How Marisa lost six sizes before her wedding
Age 24
Occupation Office manager
Before 240 lbs
After 170 lbs
At her November 2008 wedding, Marisa Kvenbo made guests' jaws drop. It wasn't just her gorgeous dress, but the size of it. The 5'10" bride—whose plump figure had earned her the hurtful childhood nickname Whopper—was thin.
Marisa, now a 24-year-old office manager in Rancho Santa Margarita, California, hit her heaviest weight after high school. Her parents had divorced and moved away, and she was left balancing a fulltime job with night classes at a community college. "Doing everything myself was hard. I got lazy and ate out constantly," she says. In three years, she put on 75 pounds, peaking at 240.
The Change
In December 2007, Marisa's longtime boyfriend, Scott, proposed. She was ecstatic—until she went dress shopping. To her horror, she couldn't squeeze her size-24 body into any of the store samples. Her embarrassment turned to frustration, then resolve. "I needed a change," she says.
The Lifestyle
To wean herself off fast food and other fattening fare, Marisa struck one high-calorie food from her menu every week for three months. She lost 15 pounds by March 2008 and finally had enough energy to hit the gym. She started running to lose weight by logging hours on the elliptical and added Spinning classes that summer to fire up her calorie burn. By her final fitting, in October 2008, Marisa had dropped six dress sizes and was swimming in her gown! Seizing that momentum, she began strength training workouts after the wedding and cracked down on snacks. By May 2009, she hit her low of 170 pounds.
The Reward
The only thing Marisa treasures more than her beautiful wedding photos is her new positive attitude. "I wanted to be happy with my body so I could be happy in my marriage and my life," she says. "And now I am."
Marisa's Tips
 Multitask. "If I can't get to the gym, I'll do squats while blow-drying my hair."
Recruit fruit. "Berries and melon help control my sweet tooth."
Dish up diversity. "I vary veggies in my salads so I'm never bored."
(information from Women’sHealth - http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/weight-loss-success-5)
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