SUCCESS STORY / Natara Beaurem, 40: From 227 pounds to 193 pounds
Former weight: 227 pounds
Current weight: 193 pounds
Pounds lost: 34 pounds
Height: 5 feet 7 ½ inches
Age: 40 years
How long she's kept it off: She started in January 2017 and reached her current weight this month.
Personal life: "I am married to my amazing and supportive husband, Thomas, of 14 ½ years, who is also a member of Burn Boot Camp Roswell (burnbootcamp.com/roswell-ga) and pushes me daily to be my best self," Beaurem said. "Together we have three children: 27, 20 and 13. We currently live in Roswell, Georgia, by way of Detroit, Michigan," Beaurem said. She is the CFO at Wife Talk Inc. and lives in Roswell.
Turning point: "What got me started was initially I saw a picture of myself and was thoroughly unhappy. I then got on the scale and realized my weight had skyrocketed out of control within a span of six months. I didn't feel pretty, healthy and wasn't pleased with how I let my weight get so far out of hand. It was the biggest I've ever been — even during my pregnancies," Beaurem said. "… I saw a free 30-day offer to try a new boot camp in Roswell and decided, 'What can I lose?' … I gained another family, friends, sisterhood — strength beyond anything I could imagine."
Diet plan: Breakfast is crustless quiche loaded with veggies. Lunch is salads with protein, and dinner is protein with brown rice or sweet potatoes, and veggies.
Exercise routine: "I exercise five to six days a week, mainly doing Burn Boot Camp," Beaurem said. "Our camps consist of a mesh of cardio and weights."
Biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge was the weight dropping very slowly," Beaurem said. "I worked out consistently for months without seeing any weight loss or a reduction in body fat. I knew there was something wrong and decided to seek a biomedical doctor. The results of that visit was that my hormones were severely out of balance, which caused my body to work against me. So no matter how much I reduced my diet and exercised, it would be hard for the weight to come off. I was prescribed medicine that would help get my hormones back in order. I am still taking them to this day. However, after four months of taking them, my levels were getting back to normal and I could now see changes in my body and weight."
How life has changed: "I've found my greatest joy in boot camp — I crave exercising. … I also need the accountability. When I am not there for an extended time frame, the trainers and the ladies are like, 'Where were you?' " Beaurem said. "…The process is the hardest part, but when you look to enjoy it versus detest it, you are able to quickly learn something that could have been missed if you were just going through the motions."
Share Your Success: Have you lost weight successfully with a healthy lifestyle change? If you would like to share your story with our readers, please include your email address, a daytime phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG), and contact us at: Success Stories, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or email Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
