Heather Weibel steps into a healthier life

Lives can be measured in different ways: years lived, degrees earned, marathons completed. Heather Weibel measures her life in steps ... literally.

Although Heather grew up in a household of overweight family members, weight wasn't a problem for her. She liked getting outside, talking walks, and enjoying the sunshine. But that changed when she got pregnant.

She gained weight with her first son, and couldn't shed the baby weight. By the time she gave birth to her second son, she was 100 pounds heavier than her pre-motherhood form.

For 10 years, Heather struggled with her weight and health. Walking became difficult, due to her back, knee, hip, and joint problems. She could barely make it up the stairs without losing her breath.

She also developed diabetes, and her doctor told her she would be on insulin for the rest of her life if she didn't drop the pounds.

Meanwhile, Heather's sister had joined L A Weight Loss and was successfully losing weight. Inspired by her success, Heather and her father joined their local Great Falls, Mo., L A Weight Loss center in 2005.

Heather was paired with a one-on-one weight loss counselor who taught her easy ways to make every meal healthy and filling without excess fats and calories. Heather cut out fast and fried food binges, and reduced her salty snack intake. She added fresh fruits, vegetables, and lean meats such as grilled chicken to her meals.

These simple adjustments were all Heather needed to start melting away the pounds. As her weight decreased, her energy increased. She began exercising to supercharge her weight loss.

Her new routine has changed Heather's life. After dropping 140 pounds, Heather now weighs 150 pounds! Her friends and family are so proud of her, and she feels like strangers are friendlier to her.

Heather has enough energy to exercise one hour a day, six days a week. To make sure she's staying on track, she carries a pedometer with her every day. Heather makes sure she always takes 20,000 steps a day. It's 20,000 steps towards a healthier life.

Heather is able to do things she could never do before, such as play with her kids at the playground. She loves shopping now. Even better, she loves how she looks. Heather never wore makeup before, but now she loves getting dolled up.

Not only does Heather look good, she feels great. She is much more confident, with all of her pain subsided and weight in check.

Here's Heather at 296 pounds:



And here she is today at 150 pounds:



FAST FACTS

Name: Heather Weibel
Hometown: Great Falls, Mo.
Age: 30
Height: 5'3"

Starting weight: 296 pounds
Goal weight: 140 pounds
Current weight: 150 lbs
Program start date: January 2005

Favorite food: Smoothies.

Biggest temptation: Junk food.

Biggest motivator: Praying while losing weight.

Biggest obstacle: Learning how to avoid food binges.

Old eating philosophy: Eating heavy foods, fried foods, fatty snacks, and soda.

New eating philosophy: Eating healthy alternatives with plenty of fruits and vegetables.

Best thing about losing weight: Curing her physical pains.

Best weight loss secret learned: Staying positive can help you lose weight.

Tanya Jones recaptures her schoolgirl charm

Struggling with weight issues isn't easy for anyone. But it's especially tough for twenty-somethings who should be enjoying the best years of their lives.

No one knows that better than Tanya Jones. The 20-year-old university student was a sad, skeptical young woman who buried her emotions in food, quickly hitting 357 pounds. She stayed home a lot, afraid that people would talk about her behind her back.

Tanya had struggled with weight her entire life, and none of the diets she tried were right for her. She found it difficult to walk through school, especially the library, carrying all that weight. She felt the bookshelves closing in on her.

And as if that feeling weren't enough to motivate Tanya to find a program that worked for her, she also feared she would someday suffer a heart attack -- just like her grandfather.

Tanya decided to take the plunge. Supported by her mother -- a cancer survivor and Tanya's biggest inspiration -- she walked into the L A Weight Loss center in Oakville, Ontario.

Through one-on-one meetings with her counselor Barb Reidy, Tanya learned portion control, and lost nine pounds in just the first week! Since then, she's lost a total of 140 pounds. She's at 217 pounds, and is well on her way to her goal weight of 200 pounds.

Now, words like delightful, bubbly, and amazing more aptly describe Tanya. She is more outgoing, and has a better time being out with friends.

The fear of people talking behind her back is gone -- along with the excess weight! Great job, Tanya!!

This is Tanya at her heaviest -- 357 pounds:



And here she is now, after just one year on the program. Way to go, Tanya!



FAST FACTS

Name: Tanya Jones
Hometown: Burlington, Ontario
Age: 20
Height: 5'10"

Starting weight: 357 pounds
Goal weight: 200 pounds
Current weight: 217 pounds
Program start date: April 28, 2006

Favorite food: Zucchini.

Biggest temptation: Ice cream or pizza.

Biggest motivator: Her family, who gave her support, and her weight loss counselors.

Biggest obstacle: Finding a weight loss program that worked for her.

Old eating philosophy: Indulging in sugary and high-carb foods.

New eating philosophy: Eating nutritional foods in smaller portions.

Best thing about losing weight: Feeling better about herself, and feeling healthier.

Best weight loss secret learned: Eating every two to three hours keeps you from feeling hungry.

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.

Wedding day slim down leads to lifelong changes

Every bride wants to look perfect on her wedding day, and Angela Ganey was no exception, though her transformation was certainly exceptional! In the two years preceeding her big day she worked hard to drop a whopping 140 pounds.

And lest she get too comfortable with married life, she's maintained her new figure to this day -- even dropping another five to meet her goal weight of 145 pounds. This was no easy feat.

Angela, like her mother, struggled with her weight all her life, and says she can’t remember the last time she was this thin. Her mom had several surgeries for her weight, and her dad suffered a stroke.

While Angela herself never suffered anything as serious as a stroke or diabetes, she did experience back problems because of her weight, and she sought the help of a chiropractor.

Though she’s come a long way, Angela still sees a 200-pound woman when she looks in the mirror. The images of that period of her life are hard to erase.

But that hasn't stopped her from playing with her four-year-old son, Trystan, without losing her breath, and happily greeting her husband, who just returned from Iraq.

Before, at close to 300 pounds:


Now a true hot momma at 150 pounds!!


FAST FACTS

Name: Angela Ganey
Hometown: Ball, La.
Age: 27

Starting weight: 290 pounds
Goal weight: 145/140 pounds
Current weight: 150 pounds
Program start date: 2001

Favorite food: Baked chicken and mixed vegetables.

Biggest temptation: Hamburgers and fries.

Biggest motivator: Wanted to lose weight before her wedding, March 15, 2003.

Biggest obstacle: Family history of weight and health issues.

Old eating philosophy: Breakfast: 3 bowls of cereal, biscuits, sausage, and eggs. Lunch: 2-3 Taco Bell bean burritos plus nachos, or hamburgers and fries -- all super-sized. Dinner: Anything goes! Fried fish, mashed potatoes, or vegetables drowned in butter.

New eating philosophy: Much healthier! A typical breakfast is a half-cup of cereal with fat-free milk and some fruit. And she still hits the drive-through, but goes for the salads instead of the grease.

Best thing about of losing weight: Running and playing with her son without feeling out of breath.

Best weight loss secret learned: Realizing that losing weight is not an overnight success, and there will be ups and downs.