The Secrets Of Their Success

摘要

Olga Arias, 46, knows what it's like to be obese. "Ever since I was a kid, I was probably always chunky," she says. "Every year I would just gain weight." By the time the 5-ft. 5-in. San Francisco city worker was 34, she tipped the scales at 260 lbs. "I was self-conscious about everything―getting on a bus, sitting in an airplane seat," she recalls. "I would put off seeing doctors, I was so embarrassed." Like millions of other plus-size Americans, Arias had tried a couple of times to lose weight―only to regain every pound she shed and then some. Finally, one August day in 1992, she says, "something just clicked. I knew I had to do something." Arias started swimming at a local pool and limiting what she ate. At first, she didn't tell anyone what she was doing because she feared she might fail again. But after the first month, when she lost 25 lbs., people at work started to notice and compliment her efforts. After two years, she had lost more than 100 lbs.―and she has kept the weight off.