Jennifer Fite, 47, is a single mom and publicist living in Chicago, Illinois who kept good on her 2012 New Year’s resolution. This time last year Jen knew it was time for a change. At her heaviest weight of 283 pounds, she was unhealthy, unhappy and determined to take control of her health once and for all.

We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jen about her amazing weight loss journey, which left her 95 pounds lighter in just under one year. It all started when she joined a local gym called Downsize Fitness.

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Cindy Santa Ana of Northern Virginia grew up like a lot of kids in the 70s, eating canned Campbell’s soups and Pop Tarts and school lunches that resembled fast food more than they did home-cooked meals. She also had an affinity for popsicles and candy, which all snowballed into a pattern of unhealthy eating. The only commitments that kept her slim through high school were going without soda, dancing and staying active with social engagements.

Despite any unhealthy habits she developed early on in life, Cindy always had an interest in health and fitness and even majored in physical education and health in college. As a result she followed the nutrition advice she learned in the process, following the USDA recommendation of 6-11 servings of carbohydrates per day.

Items like breads, pasta and cereal filled her daily diet, but  all along she thought that was a healthy choice.

“At one point in college I had 11 boxes of cereal in my dorm room,” Cindy recalled. “I was also eating everything fat free because the fat-free mantra was on.”

Believing the basic assumption that fat was bad, everything she ate was either low fat or fat free, which meant it usually had ample amounts of added sugar and high fructose corn syrup. This pattern of eating led to a slow and steady weight gain throughout college – at least 10 pounds every year. And Cindy’s health only continued to decline.

At the age of 25 she was diagnosed with hypothyroidism and the migraines she frequently experienced as a kid only grew worse. Then in 2005 and again in 2007 kids came along, which left Cindy heavier and more unhappy with her body than ever.
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Talking with people who have made drastic changes in their lives for the better is one of the most inspiring and humbling experiences I’ve encountered. Recognizing how difficult it is to lose 5, 10 and even 20 pounds myself, I sympathize with those who struggle with their weight. But after speaking with individuals who have lost more than 100 pounds in some cases, I am often left speechless.

In 2012 we shared the true weight loss stories of more than 20 remarkable individuals from around the world, and their combined total weight loss was 2,466 pounds! This an accomplishment we were truly humbled to be a part of. Though each person shares a uniquely inspiring story, we’ve gathered six of our favorites to give a glimpse into the truly amazing transformations we’ve witnessed on Diets in Review this year. Let’s start with the first true weight loss story I had the privilege of writing: Grace Goodman.

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Growing up, Lisa Martin – a stay at home mother of two living in Oaklawn, Illinois – was never really overweight but she felt like she was. In truth, it wasn’t until college that she started putting on weight, but that slow, gradual gaining pattern snuck up on her. Despite trying a number of diets including Weight Watchers, she was stuck in a body that she felt was not her own.

At her heaviest Lisa weighed 226 pounds, but she never really felt that heavy. Reflecting on how her body has changed over the years, Lisa has only recently held an accurate view of her own shape and weight. ”In high school I thought I was fat, yet looking back I wasn’t,” she admitted. “If I only knew back then what I do now.”

Though her weight had begun to leave her inactive and unhappy, a change came when she least expected it. Being a stay at home mom enabled Lisa to begin dabbling in blogging. It all started in 2006 when Lisa lived in Chicago and her family was in Wisconsin and the two wanted to stay in touch without crashing their email servers by sending too many photos back and forth.
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Weight has been a lifelong struggle for Ashley McClellan who fell into a pattern of yo-yo dieting at a young age. Despite committing to change time and again, she always found herself heavier than she was before. Then, one evening she came across a TV ad for a workout program called Turbo Jam and felt compelled to buy it. Though she loved it initially, she eventually grew bored with working out and eating healthy again and put it back on the shelf.

Then in the summer of 2010 Ashley, now 24, knew she needed to make a serious change. Her health was failing and she was on multiple medications for severe depression, pre-diabetic conditions and heart disease, which runs on both sides of her family.

A common doctor’s visit served as a big wake up call when she was confronted about her weight. “That was the first time somebody had ever told me out loud I should lose weight,” she said. “I was nearly 300 pounds at 22 years old. After that I decided I needed to do something different.”

Ashley feared she’d end up with heart disease or worse if she didn’t lose weight. She also had very low self esteem and felt horrible about herself, which began to take a toll on her marriage.

Around that time Ashley’s sister had caught the Turbo Jam bug and became a certified instructor after first being introduced to it by Ashley. Knowing she was struggling to get healthy, she convinced Ashley to pick it back up along with her at the gym she was teaching at. This is where small change began to happen.
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