Before-and-After Weight-Loss Transformation: Portion Control Pays Off for Heidi Mathieu

Heidi Mathieu watches all the food shows. And she loves The Chew: "I work out to it every day on my StairMaster." A self-proclaimed foodie, Heidi loves cooking, too, especially for her family.

The 53-year-old Whitefield, New Hampshire, resident is also a longtime health and PE teacher: one motivator for her recent weight loss. "You don't want to be a physical education teacher who's heavy," Heidi says. In the last two years, she's dropped an impressive 52 pounds, reaching her goal: "What I was in college-143."

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A lifelong runner and college track athlete, Heidi started running less after her divorce in 2002. "I got into cooking-and eating, and eating, and eating." By 2006, she saw the impact. At almost 200 pounds, "it wasn't me," she says. For most of the next decade, Heidi yo-yo dieted. Then in 2014, she learned about portion control and everything changed.

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Since putting portion control into practice and making regular exercise a priority, slowly but surely Heidi's seen results. "I still eat what I want, but I eat less," she says. She snacks on cheese, drinks wine and eats chocolate. But where her breakfast before might have been four eggs and four pieces of toast, now it's half that. And her lunch, formerly two sandwiches, is now salad with sandwich ingredients as toppings. Heidi is determined to stick to her new healthy habits for life. "This is forever. I can't go back."

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