SUCCESS STORY / Debbie Tracy, 48: From 253 pounds to 182 pounds
Former weight: 253 pounds
Current weight: 182 pounds
Pounds lost: 71 pounds
Height: 5 feet 10 inches
Age: 48 years
How long she's kept it off: "I started in the summer of 2014. I reached my current weight in December — I've been staying there," Tracy says.
Personal life: "I've been married to my husband, Jim, almost 22 years; we have two boys. I live in Woodstock. I work for Healthcare IT Leaders as a customer success manager."
Turning point: "I was always thin until I had my boys. I gained and lost the same 40 pounds I don't know how many times. In the summer of 2014, I realized it had been 20 years since I was pregnant. … I needed to lose weight and I found out I had Type 2 diabetes. … Dieting wasn't working. Last year, I started a new job. My employer pays for everybody in the office to have a gym membership — I am very grateful for that." She joined Life Time Fitness in Alpharetta and began training with Matt Petersen, a personal trainer. "He changes it up so I haven't gotten bored; I never know what our workouts are going to be. He makes it easy, I don't have to think about what I am going to do."
Diet plan: "I use MyFitnessPal. I do a very low-carb, high-protein 1,500 calories-per-day plan." Breakfast is an egg white omelet. Lunch is a salad with chicken or salmon, and she snacks on yogurt and lunch meat with cheese. Dinner is a protein shake after she gets home from the gym.
Exercise routine: "With my commute from Alpharetta to Woodstock, instead of sitting in traffic every day, I just go to the gym and wait for it to die down — honestly, I don't get home that much later." She goes to the gym five days a week and works out with her trainer doing weights and cardio. On weekends, she plays tennis and walks 5 miles each day.
Biggest challenge: "I have a sweet tooth, it is hard — the saying no is hard."
How life has changed: "I hate to say I'm happier because I wasn't unhappy, but I am more self-confident. People think I am nuts — I signed up to run a half marathon. I am trying to challenge myself and give myself something to work toward so I don't fall off this path. It is fun to see my boys when they come home from college and see me lifting weights — that is not something Mom used to do. … I have Type 2 diabetes, but I am able to control it with weight loss and diet. I am not on medicine. I don't want to gain it back again, I worked too hard to get it off. … For me, I had to mentally be ready to do this. I have been up and down I don't know how many times. I gained and lost the same pounds. Something in my head this time clicked and I was ready to do it."
Be an inspiration: If you’ve made positive changes in your diet and/or fitness routine and are happy with the results, please share your success with us. Include your email address, a daytime phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). Write: Success Stories, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or e-mail Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
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