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Binta Wold's mother, Caitlin gives her daughter a proud hug for all the hard work she does to keep her weight off after losing 43 pounds since 2003. See The girl grew fast and tall, outpacing her peers in height and weight. But as her friends began to shed their baby fat, Binta's cherubic face grew rounder. Her increasing girth made it difficult for her to run.
By age 10, Binta was nearly 180 pounds.
A gentle and softspoken girl, Binta avoided thinking about her weight, focusing instead on school and animals, especially horses. But her mother, who had had her hands full with a new baby, began to notice how climbing a flight of stairs left Binta winded. Normal bathing suits didn't fit, so Binta went to the beach in a maternity bathing suit.
After a talk with her teachers, Binta's parents broached the idea of a weight-loss plan, with incentives that avoided using food as rewards.
Animal lover that she is, Binta came up with the perfect answer: a pet « or several pets « for every 5 pounds lost.
To mark Binta's progress, look no further than the Wold household. It is now home to five rabbits, three baby ferrets and two guinea pigs. There were also ducks, which have since flown off for warmer environs; and some pre-weight loss pets ì two cats and a dog.
"It's a zoo over here," Binta said merrily.
Binta is a bouncy 12-year-old given to singing and loping around the house. In the last couple of years, she has shot up 3 inches and weighs 130 pounds.
It's a healthy weight for her 5' 3" frame, said her pediatrician, Dr. Steve Blumenthal of Portland, who had worried that Binta would face health problems such as diabetes down the road.
"It's clear from where Binta was before that she's made some great progress, and that she needed to," Blumenthal said.
Binta, the oldest of three sisters, credits her weight loss to better eating habits and exercise. But finding the right regimen was difficult. In Maine, there are few programs for overweight children, according to a child-obesity expert.
"A lot of our work is based around prevention. For kids who are already overweight, it's tough," said Dr. Tory Rogers of Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
Binta's mother, Caitlin, relied on surveying people she knew. She heard positive feedback about Weight Watchers.
The weight-management group agreed to let Binta join, though she had to show a doctor's note granting approval « a condition required of members ages 10 to 16.
She has attended meetings at Weight Watchers' South Portland headquarters nearly every Tuesday night for the past two years. She is always easy to spot: the youngest member in the auditorium full of women in their 20s and up. Invariably, she is taking notes.
Binta followed a plan that placed no restriction on what she could eat, but assigned a certain number of points to different foods « two points for a small cookie, for example, and up to five points for a big one.
She wore a Weight Watchers bracelet with information written on charms as a way to ensure she would not exceed her set number of points. She ate "Smart Ones" microwave dinners from Weight Watchers and began to watch her portions.
"Instead of taking chicken Parmesan and eating the whole thing, you eat until you're not hungry anymore," Binta said.
Before every meeting, Binta would participate in "weigh-ins" with the other members. The weeks before she hit her goal weight of 130 pounds were frustrating because she was always a few tenths of a pound shy of her goal.
But she refused to give up, working out longer on her treadmill in the den if she had eaten a few too many chocolates that day.
The first time she walked on the machine about a year ago, she was panting after five minutes. Slowly, she worked up her endurance to the point that she could move at a 3-mph clip for more than an hour while studying for a French quiz or talking on the phone with friends about school « and boys, "um, sometimes."
At a "weigh-in" earlier this month, Binta took off her socks, and voilõ! « 130 pounds.
"I really like the weight that I'm at," Binta said.
Her focus now is on maintaining this weight, which may be adjusted if she grows taller.
Her transformation extends beyond appearance. The girl who would not raise her hand in class, trying to avoid stares, is one of the most active participants in class, especially in mathematics.
Binta said she no longer hides from mirrors, and she wears form-fitting jeans and skirts. She has the energy and boldness to try new sports « well, anything in fact.
"I lost 40-something pounds," Binta said. "If I can lose that much weight, .•.•.I can do anything."
One of Binta's favorite moments was performing in a recent dance exhibition at her school, Wayneflete Academy in Portland.
Binta played a swan, with chiffon for wings and a white, feather-tufted bodice made by her mother, Caitlin Wold, an artist.
Wold remembers how effortlessly Binta moved.
"I see that she feels independent and liberated," Wold said, "but she's still my wonderful, gentle girl."
Staff Writer Josie Huang can be contacted at 791-6364 or at: jhuang@pressherald.com