• Former weight: 247 pounds

• Current weight: 160 pounds

Family photo (ENLARGE)

BEFORE: Clark weighed 247 pounds.

Visual Enterprises (ENLARGE)

AFTER: Clark, 52, weighs 160 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 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  Jane Walters, 51, of McDonough sheds 38 pounds  Back to Health

• Pounds lost: 87

• Height: 5 feet 6 inches

• How long she's kept it off: Six years.

• Personal life: Clark works as a registered nurse at Georgia Regional Hospital. She is married to Raven, and she has two sons, Justin, 20, and Jared, 15. She and her family live in Ellenwood.

• Turning point: "I lost the weight after a frightening experience with irregular heartbeats," says Clark. "I have two sons. I thought about them having to grow up without their mother, and I resolved to do all I could to prevent that."

• Diet plan: She immediately cut out juice, soda and red meat. Breakfast is cereal with fruit and nuts, lunch is a peanut butter and banana sandwich with skim milk, and dinner is a chicken breast and salad with a baked potato. Instead of butter on her potato she adds either salsa or fat-free dressing.

• Exercise routine: "Along the way I began running," says Clark. "I started with a 5K and eventually did [The Atlanta Journal-Constitution] Peachtree [Road Race] and Labor Day 10K," she says. She also began running competitively, taking part in the Senior Olympics in Louisville, Ky., in July 2007 and in the USA Track & Field National Masters Indoor Championships in March in Boston.

• Biggest challenge: "Balancing family and work with exercise," she says.

• How life has changed: "I think as far as my inner life I have a lot more confidence in myself," she says. "I find myself being more of a teacher. Hopefully, I'm helping a lot of people improve their health." She participates in the Live Healthy Georgia program (www.livehealthygeorgia.org) and teaches exercise classes at her church. "I came from not being able to walk to the mailbox, hardly, to all this. You don't ever know what you can do."