• Former weight: 248 pounds

• Current weight: 168 pounds

Family photo (ENLARGE)

BEFORE: Joyce Paris, 54, weighed 248 pounds.

Katie Torres/6 of Four Creations (ENLARGE)

AFTER: Paris weighs 168 pounds.

PHOTOS: 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 [an error occurred while processing this directive] Back to Health

• Pounds lost: 80

• Height: 5 feet 5 inches

• How long she's kept it off: Five years

• Personal life: Works as a kindergarten paraprofessional. Paris has a son and daughter-in-law and lives in Dallas.

• Turning point: "I never felt good before I went on my diet," Paris says. "I didn't want to go anywhere or do anything, so I finally decided to do something about it." She started with Medifast (www.medifast1.com) and got down to 178 pounds. Then she joined a gym, started exercising and began the Fresh 'N Fit cuisine program (www.freshnfitcuisine.com).

• Diet plan: "My health is wonderful," she says. "When I go for a full check with my doctors, they are amazed at all my results and tell me whatever I am doing to keep it up." Meals rotate every five weeks, so on a daily basis the menus vary.

• Exercise routine: She walks on the treadmill twice a week, does weights twice a week and does a bicycle workout for about an hour once a week.

• Biggest challenge: "I will, from time to time, go off the program and I will gain about 12 pounds. Then I get right back on Fresh 'N Fit," she says.

• How life has changed: "I love going places, and I feel great," she says. "I love to shop now. I never stay home. I stay on the go. I used to just stay home and didn't want to go anywhere. I have never been able to keep it off for this long."