Originally, I started the Challenge because I just wanted to feel better. I hated the way I looked and felt, and I was tired of feeling embarrassed about my appearance. The excess weight was taking its toll on my back and joints, and everything in my life felt like a struggle. I desperately wanted to lose weight but all those "quick fix" diets and magic pills I was wasting money on didn't work, and were leaving me feeling even more depressed and hopeless. Then I came across the Slim Body Coach website. I saw so many positive and encouraging people posting online and actually losing weight that I decided to make a commitment to complete the 12-week Challenge.

This has been by far the best decision I have ever made! I have changed in ways I never could have imagined! Once I completed the Third Round and was well over halfway to my goal of reaching a healthy BMI, I was on fire. The GNS products were helping me to shed pounds fast, and I was getting a lot of support and encouragement from so many people online. I started organizing mini-challenges in the Exercise Forum and by the time I became known as the "Mini-Challenge Queen", I was completely hooked. I looked better, I felt better and I was even helping others to reach their goals.

I lost 19 pounds, 16.25 inches and three more dress sizes during Round Four. I exceeded my goal of reaching a healthy BMI by two pounds and I've lost a total of 42 pounds, 40.375 inches and seven dress sizes since I joined SBC and started using the supplements. My energy levels have increased dramatically and the backaches and leg cramps I was suffering from due to the excess weight have disappeared as well as a lot of unsightly cellulite. I feel healthy, I look healthy and I am beyond happy!

You know how you look back at where you were in life 10 years ago and you don't even feel like the same person? That's how I feel about the last five months. I feel as though I have freed myself from the mental prison of going through the motions of life on autopilot. I am so much more outgoing now and things don't get me down as easily as they did before. I joke around a lot more because I'm not self-conscious about drawing attention to myself. I am so full of confidence and energy that I now only look different, I act different. I've completely changed my way of thinking. I make workout dates instead of lunch dates with my friends and family, and I organize gym "field trips" with my co-workers and studio mates. I feel as though I've climbed to the top of a mountain, and as I stood on the highest peak and looked down, I realized that I literally and the whole world at my feet and that accomplishing anything I set my mind to was possible. I feel stronger inside and out and my new found confidence has helped me to believe in myself again. I now have the confidence to help others work at achieving their weight loss goals as well.

4. How do you truly feel, right now, about your body after your transformation? This is the first time in my life that I've looked at a photograph of me and I actually liked what I saw! I am firm and shapely and I now have a body that I never dreamed I could have! I am proud of my body and what I've accomplished. I feel strong and healthy and simple tasks that I used to struggle with are now effortless. I am so much more comfortable with myself and I can't believe the amount of compliments I'm getting. It's ironic when you think about it. Now that there is so much less of me to see, everybody is looking! 5. How do you truly feel, right now, about your life--how has it improved? This is my Cinderella moment. Five months ago, I felt depressed and worthless, now I'm on top of the world! I never imagined that I could ever feel this good about my body or my life. Before, when I was hiding out because I was too embarrassed to be seen it was like I buried my soul in a coffin of fat. I was slowly dying, physically and emotionally. But now that I'm free of all that unhealthy fat, I feel so alive! I am always going somewhere and doing something. I love being with people and I feed off of the positive energy of others. I feel so much more connected now and that's what gives me hope and strength and makes my life have value. My family, friends, neighbors and just about everyone who's seen me do this keep referring to me as "amazing". People are now asking for my help to get in shape and I love it. Being an artist, teaching art comes naturally to me. I would never have imagined that one day I'd be teaching people how to live a healthy lifestyle. It's so amazing! I feel like I've not only reshaped my body, I've reshaped my life. I get so much more accomplished now that I'm healthier. I sleep less which gives me more hours during the day and those projects that I've "been meaning to do" are now getting done. I feel younger and more energetic and I love it when people are shocked to find out that I'm forty years old. I feel like I've got a new lease on life!

The biggest motivator for me was the website. When life got tough, I turned to all of my online friends to keep me pumped up. Whenever I lost a pound or was successful in completing a challenge, someone was always there to say "great job", and that fueled my desire to succeed tenfold! I enjoyed the camaraderie of my faithful mini-challenge buddies whose determination and positive example I admired. I found inspiration in the success of others on a daily basis and it made me feel great when I was able to help someone out of a rut when they were having a bad day. People are the heart and soul of what keeps me going everyday. I am eternally grateful to Coach Josh, the SBC staff and all of my wonderful online friends who have kept me inspired and motivated to reach my goals. My life is beyond amazing because of each and every one of you.

7. What were some of your keys to success in losing weight? Having a plan and making the decision to stick to it was the biggest key for me. By making a plan, I was able to replace my old bad habits with new good habits and eventually "reprogram" my body to crave exercise and healthy food. Once I had the plan down pat, it was so much easier to accomplish my goals. Visualization was another key to my success. By visualizing myself living a healthy lifestyle and reaching my goals, it's like I literally couldn't see anything but what I wanted to accomplish. My mind became focused on my goals and everything seemed to just fall into place. 8. What challenges did you have to overcome while participating in this contest? Life in general. I call all the responsibilities, obligations, commitments, and stress I have in my life ROCS. Prior to starting the challenges, I was letting all the ROCS in my life pile up, and become one big obstacle preventing me from achieving what I wanted. Once I made the decision that no matter what I was going to complete two 12-week Challenges, it's amazing how I was able to transform my ROCS from obstacles to opportunities! I used to think, "I don't have time to do exercise." I now realize that exercising gives me more time to do the things I need to do. And because I want to be more productive, and have more to offer to my family and my friends, those ROCS have become the reason I have chosen to live a healthier lifestyle instead of my excuse not to. Now the ROCS are the footholds and handholds I'm using to climb towards success in all aspects of my life. This experience has taught me that my health is the most valuable asset I possess and I intend to work hard and overcome any challenge to keep it!

Because I understand what it means to succeed at being your personal best and I am passionate about helping others to achieve theirs. I've struggled with my weight all of my life and now that Josh has taught me the secrets of living a healthy lifestyle, I want to share this knowledge with everyone I can. I've already become the "go to girl" for exercise and nutrition questions among my family, friends and co-workers, and I love that people not only follow my advice, but they also give me good information in return. I firmly believe that the best way to get knowledge is to give it and that by helping others I am also helping myself.

The journal because it's a great place to give and receive support as well as be inspired by the success of others. The forum, because you can find and share a lot of good information there and I enjoyed using it to organize group mini-challenges. The food diary and activities tracker were invaluable for planning my program and the photo journal enabled me to post my before and after pictures and share my success with others.

Slim Seduction was my morning "happy pill" which gave me energy, kept me from feeling hungry and seriously helped me to get rid of my embarrassing belly. Slim Body Matrix was vital to helping me eat on the go at work. With long hours and no breaks, the shakes were ideal--convenient, fast and filling. Lipo Matrix and Carb Matrix I used for my cheat meals to "minimize the damage" and Slimbody XP as well as Slim Path Burn was great for getting me "revved up" prior to exercise so I could get the most out of my workouts.