From 212 pounds to 163 pounds

CINDY MOSELEY

Published on: 11/21/04

• Former weight: 212

• Current weight: 163

• Pounds lost: 49.

• How long she’s kept it off: Since June.

• Personal life: Works for the Project Center in Atlanta as a project manager. Lives in Snellville with husband Buck.

• Turning point: For eight years Moseley suffered from undiagnosed nausea. Sodas were her only relief from the constant pain, but they caused her to gain weight. “Once I was diagnosed with acid reflux and put on medicine, I was able to focus on losing weight.”

In 2001, she went to her local Weight Watchers and began their points plan. She stuck to it for a year, until some stress in her life caused her to fall off track. In February of this year, she tried the TurnAround plan, which offered a choice of specific foods such as lean meats, vegetables and fruits. It’s a plan she still follows even though she’s reached her goal. “You don’t have to count points, you don’t have to have a journal, you can eat what you want till you’re satisfied or full,” she says.

• Diet plan: What Moseley likes about Weight Watchers is that “you eat normal food, and it’s really a lifestyle — nothing is forbidden,” she says. For breakfast, Moseley enjoys a bag of popcorn. It’s full of fiber, and getting her popcorn fix early in the day keeps her from snacking late at night. For snacks she reaches for fresh fruit, and lunch is usually a salad with vegetables like avocado paired with chicken.

• Exercise routine: Every day Moseley wears a pedometer, and usually by the end of the workday she’s walked three miles. On weekends she and her husband go on walks, but throughout the workweek she looks for ways to sneak in exercise. “Instead of calling people on the phone at work, I walk to their desk,” she says. She also has stopped using drive-throughs; instead she parks and walks. And when she’s out running errands, she looks for the farthest parking spot.

• Biggest challenge: The office snack table. But for special occasions, she allows herself a bite or two of whatever they’re offering. “That way I can birthday with everyone.”

• Munchie antidote: When she wants to snack, Moseley reaches for jars of olives or pickles. “It’s something crunchy and salty,” she says. She also snacks on canned green beans and jars of little corn and carrots in vinegar. “My worst time is when I get home from work — I’m starving. They’re easy to grab out of the fridge,” she says.

• Secret to success: “Perseverance,” she says. “Not giving up.”

• How life has changed: “I can breathe a little better with my asthma,” she says. But it’s the little things — like the ease of getting into a booth now — that makes a huge difference for her. And she doesn’t mind the compliments she’s been getting, either. “I’m down to a size 12.”

— Michelle C. Brooks, for the Journal-Constitution