At an alarming 325 lbs., 5-foot-8 schoolteacher Jennifer Verma of Modesto, Calif., was huffing and puffing her way through a hike in the Sierra, Nev., mountains when one of the sixth graders on the school trip she was chaperoning asked her: “Are you married?” Single, and only 25 at the time in 2001, Jennifer remembers: “I told her no, that I was too young to be married.” That’s when the little girl made the blunt pronouncement that really took Jennifer’s breath away: “No, you are just too fat.”

Heavy Thinking

Dumbstruck, Jennifer first explained away the insensitive comment. “I thought, ‘What do you know, you’re a kid,’?” she recalls. But the child’s remark stung, reminding Jennifer once again that her morbid obesity was weighing her down. Not only was Jennifer constantly tired and had difficulty standing for long periods in her classroom, she’d even had her gallbladder removed in college due to her weight. Fed up at last, Jennifer signed on with Weight Watchers the very next week. But could she slim down to a healthy weight and drop more than half her size?

A Model Member

Jennifer closely monitored her daily caloric intake and portion control, methodically writing down all the foods she ate in a journal. Jennifer’s weight loss was slow and steady, just a pound a week. But by 2003, in just over two years, she was down to 160 lbs., having dropped an amazing 165 lbs. “I also started to do more hiking. I enjoyed it once some of the weight was off,” she says.

Loving Life

Finally confident about her body, Jennifer joined an online dating service that she saw on The Oprah Winfrey Show. In January 2005, Jennifer married a man who understood her triumph over her weight: “After she told me about her weight loss, I gave her books that inspired me when I quit smoking,” says her husband, Vinx, a software engineer.

Once a bride, Jennifer decided to trim down even more, to her healthiest, happily-ever-after size. In January 2006, she reached her ultimate goal of 140 lbs., which she has maintained ever since. “That little girl’s harsh words forced me to face facts,” says Jennifer, now a size 8. “I learned that nobody else can love you until you love yourself.”