Michelle Carter, 48, of Marietta lost 32 pounds

Pounds lost: 32 pounds

Height: 5 feet 1 inch

Age: 48 years

How long she's kept it off: She started in January 2018 and reached her current weight this month.

Personal life: "I've been married for 25 years. I have two sons, ages 21 and 18, two cats and two dogs," Carter said. "I have my own business, I am an intuitive counselor, and I work in corporate America as a project manager." She lives in Marietta.

Turning point: "I always did so much for everybody, I lost who I was. I would make sure everybody had all their vitamins, and I wouldn't take mine. It's become a journey for me to come to myself," Carter said. "There is a program called Forks Over Knives. I was at the grocery store and I saw a magazine titled Forks Over Knives. Then I came home and something was on TV about Forks Over Knives." Then she saw there was a documentary on Netflix about it, so she and her husband watched it and tried the vegan lifestyle. "Our doctors keep telling us keep doing what you are doing. Then, randomly, last April, I got an email about (Kara Skalko Feinberg's) six-week fitness program. … I had already started to drop weight because I had gone vegan, and I've been training with her ever since." Feinberg, who is her personal trainer at Workout Anytime, was featured in this column in 2016.

Diet plan: Breakfast is a berry explosion vegan muffin. Lunch is a salad or avocado toast, and dinner is a Boca burger and lentil soup.

Exercise routine: "I do weight training two to three times a week, cardio three to four times a week and yoga once a week. … I work out with Kara pretty much six days a week. She goes way out of her way to care above and beyond most trainers I've worked with."

Biggest challenge: "The biggest challenge has been the food. … I don't need to focus on all the macros, just the calories right now. … Kara is trying to get me back to not making it so much more complicated than it needs to be."

How life has changed: "This is a lifelong process," Carter said. "This won't be something that starts today and is success tomorrow — it's a lifelong investment. … It has been a whole mindset shift. I am not lost anymore. … I am coming back into my own and finding my identity again. I am feeling good about being in this body." She learned to ask for help without guilt: "I will say to my family, 'I need time for me, so I need you to do laundry.'" Her tips for others include: "Love yourself no matter what phase you are in in your journey. That's my No. 1, that's what I've had to learn about myself. … Be happy with where you are at the time."

Share Your Success: Each week, Success Stories focuses on an individual’s unique weight loss journey. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution does not endorse any specific weight loss program but includes names and links for the benefit of readers who want further information. 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, 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.