Krystal Sanders
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.
Read Krystal's story...Tracey Dickson
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."
Shannon Moore
"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
Loida Fraijo
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.
Tricia Minnick
Before: 278 lbs
After: 150 lbs
Years of crash diets did nothing to help Tricia Minnick, 28, control her weight, and by the time she got married in 2006, she was carrying more than 200 pounds on her 5'8" frame. In 2007, she got pregnant, and a complication resulted in four months of bed rest—and a 75-pound weight gain. Shortly after Tricia had her son, she and her family moved from Texas to Stuart, Florida. Isolated from friends and extended family, she turned to food for comfort. With the scale stuck at 278 pounds, she says, "I was completely overwhelmed by how much I needed to lose."
Read Tricia's story...
Deana Custer
Before: 225 lbs
After: 140 lbs
Although Deana Custer was on the volleyball and golf teams in high school, she carried 150 pounds on her 5'4" frame. Her weight began creeping up when she started cosmetology school in August 2005 while working two part-time jobs--she couldn't find time to exercise or cook. Fast food took its toll, and she was 200 pounds at her December 2006 graduation. She got a job as a hairstylist in Washington, Iowa, but the irregular hours had her scarfing takeout between clients or skipping lunch and overeating at dinner. She put on 25 pounds in three months. "I was ashamed of letting myself go that far," she says.
Read Deana's story...
Mechelle Wingle
Before 175 lbs
After 132 lbs
When Mechelle Wingle married her college sweetheart in 1994, she weighed 140 pounds. But over the next 11 years, she had four children, and as a stay-at-home mom in Layton, Utah, she was never able to lose the baby weight. In 2006, after the birth of her last child, Mechelle peaked at 175 pounds.
Amy Banfield
Thanks to a childhood filled with drive-through breakfasts and 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 could snack all 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.
Brandi Byers
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 sophomore 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.
Misty Gauthier
Before: 236 lbs
After: 146 lbs
Despite a family history of type 2 diabetes, Misty Gauthier, 5'5", ignored her growing waistline for most of her life. Exercise seemed like torture, and it was easier to grab takeout than cook for herself. In fact, it wasn't unusual for her to eat out at every meal—a sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich on her morning commute, junky catered work lunches, and slices of pizza for dinner. She gained 60 pounds over the course of four years, reaching a high of 236.
Mary Renwick
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.
Jessica Whitehead
After: 145 lbs
Jessica Whitehead was never one to pass up a good time—especially if food was involved. For years she met friends every night for dinner, ordering the largest sizes and every add-on: extra cheese on her pizza, extra mayo on her overstuffed sandwiches, and a side of chips or fries with her meal.
Sherise Campbell
Before: 205 lbs
After: 140 lbs
Working in the kitchen of an assisted-living community, Sherise Campbell spent eight hours a day, five days a week surrounded by fries, pizza, pasta, and soda. Ten years into her job, this 5'4" former "skinny girl with no curves" was a size 16. It didn't help that her chef husband, Tafari, worked the late shift and brought home fried chicken or tacos at 10 p.m. that Sherise would share despite having eaten earlier. She ignored her doctor's advice to lose weight until she hit an all-time high of 205 pounds in the summer of 2009.
Kristen Collins
Before: 180 lbs
After: 130 lbs
As a teen growing up in Silver Spring, Maryland, Kristen Collins Eccleston regularly dined on greasy fast food with her friends. After college she met her now husband, Bryan, and got into the habit of splitting extra-large pizzas with him and ordering buffalo wings for Sunday-night football. Their junk-food feasts caused Kristen to tip the scale at 180 pounds. When Bryan proposed in 2009, it was a wake-up call for the 25-year-old special-ed teacher, who vowed to shed weight from her 5'6" frame before getting hitched.
Jennie Nickel
Before 211 lbs
After 143 lbs
When Jennie Nickel was pregnant in 2005, larger portions and excessive snacking caused her to tack more than 70 pounds onto her 5'7" figure. The baby weight refused to budge, so this aesthetician from Huntsville, Alabama, decided it was time to whip herself into shape. Today, at 30, Jennie is a part-time nursing student and a fitness junkie who has done three triathlons.
Autumn Mastroianni
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.
Read Autumn's story...
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Sweta Srivastava
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.
Read Sweta's story...
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Bethany Whirty
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.
Read Bethany's story...
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Vernette Vergara
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
Read Vernette's story...
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Jennifer Powell
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."
Read Jennifer's story...
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