Kendra Miller, 31, of College Park, Ga. lost 185 pounds

Former weight: 360 pounds

Current weight: 175 pounds

Pounds lost: 185 pounds

Height: 5 feet 7 inches

Age: 31 years

How long she's kept it off: She started in 2009 and reached her current weight in January.

Personal life: "I'm a pre-K teacher," says Miller. "I'm a mother of two boys ages 6 and 9." She and her family live in College Park, Ga.

Turning point: "In 2008 it was about to become the new year. I was always tired and my knees were hurting," she says. One night, she went with her sister to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. "We ordered a dozen, we ate the whole box and we were joking that we were so greedy we ate the whole box. On the inside I was crying, while on the outside I was laughing." Knowing it was time for change, she set a goal, "when the new year comes I'm going to come up with a plan … I prayed God would give me guidance, prayer is very strong in my life … My first week, I [walked] five minutes a day. I had to listen to my body. I couldn't do it very long, as the weeks went by I did five more minutes, I went seven days a week."

Diet plan: Breakfast is cereal, toast, oatmeal and a boiled egg. Lunch is often baked chicken with peppers. "I love peppers, red, yellow, green — I make it colorful, make it very colorful. I love Skittles, reminds me of Skittles." She didn't know she could cook and now cooks daily. "I save a lot of money — restaurants can take a lot of money."

Exercise routine: After starting slow, walking five minutes a day, she now walks seven to eight miles daily. "Just recently I added running to pump it up a little bit."

Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge for me was keeping it off," she says. "My second challenge was seeing myself as I really do look, mentally I still saw a big girl … My brain had to catch up with how I really looked to catch up with my body. Prayer was the key to it, the second was to look at pictures of myself side-by-side with newer photos."

How life has changed: "I am able to do more. I am more confident," she says. "My weight held me back from so many things. I love to sing, but I would wonder would be they ignoring my voice and just seeing my body? With my boys, now I'm outside playing football. I am able to do more with them without being so tired … Even today when I get stressed out I want food but I [have] to find other ways and go find the fun: play, read a book or pray."