Before: 215 lbs.
After: 141 lbs.
Program Used: eDiets.com

Growing up as one of eight kids, Shantay Sisk was raised on whatever was fast and easy — and that almost always meant unhealthy food. But the bad habits formed in childhood didn’t catch up with Shantay until her early 20s, when she gave birth to two kids of her own. Her weight, which ballooned with her first pregnancy, hit 199 lbs. after her daughter joined the family in 1996.

Although Shantay, now 32, knew it was too much for her 5-foot-5-inch frame, troubles at home prevented her from taking control of her size. “I was having marriage problems, and it felt easier to stay fat,” she admits.

Throughout her 20s, Shantay — the office manager for an electric company in Kokomo, Ind. — watched as her weight continued to climb, peaking at 215 lbs. just before her 30th birthday. But the big 3-0 proved to be a turning point.

Unwilling to spend another decade in plus-size clothes, Shantay decided, That’s it. So at her friend Debbie Everling’s urging, the size-20 mom signed up for eDiets, the online weight-loss service Debbie had recently discovered. “We both have kids, so I knew Shantay would want a plan based on real food that her family could eat, too,” says Debbie. In February 2003, Shantay chose the low-fat eating plan (eDiets offers several options); by June, she’d shed 13 lbs. — not too shabby, but not as big a loss as she’d hoped for. Determined to speed up her progress, she switched to the Atkins eating plan, and before she knew it, she’d dumped nearly 40 lbs.

Fresh Body, Fresh Start

Meanwhile, her marriage showed no improvement. Throughout her struggle to slim down, Shantay says her husband was “unsupportive.” He frequently made snide comments about her size, providing no help when she needed it most, she says. Feeling more confident than ever, Shantay decided it was finally time to end her unhappy union. Although it wasn’t easy, encouragement from her “cheerleaders” at eDiets kept her focused and upbeat at a time when many people would have fallen off the healthy-eating wagon. “When I needed to release anxiety about the divorce, I posted on the message boards instead of filling that hole in my life with a candy bar,” she says.

Looking back, Shantay is amazed at how close she felt to strangers on the boards, but believes the anonymity of the Web made her feel comfortable sharing intensely private emotions. It also kept her eye on the prize. “Going online helped take my mind off bad cravings,” she notes. “It gave me time to breathe and say to myself, OK, I need to be healthy for my kids, and not let food beat me.”

Now that she’s down to 141 lbs. and a size 8, Shantay says “I feel unstoppable!” She has the confidence to sing (solo!) at church fund-raisers. She walks on an outdoor track with Debbie during their daughters’ soccer practice, and they hit the YMCA a few times a week to work out together. And she is happily dating a man who cheers on her healthy lifestyle.

But the most rewarding part of losing weight has been the impact it has had on her kids. “When I first started to lose weight, Kristian said, ‘Mommy, I didn’t know that mommies could be skinny,’” says Shantay. “I felt like, What have I been teaching her? That in order to be a mom you have to be big? I’m so happy my kids can see that you can be a mom at a healthy weight. That’s the best part — that I could show my children that!”