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.
SUCCESS STORY / Charity Cason, 41: From 213 pounds to 151 pounds
Former weight: 213 pounds
Current weight: 151 pounds
Pounds lost: 62 pounds
Height: 5 feet 6 inches
Age: 41 years
How long she's kept it off: Cason started in 2013 and reached her current weight this month.
Personal life: "I am a freelance ghost writer of fiction and non-fiction books, mostly fiction," says Cason. "I am married with three kids and live in Dacula." She blogs about her work at: www.ghostwriterguru.com
Turning point: "Last August 2013, my heart went into an arrhythmia and I was taken by ambulance to the emergency room," she says. "It turned out, after much testing by my natural doctor, that I had severe food intolerances and possible Celiac disease. I removed gluten, soy, dairy and corn from my diet… I had always had problems where I would eat and my heart would race. Every time I would eat, I was reacting to the food. I was eating a lot of processed and fast-foods. I think all that was causing inflammation and keeping me heavy. I would try to diet and no weight would come off at all. It was because of what I was eating and how it was reacting in my body, not how much I was eating."
Diet plan: "I eat very clean," she says. "The things I've taken out are things that shouldn't be there in the first place. I don't like seafood but I eat lean hamburger, chicken turkey, then I eat fruits and vegetables, no grains, three meals a day and a snack … I can eat as much as I want. I don't overeat, when you are eating healthy foods and getting the right nutrients you don't crave [junk food] anymore."
Exercise routine: "I have lost all that weight without exercising," she says. She plans to start incorporating walking, yoga and Pilates.
Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge is when I have eaten something and I don't know I'm going to react," she says. She is also navigating what her diet will be long term making sure overall it is balanced nutrition.
How life has changed: "It's interesting having a different body," she says. "I can do things like go up and down stairs without getting out of breath. I haven't been this weight for 20 years … I've had my husband doing it with me, the accountability for both of us helps. It keeps me honest too that my body will react — I have no option to react [to what I am eating]. I am doing this as a health change instead of a diet — that's the mentality you have to go into it with."
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