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, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or e-mail Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
Success story
Wendy Johnson, 46: From 313 pounds to 170 pounds
Former weight: 313 pounds
Current weight: 170 pounds
Pounds lost: 143 pounds
Height: 5 feet, 10 inches
Age: 46 years
How long she's kept it off: Started in 2011 and reached her current weight six months ago.
Personal life: "I live in Jackson, I have a boyfriend, and work as a sonographer at Piedmont Henry Hospital," Johnson said. She is a representative for Total Life Changes (winwithwendy.net).
Turning point: "I have been overweight my entire life — I was a binge and compulsive eater all of my life. My younger sister passed away when I was 21. Within months after Jennifer passed, I got up to 294. I had hit 300 pounds four times in my life. My blood pressure was too high and my health care provider told me I would die if I didn't get a handle on it. A patient I was scanning came in and she said she'd had lap-band surgery. That was the first time I really considered surgery." In 2011, she had gastric sleeve surgery, but lost only 60 pounds. "I thought it would all come off. If you don't change your mindset it won't. … I (got) very into cross-fit. I did a tough mudder in Nashville. I knew I was doing everything I could: I counted calories, I was working out twice a day and my weight was going nowhere. … The company I was with sold homeopathic HCG. That was the whole thing that truly changed my metabolism."
Diet plan: Breakfast is boiled eggs with hot sauce and coffee. Lunch is a salad with grilled chicken. Dinner is usually chicken or fish, occasionally beef, and vegetables.
Exercise routine: "Right now, it's more walking and jogging with the dogs than anything else. … I am a big fan of weightlifting — nothing will change your body more than that."
Biggest challenge: "Maintenance. It's sticking to the goal when it's not fun."
How life has changed: "I am a better person. … I didn't do this for a man [but] I am dating a wonderful man. … When you are losing a battle in any area of your life, there's a soundtrack playing, telling you, you're never going to do this. For the longest time, I saw food as a reward; for people who struggle with morbid obesity, we attach wrong feelings and wrong thoughts to food. … If you are willing to change your thoughts, you can change your life."
About the Author
