Before: 205 lbs.
After: 123 lbs.
Program used: Michael Thurmond’s Six-Week Body Makeover

Caught on Tape!

Tears streamed down newlywed Karen Spratt’s face when she first saw the video of her October 2004 wedding. Watching footage of the happiest day of her life, Karen, 35, felt ashamed to see how fat she was when she married Tom, 42, on a Maui beach. That night in her Aliso Viejo, Calif., home, Karen, 5-foot-3 and 205 lbs., promised herself she’d get her weight under control.

Struggling With Commitment

Karen realized that finding a DIY weight-loss program she could stick with wouldn’t be easy. “I found it hard to not clean my plate even if I was full,” she says. And her motivation to exercise was short-lived: “I bought a stationary bicycle, but I ended up not really using it.”

Then one evening in April 2005, while watching an infomercial for Michael Thurmond’s Six-Week Body Makeover, she found a weight-loss program customized for her body type. She went online and bought Thurmond’s diet and workout DVD and plan for $120. Karen learned that she needed multiple small, protein-rich meals to help her stay full on fewer calories and that she would benefit most from an hour-long walk five days a week. After following her specially tailored program for one week, Karen dropped 11 lbs.

Happily Ever After

By the end of the six-week program, Karen had lost 24 lbs. She decided to continue following the plan on her own, again in six-week increments. After each round, as she lost more weight, she’d reward herself with a pedicure or a new pair of pants. “Buying myself a little something made me feel good about myself and kept me motivated,” says Karen. By the time she reached her goal weight of 123 lbs. in November 2005, just a little more than a year after her walk down the aisle, she had taken her wedding rings to be resized — twice!

Meanwhile, Karen’s husband says his wife’s weight isn’t the only thing that’s changed. “I used to get mad at her because she wouldn’t even let me take her picture when we were on vacation,” says Tom. “Now she likes having her picture taken!” Karen agrees that she loves to strike a pose now: “Everything just looks so much better when you feel good about yourself.”