Losing 63 pounds won her magazine cover
By ERICA FRANKLIN
WINSTON-SALEM JOURNAL
After having her third child, Carolee Maurice, 37, of Advance, N.C., never thought that she would look like she had eight years earlier.
But she lost 63 pounds dieting, and her weight loss has landed her on the August cover of Good Housekeeping magazine.
Maurice said that while pregnant with her son Christopher, now 16 months old, she gained 68 pounds, bringing her weight to 186 pounds.
She said that she began working out when her son was 2 months old, but had trouble losing weight after dropping the first 15 pounds.
"I did not think I would reach my goal of fitting into a size 8," she said.
She said she reached a turning point after realizing that she was still wearing maternity clothes three months after Christopher was born.
"I could not afford to go to the gym," she said.
Rather than give up, Maurice searched the Internet for a free diet plan and got onto the Web site for Slim-Fast.
"The site gives you meal plans, and I incorporated what we like to eat in that," Maurice said.
Outside of her plan, Maurice had to eat an additional 500 calories because she was nursing Christopher.
At first, her doctor didn't approve of the diet, but agreed when she added the extra 500 calories, Maurice said.
"I just started eating right, and the weight came off pretty easily," she said. Maurice can now fit into a size 6.
Maurice said that before she began watching her diet, she loved to bake. She said she still bakes, but uses Splenda and other sugar substitutes to help reduce calories.