Former weight: 169 pounds Current weight: 119 pounds
Pounds lost: 50 pounds Height: 5 feet Age: 29 years
How long she's kept it off: She started in June 2009 and has maintained her weight loss for eight months.
Personal life: "I am a first-grade teacher with [the] Clayton County Board of Education in Clayton County, Ga.," Murphy said. She lives in Clayton County.
Turning point: "The turning point in my life was after I watched myself on video teaching a math lesson to my second-grade students," she said. "I was in total denial about my weight until I watched the video, and I was blown away by what I saw. At the age of 28, I weighed a whopping 169 pounds at 5 feet and [was] living an unhealthy life with high cholesterol and borderline hypertension. As soon as summer break began at the end of the school year, I sat down with my laptop and Googled a personal trainer in Atlanta."
Diet plan: She worked with LaDarren J. Tyler (www.tylerfitness.com). "He made me accountable for exercising daily and eating healthier," she said. Tyler devised a low-carbohydrate, high-protein eating plan for Murphy.
Exercise routine: She started out with strength training and cardio for an hour four days a week. Now she works out twice a day, six days a week. "I have combined more cardio with strength training," she said.
Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge was changing my eating habits and getting over the embarrassment of how my body looked overall," she said.
How life has changed: "I have always been confident within my own skin, but I am even more comfortable in my skin now that my body looks better overall," she said. "Ultimately, I feel better now that I prepare my meals in my home instead of dining on fast food daily. My unhappiness with my body, poor diet [and] lack of exercise had begun to spill over into my personal life and my job. My weight was an isolated thing that made me feel I couldn't be happy about anything around me. I am now encouraging others to eat healthy and exercise -- it makes a world of difference."
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 e-mail address, a daytime phone number, and before and after photos (by mail or JPEG). Write: Success Stories, c/o Holly Steel, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 223 Perimeter Center Parkway, Atlanta, GA, 30346-1301; or e-mail ajcsuccessstories@gmail.com.
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