Phys ed teacher takes the ball and runs with it

Teaching physical education can be a blast -- unless you're 270 pounds. Just ask Tammy Anderson, who struggled to teach adaptive physical education to her students in Oak Grove, Minn., while carrying all that extra weight.

Things didn't get much better when the afternoon bell rang. She ran out of breath when climbing stairs, and her arms and legs went numb when she slept. But Tammy's moment of truth came when she realized she couldn't get down on the floor to play with her son.

She joined L A Weight Loss in October 2005, when she was a size 28 -- and sometimes even those clothes were tight. Her goal was to wear a size 10, but guess what? She surpassed even that by the following June, dropping 140 pounds and 55 inches!!

Now she's excited to wake up every day, doing Tae Bo with her students, and riding bikes and playing tag with her son. She even convinced her husband to help her prepare healthy meals for their family, and HE went down two pants sizes in just two weeks! Unbelieveable!

Here's the old Tammy at 270 pounds:



And brand new Tammy -- WOW! Doesn't she look fantastic at 130 pounds?



FAST FACTS

Name: Tammy Anderson
Hometown: Oak Grove, Minn.
Age: 36

Starting weight: 270 pounds
Goal weight: 148 pounds
Current weight: 130 pounds
Program start date: October 2005

Biggest motivator: Getting healthy so she can be around to see her son grow up.

Old eating philosophy: Lots of fast food and microwavable dinners.

New eating philosophy: She cooks leaner, healthier meals packed with vegetables and protein.

Best thing about losing weight: She has the confidence to walk up to people and start talking to them.

Best weight loss secret learned: If you're really ready to lose the weight, just give it a chance.