From a young age, Rose Watson, now 37, struggled with her weight. “When I was a Girl Scout, my mom had to sew two uniforms together for me to wear,” recalls the 5-foot-4 mother of two sons, Jay, 6, and Matthew, 4, from Temecula, Calif.

Rose briefly got into tip-top shape when she served in the Army, but her weight crept back up once she left the service. “I stopped exercising, and the weight piled back on,” she says. She tried lots of diets, from low-fat programs to fad diets — including a boiled egg plan. But in 2003, at her all-time high of 226 lbs., Rose got stuck in a tunnel slide while in the park with her sons. She realized her weight was a serious problem.

No More Playing Around

Desperate, Rose turned to the one drill she knew had worked before — she put herself on a boot camp regimen. She signed up for a membership at a local gym and walked uphill on a treadmill for a half hour, five days a week.

“It was hard, but I was determined,” she says. Rose also went on a drastic diet, cutting out all her beloved Mexican meals like meat-and-cheese-filled enchiladas. The pounds melted off, but Rose wondered, how could she quit her favorite foods forever?

Happy Meals Again!

But Rose met a personal trainer at the gym who taught her that eating more was the secret to permanent weight loss! She learned how indulging in weekly “Cheat Meals” (meals where she can devour whatever she craves) actually helps her to keep off the pounds for good (see “How to Cheat on a Diet and Still Lose” at right)!

“I went back to eating everything, but in moderation,” she says. Rose lost about 2 lbs. a week, even with refried beans back in rotation! Now a svelte 132 lbs., Rose enjoys playing with her family again.

“She is involved in every activity with the kids and me,” says her husband, Jason. Her 94-lb. weight loss has even inspired a new career: Rose is getting certified to become a personal trainer. “I want to help others achieve their goals to feel as beautiful inside and out.”