People'

In honor of the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death and the upcoming addition of the author to the £10 note, micro-engraver Graham Short has turned four bills into keepsakes worth £50,000 (over $62,000 USD) or more. In December 2016, he began putting the bills into circulation, one each in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. 

The rare bills in Wales and Scotland had already been found when the Tony Huggins-Haig Gallery received word from an elderly woman in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland who discovered a third special bill. 

The bill didn't travel far, as it was put into circulation in Enniskillen. 

Graham Short is world-famous for his micro-engravings, which are painstakingly etched into surfaced such as the heads of pins or the edges of razor blades. 

The slightest error can ruin the tiny images, so much so that Short wears a stethoscope while working so that he can make his marks between heartbeats. 

One each of the bills, Short engraved a tiny portrait of Jane Austen, circled by a quote from her works. It can only be seen under certain lighting and magnification. 

The image is located beside Big Ben, over where the £ sign sits. 

But the woman who discovered the third bill didn't want to keep it for herself, so she sent it to the gallery with a request to help those who would have a better use for it. 

Her letter reads: "£5 note enclosed. I don't need it at my time of life. Please use it to help young people." 

To honor her wishes, Short is working with the gallery to ensure the worth of the bill goes towards a good cause. They are currently in contact with Children in Need. 

As for the charitable lady, she prefers to remain anonymous. 

It's a bit like the Golden Tickets from Willy Wonka, isn't it? You should SHARE this story of generosity with everyone you know!

h/t Graham Short

Continue Reading

Her Messy Home Was Reported To The City, But This Elderly Widow Didn't Know What Was Next

Advertisement

Agnes Maples is a 90-year-old widow who lives alone. So when she was informed that she was going to soon face daily fines of up to $2500, she feared what the future would hold.

A relative had been dumping trash at her house, leaving Agnes with his personal belongings and garbage for years.

“I tried to get him to get it out. It was terrible. All kinds of garbage,” Agnes shared with CBN.

At the age of 90, Agnes could hardly walk, and she was unable to clear the garbage herself. Worse, her home was starting to deteriorate.

“My roof had gotten bad and there was animals getting in ... I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t able to do it and I know I couldn’t do it,” said Agnes.

Confused, desperate and alone, the elderly widow didn’t know where to turn….

Until she thought to call Operation Blessing, a non-profit humanitarian organization.

“They’re angels. They came in and cleaned out all the stuff.”

The group of volunteers not only removed all of the junk, but they also repaired and decorated Agnes’s entire house. They built a brick bath, decorated her property with flowerbeds, and removed all of the debris from Agnes’s home.


But Operation Blessing had one final surprise for Agnes…

“They asked me what I needed.”

“I said, please get me an air conditioner. So they surprised me with one,” Agnes said. The volunteers wrapped it in pink paper and a ribbon, and Agnes squealed with delight upon opening the generous gift.

“I love them all…I’ve been blessed and blessed”

Instead of fearing the future, Agnes can now relax in her clean, safe home — all thanks to the efforts of a group of special volunteers!

Main and collage image via YouTube / The Official 700 Club

Advertisement

Continue Reading