Tracey's story is a roadmap which anyone can follow to lose weight in the pursuit of a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life and is well worth reading if you'd like to do the same.

The Battle Begins.

Tracey's battle with weight began relatively early in life.

As a teenager, Tracey developed poor eating habits and didn't exercise. She lacked the motivation to improve and was preoccupied with starting a family, which she did in her late teens. Having two young children soon compounded her worsening weight problems and despite an increased motivation to take better care of herself, she now found it almost impossible to spend any time on herself.

During her first pregnancy, Tracey weighed in at a substantial 95kgs. At 5ft 2inches (160 cm), even while carrying a baby, Tracey was unhealthily heavy for her height.

After having both children, Tracey's weight levelled off at around 80kgs.

Tragedy Strikes, twice.

Still heavy for her height, Tracey lacked the motivation, knowledge and persistence to trim down to a healthier weight, but that would all soon change when her marriage began to fail and her beloved father passed away unnecessarily.

Soon after her 22nd birthday, Tracey found herself separated from her husband. Within 12 months, she would be divorced and ready for dramatic change in her life.

For Tracey, divorce was a primary driver for change. Still a young woman, Tracey had her whole life ahead of her and she was determined to get the most out of it.

Unfortunately, tragedy would strike twice for Tracey and the second heartbreak would have an even more profound affect on her life.

At 23, Tracey was forced to say goodbye to her father. Unable to help him make the lifestyle changes doctor's had prescribed after his first heart attack, Tracey was forced to watch his health deteriorate due to poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking and alcohol.

At the funeral, Tracey apologized to her father for not having the knowledge to help him change his life and vowed to herself that she wouldn't put her two daughters through the same heartache that she was going through burying a parent at such a young age.

The first step towards a new life.

The first positive step Tracey took towards a happier, healthier life was to begin exercising. Starting with short walks around the block, Tracey soon progressed to 5 kilometre walks most nights of the week.

Before long, Tracey began to look and feel better and she started shedding kilos. But walking alone was not enough to turn her life around.

One day while watching TV, Tracey noticed an ad for a local modelling school. Determined to begin rebuilding her self-esteem, which had taken a battering during her separation and divorce, with the support of her mum she decided to make an investment in her future and started attending the modelling school twice a week.

During the next 18 months, Tracey gained much of the knowledge and confidence she needed to make a fresh start. She learnt about proper skin care, better grooming, public speaking and healthier diets. Most importantly of all, Tracey began to believe what her teacher's preached; that everyone is beautiful in some way.

Improved self-esteem to healthy eating - the learning continues.

Proud of how far she'd come in such a short time, Tracey wanted to learn more about healthy eating, so she began attending Weight Watchers meetings once a week.

Within 6 months, Tracey's knowledge about healthy eating improved dramatically and she found herself eating better than ever before. From then on healthy eating became a way of life and helped Tracey take the next step towards achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

Shortly after attending Weight Watchers, Tracey moved to a new suburb and joined the local gym. At this point Tracey weighed a healthier 65kgs, was eating well and walking 10 kilometres most days.

Tracey made friends quickly at the gym and they introduced her to weight training. Not only did Tracey learn the right exercises to do, she also learnt the proper techniques for performing them. Before long, Tracey loved going to the gym 4 times a week mixing weight training with walking on a treadmill.

After building up her fitness, Tracey decided to start jogging. Her first jog was 400 metres around a local footy ground which left her exhausted. Running requires a great deal more fitness than walking. With a solid fitness base, Tracey was amazed how quickly her body adapted to this new training intensity and by the end of her first week she was jogging an amazing 5 kilometres at a time.

Runs of 5 kilometres per day soon lead to runs of 10 kilometres per day and peaked at 15 kilometres. Tracey was beginning to get high on exercise and loved feeling fit and healthy and looking great. She would soon learn the valuable lesson that over-training is as big a problem as not exercising enough.

Finding the right balance.

At the height of her training buzz, Tracey entered fun runs, half marathons and even a fitness competition. In preparation for the fitness competition, Tracey trained 3 times a day and ate nothing but grilled chicken breasts, rice and egg whites.

It didn't take long for her to realise that this was excessive and she started experiencing muscle injuries due to over-training and not stretching. While super fit and looking great, Tracey's happiness and quality of life had taken a downward turn.

Today Tracey maintains a very healthy weight of around 60kgs. She trains 4 times a week, mixing walks with weight training and horse riding.

Her diet consist of cereal for breakfast, a chicken and salad sandwich (no margarine) for lunch, fruit as an afternoon snack and chicken and vegetables, pasta or as a treat 1 slice of pizza or a small serving of fish and chips. Tracey drinks 2 litres of water every day.

Lessons from Tracey's Weight Loss Story.

In her early 20's, Tracey was an overweight single mother of 2 who ate poorly and didn't exercise. By her late 20's she was running half marathons and entering fitness competitions. Today she is a successful career woman with a healthy and happy outlook on life and maintains a healthy weight, moderate exercise program and healthy diet.

With nothing more than a burning desire for change, a willingness to seek knowledge and the courage and tenacity to apply it in her daily life, Tracey successfully turned her life around. Tracey's story is a roadmap which anyone can follow in the pursuit of a happier, healthier, more fulfilling life, including you.