Success story: Tracye Prewitt

Tracye Prewitt

Amount lost: 65 pounds
How: Counting calories, exercising

Tracye Prewitt gets fed up with talk about which fad diet is best, and which one works fastest.

“I listen and want to shout, ‘It’s the calories, stupid!’” She said. “I am not one of these people who can deny myself anything and when a diet says you can have a hamburger but you can’t eat the bun, I just say ‘Pluhease!’”

What worked for her was simple math, and discipline.

“If you can count, add and subtract, you can count or add up calories eaten in a day and subtract them from a daily caloric goal,” she said. “This is a simple plan that’s easy and effective. Trust me, I have gone on a lot of diets before and this one, the low calorie one, has worked the best for me.”

She’s maintained her 65-pound weight loss for more than a year by following her simple formula. It’s also helped build her faith.

“I asked God what do I do and how do I do it,” she said. “He pointed me to the Internet where I found information on low-calorie diets. And so the counting began.”

Another key component to her success is journaling.

“I learned that making myself accountable by keeping a calorie and exercise journal helped a great deal,” she said. “Write how many calories for each meal per day and chart your miles or reps. I also write poetry, prayers, quotes, scripture and song lyrics in mine.

“Inspiration is priceless.”

Prewitt also learned that maintaining a healthy weight was a total lifestyle change, including her level of physical activity.

“I also got my rear off the couch and started walking every day,” she said. “On a good day I walk anywhere from seven to 10 miles and on a normal day I walk around two miles. … When you start walking — particularly if you are walking in a hilly terrain like I do — start off with around two or three miles a day and build up from there.”

She cautioned against the “magic pill” thinking about weight loss.

“I have friends who have done the Atkins diet and the South Beach diet and had great results with them but once they go off the program, the weight magically returns,” she said. “… This seems to me to be a build in failure mechanism.”

“I am happy to report that with will power that could only come from God himself, I have lost 65 pounds in a year,” she said. “I know that this is not just a diet but it is a lifestyle change. I will have to control or monitor my calories and my weight for the rest of my life.

“But with God at my side, like he has been since the beginning, and a loving and supportive family, I know I will continue living a healthier lifestyle.”

To tell your success story, e-mail sandi.beason@jackson.gannett.com