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.
Chelsea Hinkel, 22: From 245 pounds to 155 pounds
Former weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 155 pounds
Pounds lost: 90
Height: 5 feet 2 inches
Age: 22
How long she's kept it off: "I began losing weight in January of 2012 and reached my goal in November of 2012," says Hinkel.
Personal life: "I just graduated college and moved back to the Gwinnett area," she says. "I'm currently working as the public relations intern at Gwinnett Medical Center in Lawrenceville after having received my bachelor of arts in mass communication with a dual concentration in advertising and public relations." She lives in Dacula.
Turning point: "The moment I decided to get started was a few days before the Christmas holiday in December of 2011," she says. "I was sitting on my couch in my then college apartment when I realized that the skin I was in didn't match the intelligent, bright, successful young woman I was inside. I had always known I wanted to change my ways, and I finally asked myself 'When will tomorrow be today?' That was it. From that day forward I put 100 percent effort into changing my body and my mind too, really."
Diet plan: "I would say that 70 percent of the journey was and is eating a clean diet. Without an energizing, healthy diet I wouldn't have the energy I need to be successful in the gym." Breakfast is Greek yogurt and three to four boiled egg whites. Lunch is a salad and dinner is grilled chicken and vegetables.
Exercise routine: "I work out typically between four and five times per week," she says. "When I first started, I would get on an elliptical for an hour each day and as I gradually became stronger I've incorporated more and more strength training." She starts with a 10-minute warm-up followed by 30 minutes of high-intensity cardio in 10-minute intervals with strength training in between intervals.
Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge for me has always been my love of all things food," she says. "I have always been a big girl, so it is a daily struggle to train my brain to rewire itself to think in smaller portions … I prepare multiple meals that last me throughout the week."
How life has changed: "My life has changed completely," she says. "The attention I get can sometimes be overwhelming, but in the best way possible. My outside confidence matches my inside confidence everywhere I go. Honestly, one of the best perks has been getting an entirely new wardrobe — I went from a size 20 to a size eight," Her advice is to strive for a healthy balance: "Cutting out an entire food group is a diet, not a lifestyle change. I also like to tell people that I don't diet and never have dieted — I changed my habits for good."
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