"I Cut Portions and Dropped the Baby Weight"

"I Did It!"

Name: Dawn Scrutchins
Age: 29
Height: 5'6"
Her Weight Before: 170
Her Weight After: 135
Pounds Lost: 35
At Current Weight: 3 years

Having two babies within a year of each other left Dawn Scrutchins carrying an extra 50 pounds. She wasn't too worried, though. "I'd never had trouble staying in shape, even though I didn't exercise. I figured my body would bounce back," says the retail manager from Dublin, Georgia. But four years later, she was still overweight. "I was finishing school and caring for my girls. With no time to cook, I lived on supersized fast-food meals."

Crazed by Cravings

Dawn weighed 120 pounds until she got pregnant. "You're supposed to eat a little more when you're expecting, but I went overboard," she says. "I craved sub sandwiches loaded with meat, cheese, and dressing -- and ate them two at a time." After her youngest was born, she was up to 170.

Then Dawn saw a photo of herself sitting on a sofa. "My face was round, my thighs were huge. I realized that my metabolism had changed. I was going to have to start exercising if I didn't want to look that way forever."

Taking Action

That day, Dawn bought a treadmill and a few Pilates tapes and started working out five days a week. "I had to get up at 5 a.m. to fit it in -- but it was worth it," she says. She also ate more roast chicken and lean pork, substituted water for soda, and treated herself to cookies or doughnuts once a week instead of every day. Within five months, she was down to 135 pounds.

Dawn's daughters, now 11 and 12, have also benefited from her lifestyle changes. "We talk about exercise and nutrition all the time," she says. "I'm glad I can be a healthy role model for them."