Transformation Tips From Our Before and After Stars

If you've vowed to lose weight this year, let the following inspirational stories be your guide. Collectively, these eight women have lost 802 pounds — and counting! Read on for more from each our our Before and After stars on what made them decide to start and their real-life weight-loss tips and tricks that you can use.

Taryn: Before

Taryn: Before

Why she started: "I wish I could say I had some romantic moment where I had the whip cream aerosol can in my mouth and heard a divine voice say, 'Taryn, this is not the life for you,' but no. I had no 'This is the time I’m going to succeed!' mentality. I had a few motivators, including wanting to conceive a child with my husband, and a faraway dream of being a certain size and looking a certain way. But mainly the reason I started getting healthy is . . . well . . . that’s what you do when you’re heavy — you think about losing weight and being thin, yet never really thinking you will."

Taryn: After

Taryn: After

Pounds lost: 155

Her healthy-eating tip: "I eat five small meals throughout the day, about three to four hours between each. My breakfast is the largest meal of the day for me and typically consists of a 1/2 cup of oatmeal with Stevia and cinnamon or flaxseed, and some kind of lean protein — egg whites or Greek yogurt. My morning snack is usually high in protein, like Greek yogurt with vegetables or low-fat cottage cheese with pineapple bits. Lunch is generally a salad composed of lots and lots of leafy greens, yummy vegetables, and protein, dressed by apple cider vinegar. Afternoon snack? You guessed it — more protein! Usually a handful of nuts or some peas. For dinner, I eat a lot of vegetables combined with protein in the form of some type of beans or quinoa."

Read Taryn's weight-loss story here!

Ashley: Before

Ashley: Before

Why she started: "My entire life, I have struggled with not only my weight but being in denial. I never wanted to believe that I was 'one of those girls,' the obese one, but I was. I would lose a little bit of weight and then gain it all back plus some, over and over. It was an endless ride I desperately wanted help getting off of. I could never be happy in my skin or happy about the way I looked. This impacted everything about me, my attitude, the way I dressed and carried myself, the friends I had, the opportunities I didn’t take, etc."

Ashley: After

Ashley: After

Pounds lost: 115

Her dining out tip: "I used to stress myself out about meals out to the point it was completely miserable! However now, I try to live by the 80/20 rule. I eat clean 80 percent of the time and the other 20 percent I cut myself a little bit of slack. That does not mean that I go out and consume 18 cheeseburgers, 10 fries, a milkshake, etc. I still attempt to be healthy when we eat out, but I do so by applying the 80/20 rule. If I really want something, I don’t get it right away. If it’s a craving that keeps coming back over and over, I’ll indulge, get it out of my system, and move on!"

Read Ashley's weight-loss story here!

Nelly: Before

Nelly: Before

Why she started: "We were trying to boost morale and healthy choices at work, and we started a weight-loss challenge. Everyone who participated put $10 into a pool, and the winner would collect the money and lose weight. I figured if I lost 30 pounds in the six weeks, I would win. Never did I ever think it would get me as far as it has."

Nelly: After

Nelly: After

Pounds lost: 85

Her dining out tip: "When eating out, we stay away from fast food. We often avoid chain restaurants. I try to find the healthier options on the menu such as chicken, salads, fish, etc. If I do have a burger, it's usually lettuce wrapped without cheese. Just cutting out small things like that make a huge difference."

Read Nelly's weight-loss story here!

Lulu: Before

Lulu: Before

Why she started: "After a long and painful climb to my heaviest, I finally decided I couldn't take it anymore. Walking, breathing, standing up — really just moving in general — it all became laborious. My health began to deteriorate, I spent time in the hospital with elevated liver enzymes due to my weight, and I never felt OK. I finally woke up and thought to myself, 'Where did you go? Who is this person?' When I couldn't take it anymore and when I couldn't go any deeper down, that was when I knew I needed to make a change."

Here's Lulu already making progress at the start of her weight-loss journey!

Lulu: After

Lulu: After

Pounds lost: 98

Her tip for fitting in exercise: "I have found that it is really hard to find time to work out when working full-time, but I always find time to walk — no matter how long or short the distance may be. I'm passionate about cycling, and I try to ride for an hour at least four times a week. When I began the process of losing weight, I made it a point (with the help and motivation of my friend and health coach, Ricki) to work out four to six times a week, not including my daily walks. I heard somewhere that sitting is the new smoking, so I make sure to avoid too much of that."

Read Lulu's weight-loss story here!

Geneva: Before

Geneva: Before

Why she started: "My weight-loss journey began when my best friend asked me to be her maid of honor. I didn't want to stand up in front of a room full of people and make a speech as the fat friend. Her wedding provided a tangible deadline to lose a significant amount of weight. My goal was to drop 50 pounds before her wedding."

Geneva: After

Geneva: After

Pounds lost: 103

Her tip for keeping workouts exciting: "I like to keep things changing monthly. I also will pick a new fitness goal every few months, whether it is to increase the amount of weight I lift, or decreasing my mile time. I also promised myself to complete one big fitness challenge every year. This year, I trained for and ran my first half marathon."

Read Geneva's weight-loss story here!

Gloria: Before

Gloria: Before

Why she started: "I simply decided one day that I no longer wanted to feel uncomfortable in my own skin. I realized that my weight was under my control, so I decided to finally take control of it."

Gloria: After

Gloria: After

Pounds lost: 62

Her tip for tracking weight loss: "I keep a food journal and track each workout (how long and calories burned) on the notepad app on my phone. I try not to go crazy counting calories, and even if I cheat here and there, I still jot it down. You’ve got to be honest with yourself! As far as tracking my weight, I like to weigh myself at the beginning of each month, and looking back at the numbers is really gratifying!"

Read Gloria's weight-loss story here!

Staci: Before

Staci: Before

Why she started: "I was drying my hair one morning, and I started crying because my hair was the only thing I liked about myself. I looked at my 1-year-old daughter, and I thought, 'I can't let her grow up with me as a role model.' I had an overweight mom, and I remember getting made fun for it, and I remember her not being able to do certain things with me. I have a 6-year-old son who is so active, and I physically couldn't play outside with him: it was just too hard. I decided to use them as my motivation."

Staci: After

Staci: After

Pounds lost: 71

Her tip for fitting in exercise: "I like to dance on my days that I'm not running: I turn my living room into a nightclub and just go nuts. I probably look ridiculous, but I'm alone, so who cares? It's fun and it's a great way to have fun and burn calories."

Read Staci's weight-loss story here!

Crystal: Before

Crystal: Before

Why she started: "I have always been overweight and incredibly unhappy. I had twins prematurely due to my weight, I was put on a CPAP for sleep apnea due to my weight, I couldn't keep up with my kids! I finally hit a breaking point, found a new doctor and spoke with her about what I could do to lose weight. I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which generally makes weight loss difficult. I also have/had insulin resistance as well. My doctor told me to limit my carb intake and get active and promised I'd see results! I was a major carb addict, so that was the hardest part for me, but the doctor was right!"

Crystal: After

Crystal: After

Pounds lost: 113

Her tip for staying motivated: If I am running on the treadmill, I always have a superfun playlist that I change out often! I also have my iPad on the treadmill and watch different shows on Netflix with the subtitles on. It definitely makes time go by fast! I am motivated to work out by the way that I feel after, so thinking about the change I am making helps me work harder and stay excited about working out."

Read Crystal's weight-loss story here!