Jennifer Lasher 41, 5'6"
Hauppauge, N.Y.
Before: 210 lb.
Dress size: 16
After: 135 lb.
Dress size: 6
Total pounds lost: 75 lb.
Sizes lost: 5
Using all the healthy lifestyle tips I'd learned from magazines and my girlfriends, I cleaned up my diet, swapping deli sandwiches with high-sodium meat and mayo for Tupperware containers of big butter-lettuce salads topped with carrots, walnuts, feta and homemade dressing. Tracking everything I ate held me accountable, and I found that ditching processed foods left me with more energy, a clear head and better skin, too.
Next, I tackled a longtime goal: running. I had wanted to start my entire life, but I never had the confidence to lace up my sneakers. With a friend, I slowly moved from power walking to hitting the trails for 10-milers. It was overwhelming at first—I was often out of breath—but I quickly gained strength. Thanks also to my healthy eating, I dropped 35 pounds in four months. I reached my goal weight of 140 in September 2014, and now I'm happily at 135 pounds! I'm even running my first marathon next May. I'm not out there to break any records, just to run and love it.
To lose big, Jennifer got advice from friends. Now she's sharing her own hard-won secrets. Find even more tips at health.com/weight-loss-stories.
My goal is to run 100 miles in a month. I finally hit it (and then some) this past August, with 104.
As an Italian-American, I find it tough to cut out pasta, but I use zucchini linguine or spaghetti squash instead. It's just as delicious!
My bag is always packed with nuts, apples and hard-boiled eggs. It stops me from getting so hungry that I overeat.
My old excuse: I have no time to exercise with two kids and a full-time job. Now I fit in a two-mile run and strength training at 5 a.m., long before my children get up and I head to work.
Did you reshape your body? Tell us about it at health.com/i-did-it and let us know what diet and fitness strategies worked for you.
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