SUCCESS STORY / Brittany Shy, 27: From 225 pounds to 160 pounds
Former weight: 225 pounds
Current weight: 160 pounds
Pounds lost: 65 pounds
Height: 5 feet 1 inch
Age: 28 years
How long she's kept it off: She started in May 2016 and reached her current weight this past August. She plans to lose 20 more pounds.
Personal life: "I live in Decatur and work as a registration associate at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. I am a full-time worker and a full-time student with one more year. … I'm working on an MBA with a health care concentration," Shy said.
Turning point: "My best friend was getting married in October 2016, so I wanted to lose weight for her wedding. … We were trying on dresses … I was up to a size 22. The salesperson was really nice, but I was like this is out of control. I lost 20 pounds before the wedding. When the first few pounds came off — I just kept going. I realized I can do this; it was not as bad as I thought once I got a good rhythm going. … A friend did a weight-loss contest on Facebook, and I lost another 25 pounds. … In February, "I wanted another incentive to keep going," so she joined CHOA's annual weight-loss challenge, Mission: Slimpossible. Shy and her team won. "It was awesome," she said.
Diet plan: Eggs are a breakfast staple. Lunch and dinner are a protein and a vegetable. She has fruit in the afternoon, and she doesn't eat after 7 p.m.
Exercise routine: "I exercise five days per week. I do the boot camp at Taddas Fitness. … When I first started losing weight, I didn't get on the scale at all for five months. You can gain muscle and it goes up. Your whole story is not in that number on the scale."
Biggest challenge: "Maintaining a social life. I am not married, and I don't have kids. I'm just trying to enjoy what is left of my 20s. My friends are going out eating and drinking, and they go out to eat at 9 o'clock and I am trying to be done eating by 7 p.m."
How life has changed: "I can go into a store and find something with ease. When you are heavier, you don't realize it is weighing you down. I feel lighter on my feet; it is a boost to your self-esteem. I'm just proud of myself that I kept going. I have tried to lose weight many times in the past, and I wanted the end result so fast, but it takes time. … Before, I wanted a number goal, but I did not do that when I started in May 2016. I didn't say: I wanted to lose 100 pounds; I just said I wanted to lose weight. And once it started staying off, I just kept going. … It is really a lifestyle — you can't do fad diets and think it is going to come off, you have to change everything: the way you eat, the way you drink, everything — it is more mental."
Share Your Success: Have you lost weight successfully with a healthy lifestyle change? If you would like to share your story with our readers, please include your email address, your phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG) and contact us at: Success Stories, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or email Michelle C. Brooks, ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
