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 / Sara Newell, 29: From 235 pounds to 150 pounds
Current weight: 150 pounds
Pounds lost: 85
Height: 5 feet 5 inches
Age: 29
How long she's kept it off: "I started December 1, 2012. I reached my goal on February 4, 2014," says Newell.
Personal life: "I live in Lawrenceville with my fiancé, Tim, our dog, Eva, and my two cats, Daria and Nikki. We are planning on getting married late in 2015," she says. "I'm an import coordinator for MOL, a steamship line."
Turning point: "One of my best friends gifted me with a zip-line trip at Lake Lanier," she says. "In reading the details, they had a weight restriction to ride on the line. The entire day, I was stressing about my weight because my scale at work said I was so close to the top limit … I had members of my family do bypass surgery and I did not want to resort to the surgery — I wanted to do it myself."
Diet plan: "To begin, I used a homeopathic version of HCG. It strictly limits your calorie intake and limited my food choices drastically. I lost 50 pounds on it, but I didn't transition as they recommend, so I gained back 20 pounds that I had lost in two months. I knew from that point onward that I was going to need something that worked for everyday living. I joined Weight Watchers," she says. "Since then, I have had great success in losing the rest and now, it will help me keep it off." She starts her day with Special K cereal and coffee. Lunch is a frozen low-calorie meal. Dinner is usually chicken and veggies or a turkey burger.
Exercise routine: "I try to do something active every day," she says. "I have a gym at my work where I can do 30 minutes of cardio a day there and a gym membership where I do Zumba, step and other classes. I am also working on strength training."
Biggest challenge: "My biggest challenge has been to remember that this is a lifestyle change and not just a diet," she says. "I feel you are doomed to fail a diet but a lifestyle change means that you keep going even after you've lost … it took finding the right thing that works for everyday. Yes, the restrictive HCG diet allowed me to lose the weight but I couldn't maintain it in a real-world setting."
How life has changed: "I have so much more energy to do things," she says. "I ran my first 5k in November 2013, ran my first 10k in February 2014, and I signed up for the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day 2014, which also happens to be my 30th birthday. I used to be the person who would rather sit on the couch and eat a snack or chocolate instead of do any activity, but now it's fun … If you do not have a good day, do not turn it into a bad week, month, year. Tomorrow is a new day to recommit to being healthy."
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