SUCCESS STORY / Kristy Bell Olds, 35: From 372 pounds to 181 pounds

Former weight: 372 pounds

Current weight: 181 pounds

Pounds lost: 191 pounds

Height: 5 feet 7 inches

Age: 35 years old

How long she’s kept it off: Eleven months. She started in April 2010 and reached her current weight in October 2011.

Personal life: “I live in Loganville with my husband, Richard, and my 4-year-old son, Drew. I am a clerk at DeKalb County Juvenile Court,” Olds said. She blogs at www.moveyourbodytransformation.com.

Turning point: “I had lost 42 pounds in the week after the birth of my son in 2008 when I was in intensive care at Eastside Medical Center with severe preeclampsia, pulmonary edema and cardiomyopathy,” she said. “I believe my turning point was when [a dear friend] asked me to participate in the first annual Promise Walk for Preeclampsia (www.promisewalk.org). My husband and I started walking in our neighborhood so that we would be able to make it the whole distance. After the Promise Walk, I discovered that I had developed a routine and continued to walk every day after work, rain or shine.”

Diet plan: A typical day starts with an omelet or cereal. Lunch is a salad or homemade soup. Dinner is usually stir-fry or fish with vegetables. “I usually drink more than 100 ounces of water per day,” she said.

Exercise routine: “I typically walk or run two to three miles in my neighborhood [daily], or depending on the weather and time of exercise, I will ride 10 to 12 miles on my recumbent stationary bike,” she said. She also does squats and crunches daily.

Biggest challenge: “My biggest challenge was not listening to the voices in my head that told me that I was tired or that I couldn’t do something and recognizing that my body could do more if I pushed it,” she said.

How life has changed: “My life has changed dramatically since losing my weight. I am now able to keep up with my 4-year-old son,” she said. “I can easily get on the floor with him, run with him, swim with him, climb and jump with him. … I generally seek a more active lifestyle. I am constantly looking for another 5K to participate in or some kind of active thing to do on the weekends.”

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 Patty Murphy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA 30346-1301; or e-mail Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.