Living a Healthier Lifestyle

For most of her life, Jennifer says she was addicted to food. Growing up, other kids called her names like "Fatso" and "Miss Piggy," which made her so sad and lonely that she learned to rely on food for emotional relief.

"But the comfort that food gave me never lasted," she says. "And the more I ate, the more depressed and despondent I became." As she got older, Jennifer says she was always on or off some kind of diet, and her weight eventually reached 300 pounds.

Then, four years ago, she hit rock bottom. Jennifer, her husband and daughter went to an amusement park to ride the newest roller coaster. After waiting in line for an hour and a half, they finally made the front of the line. But when Jennifer sat down, the park employees had to ask her to get off the ride—she was too big for them to latch the safety belt.

"They went on and rode," Jennifer says. "I told them [to go], because I just needed a moment for myself just to cry. And I said, 'No, my daughter can't live this way. I can't let her go through life being made fun of.' And she would have. And it wasn't her problem. This wasn't her disease."