Before: 276 lbs.
After: 147 lbs.
Program used: Jenny Craig

When Julie Nutile, 27, of Glen Burnie, Md., became -engaged, she was thrilled — until she realized she would have to hunt for a wedding dress. The only garb she ever put on her 5-foot-7, size-24 frame was stretchy, shapeless and black. How, at 276 lbs., would she find a wedding gown that fit? With her nuptials just a year away, Julie was determined to find a solution.

Although Julie had been an in-shape athlete throughout school, after graduation her weight ballooned. Even though her size had never been an issue for her fiancé, Joey, she was fed up with how her thighs rubbed together, and even her biggest clothes felt snug. Getting out of the car had become a struggle; she also wasn’t sleeping well. Sure, she had a million and one reasons to lose, but which diet to choose? She had tried them all, with little success. “I’d always lose 40 or 50 lbs., but it always came back — and then some,” says Julie.

Her Perfect Match

When Julie happened to drive by a Jenny Craig center, she decided to stop in. At first, she was skeptical about actually joining — but then she met Brandy, who would become her weight-loss consultant. “I had expected someone skinny, but Brandy was big like me,” says Julie. That put her instantly at ease: “She knew exactly how I felt.”

Julie loved the one-on-one support meetings with Brandy, but the eating plan gave her a jolt. At first, “I just couldn’t believe that a person could survive on so little,” says Julie. “Then I realized I’d been eating for a family of six!” She added after-meal snacks like baby carrots and snow peas. “Still, some days were a real struggle,” she admits, “but I’d look at the wedding date circled on my calendar and become even more determined.”

Bye-Bye, “Big Girl” Clothes!

As Julie forged new habits, such as eating meals at the table instead of in front of the TV and splitting exercise into manageable chunks (she’d do leg lifts while her entrées were microwaving), the pounds dropped off. A few months into the program, Julie noticed that her shorts weren’t creeping up with every step. “For the first time, I started being able to shop for styles I liked instead of settling for ‘big girl’ clothes,” says Julie.

One year and 100 lbs. later, Julie was sleeping like a baby and no longer had to hoist herself out of cars. But best of all, she proudly walked down the aisle in a gorgeous wedding gown — size 12! “My husband’s grandmother told me she just couldn’t believe how wonderful I looked,” recalls Julie, “and other relatives kept saying that it looked like I’d lost half a person.”

Color Her Happy!

In short order, Julie went from blushing bride to glowing mom-to-be. She was thrilled to be a mom — of a girl, Jerzie, now 3 — but less happy with the 70 lbs. she’d gained during pregnancy. This time, though, Julie knew just where to go. By 2004, she had ditched every ounce of the baby weight. And she didn’t stop there.

Today she is 129 lbs. lighter than her pre-wedding weight, and wears a size 8. And you can bet those new threads are bright and cheerful. “Julie hardly ever wears black anymore,” says Michelle, the new Jenny Craig consultant she was paired with. “I know the attention Julie pays to her wardrobe is a reflection of how she feels about herself.” Julie agrees. “As the weight came off, I started wearing beige, then turquoise, then pink — today it’s the whole rainbow,” she says. “I guess it reflects how happy I feel!”