Ashley Javar, 38, 5'4", from Las Vegas

Before: 287 lb., size 22/24

After: 150 lb., size 8

Total pounds lost: 137 lb.

Total sizes lost: 7/8

From an early age, I always turned to food for comfort. Every day I would binge on one or two massive, mostly fried meals. Fast-forward to 2013; I was 24 and a mom, but otherwise not much had changed. I was still overweight. It hurt my knees to walk up the stairs of my house, I was often fatigued, and I could barely play with my daughter. Then I threw my back out while tidying up at home. When I got to the hospital, it took multiple nurses just to help me into an extra-large wheelchair. I was so ashamed.

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Once I recovered and was back at home, I stepped on the scale. I was stunned to see that I weighed 287 pounds! That’s when I decided to revamp my diet. I began prepping three meals and two snacks daily, filling my plate with lean protein—like skinless chicken breasts—along with salad greens and quinoa. I also ditched all fried foods and soda (I had been drinking four cans a day for years and years). With these simple tweaks, I easily dropped about nine pounds a month. The steady loss made me feel so accomplished. By January 2015, I had settled into my new happy weight of 150 pounds.