LIVES TRANSFORMED
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41
AFTER A 2007 car accident that injured her legs, Lori Sweeney
was at her heaviest, at 272 pounds, and wore a size 26.
The 5-foot-8-inch Hillsborough, New Jersey, mother, who
had struggled with her weight most of her life, decided that was
enough. Over the course of the next three and a half years she
lost 125 pounds. After successfully keeping it off for four more
years, Sweeney wanted to help others with weight loss and wrote
a book, Goodbye Fatness, Hello Gorgeous! ( goodbyefatness.com).
In the title, Sweeney is saying goodbye to “fatness” because
that was the nickname she was given by kids who picked on her
when she was in school. “When I was a child I was overweight,
These days the 46-year-old, who was featured in TED Talks,
hits the gym five times a week, watches her calories by measuring
or weighing her food for accurate portion sizes and slows down
her eating by using a teaspoon and a shrimp fork, which makes
her feel full faster and more satisfied. Now a size 4, she is able to
try activities she had never done before, like kayaking.
Sweeney says, “I didn’t have plastic surgery. I didn’t have a
personal trainer. It just shows an average person can do this too,
without a celebrity’s wallet.”—Christina Guerrero
42 ;e Costco Connection JANUARY 2016
Tracy
Carter
and
husband
Brian
TRACY CARTER’S SUCCESS journey
started five years ago, when she was 40. “I
had never been to a gym, and exercise
was an occasional walk or bike ride with
my kids,” says the West Richland,
Washington, resident. “I knew I was
chubby, with my size pushing 14.”
The catalyst for change came in the
form of family photographs. “My dad had
come for a visit, and we took a lot of pic-
tures,” she says. When she picked them up
at Costco, “the woman I saw in those pic-
tures was not the one I saw in the mirror
every day. At that time, my daughter was
13 and [my son was] 15. I wanted to be
a better role model for my kids and a
healthier mom and wife who could be
active along with an active family.”
Carter and her husband, Brian,
joined a gym, logging “countless miles”
on the treadmill and elliptical machine. “I
started food journaling,” Carter says, “and
I lost 30 pounds in six months. I moved
over to the weight machines and even
joined some circuit training.
“Maintaining the weight loss is a
challenge. I still food journal and try to
work out at least three days a week. My
goal is to encourage others and be a good
example, especially to my family.”
The woman who had never been to
the gym? “I now work there!” she says.
— T. Foster Jones
Gym
DANDY
Motivated
members
SLIMSweeney
e
2
l
f
personal trainer. It just shows an average person can do this too,
SLIMSweeney
Lori
Sweeney
CO
U
RTES
Y
OF
LO
R
I
S
WEEN
EY
˝ I FOUND OUT that I had an aortic aneurysm and needed to
have open-heart surgery to
replace my aortic valve and
save my life. After my surgery, I
set goals for myself and pushed
myself to do many fitness activities that previously had scared
me, such as riding in cycling
races, heli-snowboarding and
flying on a trapeze (I attended
trapeze school 12 weeks after
having open-heart surgery). I
could not have done any of this
without tremendous support and
encouragement from so many
people along the way.˝
Tracy Cruickshank
Scottsdale, Arizona
˝ IT HAS BEEN over 15 years
since I was diagnosed with
multiple food allergies. The art
of creative substitution has
become a hobby rather than
a burden. I have discovered
that yams make delicious
French fries. Basil or spinach
pesto replaces tomato sauce
on my rice pasta. Chickpea
flour with oil, water and rosemary makes a crusty pie shell
that, with melted sheep’s-milk cheese, provides a pizza
alternative. Coffee and maple
syrup with homemade chocolate chip biscotti sweetens
my disposition.˝
Lee Rothberg
Matawan, New Jersey
˝ I HAVE QUALIFIED for membership in the heart disease club
many times. Spanning a period
of 46 years, my credentials
include three heart attacks, cardiac arrest, quadruple heart
bypass surgery, triple bypass
surgery, angioplasty, several
stents and, most recently, a
pacemaker implant. At 72 years
old, I am still standing! Six key
factors have contributed to
my still being alive: luck,
laughter, attitude, common
sense, love and exercise.˝
Ralph Kaufer, Thousand Oaks,
California, author of
I’m on My Way to Heaven ...
Just Not Yet (2014; not
available at Costco)
