<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"  Before: 318 lb After: 163 lb By the time I was 24, I had three kids and my weight had skyrocketed to over 250 pounds. After a battle with thyroid cancer (I was declared disease-free in 2001) and a devastating job loss in 2010, my weight was close to 320. START: DITCH THE &amp;quot;DIET&amp;quot; My self-esteem was the lowest it had ever been and I was at my highest weight. I decided I could no longer &amp;quot;diet&amp;quot; because that implied I would go back to my old ways. Instead, I needed to change my life. No food was off-limits\u2014I simply tried to make more healthy choices, like eating fewer refined carbs and more vegetables. STEP 1: TAKE IT SLOW I wasn&amp;#039;t comfortable going to a gym at first, so I used at-home DVDs. Once I shed 20 pounds, I felt ready to join a fitness center. I was nervous about using equipment in front of others, so I went late at night when it was less crowded. I didn&amp;#039;t want to let my discomfort stop me from exercising. STEP 2: CHALLENGE OTHERS I signed up for a Biggest Loser contest at my gym in January 2011. The competition was a great motivator! After 16 weeks, I lost over 20% of my body weight and won first place. My husband suggested that we bike more, since jogging was hard on my knees. I was hooked\u2014it felt like time flew by when I was pedaling. STEP 3: SET A GOAL We signed up for a 100 mile bike ride in June 2012 to raise money for the American Diabetes Association. As I trained for the event\u2014and tracked my activities and what I ate with a Fitbit\u2014the pounds kept coming off. My new weight is really just the cherry on top of how much better I feel. I tell everyone: If I can do it, you can too. Just stop making excuses\u2014and start getting healthy! My Stick-With-It Secret Recruit your family as a support network. I succeeded this time because my husband was by my side the entire way. He made healthy changes too, and lost 65 pounds. My children (now ages 21, 18 and 16) also encouraged me to keep going with my new lifestyle. Having those daily cheerleaders (and accountability reminders) was crucial for me. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/a7079/i-lost-155-pounds/>