Sherrie Cline, 44, of Cartersville loses 72 pounds

• Former weight: 198 pounds

• Current weight: 126 pounds

Enlarge this image

Special

Sherrie Cline, 44, of Cartersville weighed 189 pounds when this photo was taken in April 2008. She’s with her daughter, Crystal.

Enlarge this image

Special

Cline now weighs 126 pound. The mom looks great.

• Pounds lost: 72 pounds

• Height: 5 feet 5 inches

• How long she’s kept it off: 7 months. She began her journey in March 2008 and reached her goal in November 2008.

• Personal life: “I live in Cartersville, Georgia with my husband, Cliff Cline, and two daughters, Kayla and Crystal Cline,” she says. She started working as the corporate sales coordinator for Thrive Weight Loss in April.

• Turning point: In March 2008, she went shopping for spring clothes. “My size 16’s were too small, so I had to shop at Lane Bryant. After trying on a size 18, I sat in the dressing room and cried for 20 minutes,” she says. “I decided right then I was tired of feeling bad and having no energy.”

• Diet plan: “The program I chose is Thrive Weight Loss (www.thriveweightloss.com). This is a nutrition program that teaches you to eat real food in the correct combinations so your body burns fat instead of muscle. For breakfast, she has Quaker weight control banana bread oatmeal along with 3 egg whites. Lunch is typically a Chick-fil-A grilled chicken breast wrap with fruit. And dinner is steak with broccoli.

• Exercise routine: “Only exercise at this time is Zumba dancing,” she says. Zumba is an aerobic workout inspired by Latin dance.

• Biggest challenge: “My biggest challenge was realizing that I will hit walls during my journey,” she says. “Once I learned how to get past those, it was no problem at all. There are certain food combinations that will increase your metabolism and help you break through those walls. What I did find was that even though the scales had stopped moving, I was still losing inches.”

• How life has changed: “I am a completely different person,” she says. “At first I was the heavy, shy person in the back of the class. Very soon, I was on the front row proudly standing up when they asked who lost 30, 40, 50, and 60 pounds. I have tons of energy, my headaches are gone. I sleep at night and play with my kids — I am really enjoying life.”

• See other before and after pictures sent by users like you! ONE | TWO | THREE | FOUR | FIVE | SIX | SEVEN | EIGHT | NINE | new TEN | Inspirations | Inspirations II | Readers photos
• Upload your own photos!
• Topic: Atlanta's weight loss resource

Be an inspiration: Be an inspiration: If you've made positive changes in your diet and/or fitness routine and are happy with the results, please share your success with us. Include your email address, a daytime phone number and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). Write: Success Stories, c/o Suzanne Van Atten, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sixth Floor, 72 Marietta St. N.W., Atlanta, GA 30303; or e-mail ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.

More success stories

• Jennifer Powell, 31, of Douglasville, drops 122 pounds 
• Sonya Moste, 41, of Fayetteville lost 60 pounds 
• Kristy Wegert, 36, of Roswell loses 99 pounds 
• Dick Jones, 53, of Alpharetta loses 72 pounds 
• Derrick Williams, 37, of Dunwoody sheds 75 pounds 
• Sherrie Cline, 44, of Cartersville loses 72 pounds 
• Hannah Conheady, 19, of Lawrenceville sheds 102 pounds 
• Sara Corcoran, 39, of Johns Creek sheds 114 pounds 
• Jennifer Sabatier, 34, of Atlanta loses 80 pounds 
• Mickey Ruffalo, 57, of Woodstock loses 65 pounds 

• Back to Health