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 / Den-Ray Allen: From 400 pounds to 215 pounds
Former weight: More than 400 pounds
Current weight: 215 pounds
Pounds lost: At least 185
Height: 5 feet 9 inches
Age: 30
How long she's kept it off: "I started this journey a little over three years ago at over 400 pounds by walking with a neighbor," says Allen. She reached her current weight in December 2013
Personal life: "I provide therapeutic services for children with mental health and behavioral issues and am currently job-seeking in the area of public administration," she says. She owns Den-Ray Allen, LLC for nonprofit organizational management. She's single and lives in Jonesboro.
Turning point: "To this day I couldn't say exactly how much I actually weighed because it took a special scale and … I didn't want to know," she says. "There were so many emotions tied up in my weight gain and at one point I lost hope. Shows like The Biggest Loser and Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition only made it worse for me. My family kept pressing me to lose weight and at the time their concern seemed like torture … I began to think of people as cruel because those who didn't know me would make fun of me … This clouded my ability to see that I had a problem, because I was stuck on the cruelty of others … Once I admitted that I wanted to lose weight, I started talking to people close to me about my desires to get ideas … One day my neighbor offered to walk with me, so I resolved to walk a mile at least three times a week no matter how long it took me."
Diet plan: "I do like to start with protein, it helps my hunger throughout the day," she says. Breakfast is an egg or cereal. Lunch and afternoon snack are a sandwich or fruit with cheese. Dinner is Brussels sprouts and turkey."When I plateaued I went to a weight-loss center for assistance. The pills made me sick, but I continued to take shots of B-12 and [lipotropic] injection … I lost another 22 pounds this way … I am still using the same calorie-tracking website …"
Exercise routine: Three to four times per week she walks/runs for 20 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes in the evening.
Biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge was making the decision," she says. "Getting through the emotional baggage was the hardest part. It's hard for people who care about you to understand you have to get there on your own time."
How life has changed: "I am a million times more confident. I look people in the eye when I speak to them and when they speak to me," she says. "If someone says something mean to me I don't internalize it — that's what you think of me but I don't agree … I think the secret really was understanding that it was a mental process and not a physical process."
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