Get Inspired to Get Fit! (2024)

Before: 185 lbs
After: 120 lbs

Although she stands only five feet tall, 27-year-old Krystal Sanders was never petite. Growing up, she subsisted on fast food and "anything you could microwave." A size 14 when she moved to Austin, Texas, in 2005 to work as a revenue services specialist, she continued to hit the drive-through five nights a week. When she began planning her wedding in early 2008, the added stress drove her to eat even more. "I was in denial and avoided scales, cameras, and mirrors," she says. But she couldn't avoid the size-18 tag on her wedding gown.

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Before:158 lbs
After: 117 lbs

Although her job as a flight attendant forced her to eat out at least four nights a week, Tracey Z. Dickson, 44, of San Antonio, Texas, stayed trim by teaching cardio and boot camp classes and running about 20 miles a week. But in April 2008, Tracey discovered a cancerous lump in her breast. "My life hit a wall," she says. Chemo sapped her strength, while steroid pills left her ravenous, so Tracey ate—and ate. "I decided that because I was going through a sucky situation, I would eat whatever I wanted," she admits. In four months, the scale flashed up to 158. "I had never weighed that much," says Tracey, who stands 5'3". "I knew that couldn't be healthy on my petite frame."

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"I feel amazing inside and out!"

Playing softball helped keep Lincoln, Nebraska, native Shannon Moore, 31, a slim size 6 throughout high school, but her weight started to creep up after she landed an office job. Tethered to her desk, she never exercised--and she started ordering pizza or a giant burrito for lunch. "I ate whatever was most convenient," she says. "I never thought about nutrition." In 2006, Shannon wore a size 14 dress to her wedding, then tacked 25 more pounds of "love chub" onto her 5'8" frame during her first year of marriage.

Before 179 lbs
After 138 lbs

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Before: 173
After: 125 lbs

At age 12, Loida Fraijo moved with her family from Hermosillo, Mexico, to Tucson, where she discovered fast food. "I supersized everything," she says. "My sister and I would each eat a foot-long sub and then split a third one." By the time she was 19, Loida was carrying 173 pounds on her 5'7" frame. She dabbled in crash diets while attending Pima Community College in Tucson, but she could never commit. "I'd get upset and start eating again," says the 30-year-old aesthetic laser technician.

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Read Mechelle's story

Thanks to a childhood filled with drive-throughbreakfastsand take-out dinners, Amy Banfield, now 22, was always one of the chubbiest kids in school. By fourth grade, she recalls, "I was heavier than my friends and felt self-conscious changing for gym class." Her eating habits worsened when she enrolled at Miami University in Ohio in 2007. "My dorm was next to a 24-7 mini-mart, so I couldsnackall day or night," she says. During freshman year, she packed 25 pounds onto her 5'7" frame. With summer looming, she vowed to bring her scale back from the brink of 200 pounds.

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Growing up, Brandi Byers stayed active by playing basketball and taking fitness classes, and she ate lots of salad. Still, her figure was more like "a football player's," she says, than like those of her slim, fit friends. And when she began attending Arizona State University, she grew careless with her eating habits. "My best friend and I got an apartment—and too many groceries," recalls the 29-year-old e-learning training consultant from Phoenix. "By sophom*ore year, my eating was out of control." Along with scarfing too many bagels and bowls of pasta, Brandi let her workouts wane. She packed 40 pounds onto her 5'3" frame in just 18 months.

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Read Misty's story...

Before:255 lbs
After:155 lbs

When Mary Renwick moved with her husband, Tim, who was in the Navy, from Monroe, Michigan, to a military base in Sicily in 1999, her six-foot frame was lean and willowy. But while Tim worked odd hours at his new job, Mary filled her lonely days with food. "I ate for comfort and indulged in the local cuisine—oily pasta, buttered bread, lots of cannoli," she says. By the time Tim was discharged and they returned to Monroe in 2002, she was 90 pounds heavier and depressed. In the next seven years, Mary gave birth to two boys, which improved her spirits but not her weight.

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Before: 183 lbs
After: 120 lbs

Autumn Mastroianni, 28, a registered dietitian in Danville, Kentucky, wasn't always so healthy. Her meals once consisted of carbs and fats, and few fruits or veggies. At 183 pounds, when she couldn't find non-plus-size clothes to fit her 5'5" frame, she overhauled her diet...and her life.

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Before: 230 lbs
After: 135 lbs

Growing up, Sweta Srivastava always wanted to participate in team sports, but her weight kept her stuck on the sidelines. Thanks to a friend's support and a newfound passion for martial arts, the 23-year-old benefits administrator from Toronto took 95 pounds off her 5'5 1/2" frame.

The Gain
As a teen, Sweta regularly indulged in late-night "snacks" of Chinese takeout. By high school, she was 200 pounds; in college, 24-hour buffet-style dining halls tacked on 30 more.

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Before: 270 lb
After: 155 lb

Even as a kid, Bethany Whirty, 25, a project coordinator from Loveland, Colorado, was heavy. Though she was active and loved sports, her high-calorie, high-fat diet (she was big on brownies, cookies, and soda) still packed on pounds. "I guess I wasn't raised with healthy habits or portion control," she says.

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Vitals Vernette Vergara, 30, San Antonio, TX
Occupation Office Administrator
Height 5'5"
Time required to reach goal 1 year, 5 months
Lesson learned Take your time. "For long-term results, you need to make long-term changes."
Secret weapon A doggie bag. "I ask for a to-go box with every meal, and before my first bite, I wrap up half so I'm not tempted to overeat."
Weight Before 210
Weight After 140

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Vitals 36, Lebanon, OH
Occupation Stay-at-home mom
Height 5'8"
Time It Took to Reach Her Goal 3 years, 1 month
Weight Before 312
Weight After 165
Lesson Learned "There are no excuses. Once I changed my attitude, having a bad knee or being too busy were no longer reasons not to be healthy."
Secret Weapon "My gym pal, Tammy. Meeting her at the Y every day at 5 a.m. got me out of bed."

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