Kathy Stueber of Holtsville, who weighed 355 pounds in April...

Kathy Stueber of Holtsville, who weighed 355 pounds in April 2012, left, has since lost 200 pounds and kept it off. Credit: Scott Stueber; Thomas A. Ferrara

Kathy Stueber

53, Holtsville

Occupation IRS tax examiner

Height 5-foot-5

Before 355 April 2012

After 155 January 2016

Her story

When Kathy Stueber was 16, she went on a diet and lost 80 pounds. Then, she regained the weight. That became the beginning of a lifelong pattern of weight loss followed by weight gain. At one point in 2010, her then-husband hurt his back and was out of work. Stueber fell into an unhealthy routine of working nights and coming home and eating and going straight to bed. “I was miserable and I was just eating,” she said.

Around this time, her dad, 73, died from heart disease. He had triple bypass surgery at 49, Stueber’s age around that time. “I woke up one morning and realized I couldn’t do this weight anymore . . . My father’s passing was the trigger,” she said.

In November 2012, Stueber says, she gave up starch and sugar and started walking in her office building. Three months later and 25 pounds lighter, she went to a cardiologist and had a physical that indicated no detectable health problems. “My goal was to be healthy enough to go to a gym.”

Between dieting and exercise, the pounds came off easily. “I was very dedicated and at the gym six days a week,” she says. In July 2014 she switched to a personal trainer. In total, it took about two years to lose 200 pounds. She has had two excess skin-removal surgeries and has the last one planned for the spring. “I had been a size 5X and they were tight. Now I’m a size 6, and shopping for clothes is a pleasure,” Stueber says happily.

HER DIET

Stueber has a protein shake every morning after her workout. For lunch she eats an omelet with kale or some other vegetable. Dinner is usually fish, turkey or chicken with a vegetable and sometimes a salad. She makes sure she drinks at least a half-gallon of water daily.

HER EXERCISE

Stueber goes to a personal trainer five mornings a week where she works on a treadmill and squat machine, uses weights and does floor exercises.

HER ADVICE

“You have to be mentally ready to dedicate yourself to losing weight. It takes time but the payoff is worth it.”

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break. Credit: Newsday/Howard Schnapp, Kendall Rodriguez; Gary Licker

Things to do now on LI Rock climbing? Indoor beach volleyball? Water parks? Arts and crafts? NewsdayTV's Elisa DiStefano and Newsday deputy lifestyle editor Meghan Giannotta have your look at ways to spend your winter break.

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