Jade Angela Moore, 25, of Norcross lost 100 pounds

Pounds lost: 100 pounds

Height: 5 feet 8 inches

Age: 25 years

How long I've kept it off: "I started October 2015 and reached my 100-pound goal in June 2017," Moore said.

Personal life: "I work as a marketing coordinator at ProLink Inc. … I am the oldest of four kids: I have two sisters and a brother," Moore said. "My dad is in law enforcement and my mom is in education." Moore lives in Norcross.

Turning point: "I was laid off from work and I just woke up one morning and looked in the mirror and didn't like the way I looked or felt — it was a low point in my life, I was not sure how I would pay my bills. I was doing contract work. I decided Oct. 1 to start going to the gym and working out. I basically wanted to get myself together. I feel like I was all over the place, but that was the one thing I could control. I can't control whether I have a job or not, but I know I can control my body."

Diet plan: "I cut out all sweets, desserts, anything that would stimulate the sweet tooth," Moore said. She now does intermittent daily fasting, only eating during an eight-hour time span. She eats the same things, usually poultry, fish and seafood, no red meat or pork, and lots of green vegetables.

Exercise routine: She exercises five to six days per week for an hour to hour and a half. "Now I do more weight training because I've lost so much weight I have looser skin. I really don't do cardio as much now," Moore said. "When I was in the process of losing weight, I did a ton of cardio — I would go two times per day."

Biggest challenge: "I felt like some days I wasn't losing enough weight in a certain amount of time," Moore said. "I was very impatient in the process. I wanted it all to fall off in two days, knowing that was not the case. … Being patient — that was my hardest issue."

How life has changed: "I feel much better in terms of health. I feel a little more confident in myself," Moore said. "… This is the way I used to think: that if I lost weight, it would solve everything. For example, like if you're depressed, you're thinking I'm depressed because I don't look good. That was part of my issue. I didn't think I was beautiful. I thought I would be beautiful if I lost the weight. I lost the weight and I still didn't feel beautiful. The ultimate true happiness is with God — with Him in your heart. I just used to think maybe I'll be happy if I lost weight and guys will look at me and come up to me and talk to me and I'll have that attention. … Don't lose the weight for a person, lose it to make yourself better. … It has to come from the inside, otherwise you'll never be successful."

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.