How This New Mom Lost 75 Pounds

When Heather Lemanski got pregnant four years ago, she quit smoking—and started eating. “I replaced my smoking dependency with food,” she says, explaining her 70-pound weight gain. After her daughter was born, Heather used “I just had a baby” as an excuse for her weight. Her turnaround came in the summer of 2006. “I had to buy my first size 20, and that was depressing,” she says.

Heather knew she wouldn’t stick to drastic changes, so she tried a simple plan she felt she could live with: “I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted but stayed around 2,000 calories a day,” she says. Heather lost three pounds in the first week—enough to motivate her to keep going. Over the next year, she cut her calories to 1,800 a day, started cycling, and built up to intense, short workouts. By summer 2007 Heather had lost 75 pounds.

		Before Now Pounds: 210 135 Size: 20 6

The great-arms trick she used
To tone her arms as she lost weight, Heather used small dumbbells to do basic moves such as biceps curls and triceps kickbacks. “I’d rather use proper form and smaller weights than try to lift larger weights,” she says.

Heather’s healthy drink
She always pours herself a tall glass of skim milk at dinner to get the nutritional benefits. “I know people say not to drink your calories, but I feel the milk is worth it,” Heather says.

A foolproof fridge
Heather buys fruit in bulk from a warehouse store so she always has something on hand for noshing.

Her gift: a day at the spa

To celebrate Heather’s success and pamper her new bod, Spa Julianna in nearby Plymouth, Mich., gave her a custom package of treatments, including a relaxing sea soak and firming body wrap. Ahh!

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