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am now 79 pounds lighter… just six and a half months after starting Medifast.

Medifast is the easiest plan to stick to if you have a busy work schedule! I’m a 22-year-old teacher and have been overweight all of my life and tried many diet plans. Following college graduation I began to really buckle down and try to lose “on my own.” I lost about 30 lbs., but it came off slowly and I was still unhappy. Even after losing weight on my own, I still was 225 lbs. and a size 22 in November of 2005. I felt like I would never reach my goal of being 150 pounds and a size 8/10. I knew that I didn’t want to be overweight forever, and that I needed to change something in my life. I was unhappy but didn’t know what to do.

A friend had tried Medifast and had wonderful success, so I decided to give it a try. Being a first-year teacher I was a little nervous about trying a plan that would require me to eat 6 times a day. I realized after planning my meals that it can be done. I did not “cheat” on this plan once! I found it easiest to stay on the plan rather than find ways around it. During the school day I had Ready-to-Drink shakes, my lean and green meal, and a bar. Before school I had oatmeal for breakfast, and in the evening I had a shake and pudding or soup. My recipe for success was the following: five Medifast Meals, one lean and green meal, and commitment to the plan!

I am now 79 lbs. lighter and a size 6/8, just six and a half months after starting Medifast. I am now a completely different person in so many ways. Not only do I look different, but my self-esteem is much higher too. I now look forward to going out with my friends, shopping, and playing sports with my students. I couldn’t be happier; thanks Medifast!

Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub of Clearfield retook the world record for largest restaurant hamburger on Saturday.

Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub’s latest salvo in the giant burger wars weighed in at 123 pounds, shattering the previous record of 105 pounds that was held by two restaurants in New Jersey and Thailand.

To create the Bismarck of burgers, Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub used 80 pounds of ground Angus beef, a 30-pound bun baked on the premises, 3 pounds of lettuce, 160 slices of cheese, 10-12 tomatoes, 4-5 onions, several jars of peppers, one pound each of ketchup, mayonnaise, relish and mustard and 30 dill pickle spears. The ingredients alone cost approximately $200, said Denny Leigey, owner of Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub.

The restaurant also had to have special molds and stainless steel pans made at TD Fabricating and Welding of Clearfield at a cost of approximately $500 to accommodate the super-sized burger.

The meat was cooked overnight for 6-8 hours in an oven, but a special heat shield had to be constructed on the oven because the burger was too large for the regular oven door to close properly, said Mr. Leigey.

Mr. Leigey said he is having a special pan made to correct this problem so the heat shield will not be needed in the future.

The burger, named the Beer Barrel Main Event Charity Burger, is now available to all on the menu at a cost of $379. However, it must be ordered three days in advance, said Mr. Leigey.

The restaurant will be giving special discounts to some charitable organizations, said Mr. Leigey. The burger can feed approximately 100 people at a buffet-style meal.

When asked how many calories the burger had, Mr. Leigey said he had no idea.

“If you were worried about calories you would be at home eating Kellogg’s,” said Mr. Leigey.

The restaurant unveiled its latest meat monster at a special event Saturday afternoon in front of scores of spectators and the media, which included a television news crew from NDR, Germany’s largest television station.

“It was a great day,” said Mr. Leigey. “Great people are what makes Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub what it is.”

Mr. Leigey said he will be submitting the paperwork for the burger to the Guinness Book of World Records today.

Denny’s Beer Barrel Pub had lost the title of largest restaurant burger approximately six months ago when the two restaurants bested Denny’s 50-pound burger.

However, Mr. Leigey declared his own détente in the burger wars arms race and it is highly unlikely that he will be making a bigger burger in the future.

And when asked what he would do if someone beats his world record, Mr. Leigey replied by saying, “Good luck.”

In addition to the giant burger, competitive eaters from all over Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey assembled at the restaurant in an attempt to consume the restaurant’s other plus-sized hamburgers including its 2-pound, 3-pound, 6-pound and 15-pound burgers.

Ian Hickman of Sterling, Va., was able to break the restaurant’s record by consuming a 2-pound hamburger, with a total weight of approximately 5 pounds, in 14 minutes and 45 seconds.

The previous record was held by Daryl Teats of Woodland, who consumed a 2-pound burger in 1993 in 15 minutes.

“Denny’s is sort of our Mecca,” said Dave Schoffner of the United Eaters of Pennsylvania. “We come here every year.”

The United Eaters of Pennsylvania is competitive eating club whose members came to Clearfield on Saturday for the event from all over the state, including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, said Mr. Schoffner.

“We’ve tried other places, but none of them comes close to matching the food and atmosphere of Denny’s,” said Mr. Schoffner.

Mr. Leigey said the restaurant spent several months in planning and preparing for the launch of its behemoth burger and had made two trial burgers this week to make sure it would hold together and not fall apart once it was constructed.

Despite all the work that went into constructing the burger, Mr. Leigey said this one will not be eaten as a hamburger and instead will be broken up and used in other dishes like chili.

“Very little will be wasted,” he said.

now have enough energy to keep up with my 6-year-old son!

I had given up hope of ever returning to a normal weight. At the age of 35, after years of yo-yo dieting, I thought, “Face it, this is how it is going to be. Some people are thin and you are just you, so deal with it!”

I read about Medifast and wondered if it could actually work for me. I visited the website daily to read the success stories and eventually a light bulb turned on in my head. I realized that if others could do it, I could too! I was amazed how great the food tasted and how simple it was to follow the plan. To date I have lost 73 pounds! I am living proof that Medifast works, if you work it.

My life changed in so many ways. I look different, people tell me I look younger and that I am glowing, my skin is clear, my outlook is optimistic, and I have enough energy to keep up with my 6-year-old son! More than the physical changes that have developed, I am different inside. I no longer use food as a problem-solver, or a coping mechanism. I am no longer under food’s control. I read labels, only drink water, eat vegetables, think before I eat, and exercise. In short, I am alive again!

I am now the person that I always knew that I could be. The way that I always thought of myself on the inside is what the world now sees when they look at me. It’s as if the clock of life has turned back 10 years, giving me a chance to do things differently and to make better choices when it comes to my health and well being. Although thank you seems inadequate, I hope that it can begin to express my gratitude and appreciation for the Medifast program. Thank you for helping me to achieve a life of quality rather than just a life.

Fitness trainers Bob Harper and Kim Lyons have years of experience helping people safely exercise and eat better to lose weight, feel better, and be healthier. Through their guidance all Season 3 contestants had dramatic weight loss on national TV with this plan.