Date Posted	April 02, 2007
News Title	Former Fat Girl Sherry Williams
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Former Fat Girl Sherry Williams Age: 37 Lives: Birmingham, Alabama Before weight: 289 After weight: 160 Her history: After a life of eating her mom’s southern cooking—and binging on fast food—Sherry was in trouble weight wise and health wise. Not only was she nearing the 300-pound mark, but her LDL cholesterol was dangerously high: 232 ml/dc. A healthy total cholesterol is around 200; the optimal LDL level is less than half that. Her turning point: Sherry was lying on a cold, steel doctor’s exam table in April, 2001, finally seeking help after months of dizzy spells and frightening blackouts. As the doctor maneuvered her way through the exam, Sherry was forced to confront her true size after hiding under layers of bulky clothing. “I was disgusted with myself,” she says. “I looked at myself naked in the mirror, and thought, ‘I know there’s something better underneath.’” Her Former Fat Girl journey: Sherry’s doctor gave her a piece of paper listing high-calorie foods to avoid and low-fat, low-cholesterol alternatives. She made small changes in her diet, substituting orange sherbet for her favorite black walnut ice cream. “I stopped that all-or-nothing thinking. I knew I couldn’t completely give up McDonalds, or I’d snap and go out of control.” She pulled the Tae Bo tape off her shelf and worked up to completing the advanced workout after three months of daily attempts. Her “after life”: “When I got to 222 pounds, my family said, ‘You need to stop.’ They were so accustomed to seeing me heavy. But I wasn’t happy there. And I love competition. If you say I can’t, I say, ‘Let me prove myself.’” And she did. Today, at 160 strong, stylish pounds, Sherry says she’s found that “something better” she was hiding under those layers of fat. And it isn’t just muscles, and a waist, and a body literally half the size it was six years ago. It’s a happier, healthier, more self-aware and self-assured woman. “I was always focused on making other people happy,” she says. “But now, I’m more content with who I am inside.”
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