Former weight: 229 pounds
Current weight: 159 pounds
Pounds lost: 70 pounds
Height: 5 feet 5 inches
Age: 51
How long she's kept it off: Started in August 2009. Reached her current weight in July.
Personal life: "I was a secretary/merchandising assistant for 10 years before becoming a stay-at-home mom in 1993. I live in Bremen with my husband, Roger," Loveridge said. She also has two grown children, a daughter, Courtney, and a son and daughter-in-law, Neil and Breanne.
Turning point: "In 1995, one year after colorectal cancer surgery, I began having occasional problems with palpitations upon standing or while eating," she said. She began taking a beta blocker in 2003, but the palpitations worsened and within five years, she gained 102 pounds. "I was having mild seizure-like episodes, memory loss and stuttering," she said. An episode of double-vision sent her to Piedmont Hospital's ER. "I was ultimately diagnosed with a rare blood disorder known as pernicious anemia," she said. The disease leaves the body unable to properly absorb vitamin B-12. (For more information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001595/.) "Once considered a fatal disease, it can now be controlled with lifelong B-12 injections," she said. Loveridge began working out and following a modified carbohydrate diet. "I lost 14 pounds in 10 weeks," she said. "... I knew then that significant weight loss was possible for me."
Diet plan: Breakfast is whole grain cereal. Lunch is a turkey spinach salad or chicken salad sandwich. Dinner is turkey or chicken with vegetables.
Exercise routine: She does weight training three days a week and cardio training four days a week.
Biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge is definitely holidays," she said. "I usually gain about eight pounds from Thanksgiving to Christmas, but [I lose it in] January."
How life has changed: "Physically, I feel like I am living in a fairy tale," she said. "Between the weight loss and B-12, my quality of life has improved 150 percent. [I] can walk up and around Kennesaw Mountain and Stone Mountain. I am thankful to God for giving me my life back again – through prayer, perseverance and Piedmont."
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 Holly Steel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or e-mail ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
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