Shurran Sheppard of Atlanta loses 51 pounds

Height: 5 feet 11 inches

Age: 30

How long she's kept it off: Five months. She started in May 2010 at 210 pounds and met her goal in October.

Personal life: Sheppard is a certified pharmacy tech with Kaiser Permanente. She recently started working for Weight Watchers as a receptionist. She has a supportive mom and boyfriend who have been with her through thick and thin. She lives in Atlanta.

Turning point: "On my 30th birthday of 2010 [I was] weighing 200 plus. I knew that I had to make a change looking at those horrible birthday photos," says Sheppard. "It didn't even seem like a celebration because I was so uncomfortable with my weight. Looking at Jennifer Hudson's photos got me motivated to join Weight Watchers just four days after my birthday."

Diet plan: "I started working the plan, sharing large serving-size meals with my mom and exercising," she says. Breakfast is usually cereal or an egg white omelet with spinach, tomatoes and turkey bacon. Lunch is a grilled chicken breast wrap. She likes to eat out for dinner but is careful about portion size.

Exercise routine: Even prior to her weight loss, she was an avid runner competing in triathlons and half marathons. Two to three times per week she runs five miles around the base of Stone Mountain. And she recently completed the 60-day Insanity workout (www.beachbody.com/Insanity-Workout-DVDs), a plyometric workout.

Biggest challenge: "I think the food is pretty much the biggest thing. I am a person who go work out and I have no problem with that," she says. "Since I joined Weight Watchers, I keep track of my points. I think if I didn't keep track of those points I'd overdo it."

How life has changed: "My confidence is higher. I'm able to help other people based on my success on my weight loss journey -- it feels really good," she says. "I was happy then but I wasn't really happy. I had things I knew I needed to work on...I had clothes in my closet that were a size 10 and I was a size 16." And now she wears a size six.

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.