• Height: 5 feet 3 1/2 inches

• Personal life: Gilkey is a network communication analyst with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She is single.

Family (ENLARGE)

BEFORE: Gilkey at 256 pounds.

Family (ENLARGE)

AFTER: Gilkey at 150 pounds.

READ THEIR STORIES: Longtime losers share winning tips, favorite recipes  Sissy Lusk, 42, Canton: From 345 to 130 pounds  Shelby Katz, 41, Peachtree Corners: From 208 to 125 pounds  Dacia Gilkey, 30, College Park: From 256 to 150 pounds  John Payne, 41, Acworth: From 185 to 148 pounds  Keith McKenney, 47, Atlanta: From 275 to 198 pounds  Karen Smicik, 36, Atlanta: From 198 to 158 pounds  Charles Aloisio, 72, Atlanta: From 250 to 150 pounds  Bob Shelton, 64, Atlanta: From 260 to 210 pounds  Benjamin 'Robby' Sneed, 28, Dallas: From 230 to 160 pounds

• How long she's kept it off: Four years. Started in January 2000; met her goal in January 2004.

• How she does it: Gilkey lost the bulk of the weight on her own, by exercising and cutting back on what she was eating. When she hit a plateau, she joined Weight Watchers (www.weightwatchers.com) and lost the last 25 pounds. "Weight Watchers gave me the extra edge and taught me portion control," she says. She loves to run and exercises five to six days a week.

• Why she's a successful loser: "I have kept the weight off by eating right and exercising daily. In other words, I made this a lifestyle change," she says. "My biggest challenge has been the temptations for sweets during the holiday season. I do enjoy myself, but once the holidays are over, I get back on my daily regimen."

• Secrets to continued success: "If you get off track slightly with diet and exercise, it's OK; just do not stay off track for good," she says. "Enjoy yourself at special events, but always know your limits. Too much of anything is never good. The key to being successful at weight loss is having balance with diet and exercise."

She's learned to give herself a weight range of 15 pounds that she aims to stay within. "There's no way I'll go beyond that, because [I] have a wardrobe issue. When I lost the weight, it took a lot of time to replace the wardrobe," she says.

Cajun-Teriyaki Vegetable Stir-fry With Shrimp
4 servings

Hands on: 20 minutes
Total time: 20 minutes

Cajun spice adds a little heat to stir-fried veggies. Go easy on the frozen teriyaki sauce included with the vegetables, though; it's loaded with sodium.

1/2 pound uncooked, deveined, tail-off shrimp
Juice of 1 small lemon
1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 broccoli crowns, cut into bite-size pieces
3 to 4 squash (yellow and zucchini), cut into bite-size pieces
1 (21-ounce) bag Green Giant Create a Meal Stir-fry With Teriyaki Sauce Packet

In a nonreactive bowl, combine the shrimp, lemon juice and Cajun seasoning. Set aside while preparing the vegetables.

In a wok or large frying pan over high heat, cook the shrimp with the lemon juice until just pink, about 2 minutes. Remove the shrimp and juices from the pan and set aside. Add the oil to the pan. Stir-fry the broccoli and squash for 2 minutes. Add the frozen vegetables and about half the sauce packet, or to taste, and cook for about 5 minutes, or until warm (adding all the sauce will tend to make the dish soupy as well as add unnecessary sodium). When the vegetables are crisp-tender and the sauce is melted, add the shrimp and its juices and toss until warmed.

Per serving: 233 calories (percent of calories from fat, 20), 19 grams protein, 30 grams carbohydrates, 9 grams fiber, 6 grams fat (1 gram saturated), 86 milligrams cholesterol, 462 milligrams sodium.