I GOT HEALTHY AND NOW I CAN FLY!

THESE 5 WOMEN SHIFTED AWAY FROM SETTING THEIR GOALS IN POUNDS AND INS FOCUSED ON HEALTHY CHANGES THAT SPARKED FEEL-GOOD WINS BIG AND SMALL

'I didn't want to be a bystander in life'

MARIA CASTRO Age: 45 Lives in: The Bronx Job: Public school teacher

When Maria Castro's son asked to go indoor skydiving for his 16th birthday in 2019, his mom made it happen. But when the family arrived for the party, she was embarrassed to discover that at 328 lbs., she was too big to participate. The skydiving gear didn't even come in her size. "I watched my whole family have this experience I couldn't partake in. I remember sitting outside that glass tube and just being devastated-the shame," she recalls of that day. "When you're morbidly obese, you're painfully aware when you walk into any environment, you're the largest person in the room."

Weight had been a struggle for Castro since she was diagnosed with leukemia in 2007. "As soon as I started taking the oral chemotherapy, I started packing on weight," she says. And with two young sons at the time and a full-time job, she admits she'd "forget to prioritize myself."

The day after her son's party, she turned to Weight Watchers for help, and a coach told her, "This isn't a race. It's a marathon." The words resonated She began to learn better nutritional habits, and after losing her first 100 lbs., she was able to exercise regularly for the first time in her life. "I feel great," she says. "I never want to stop." Earlier this month an emotional Castro returned to the scene that so affected her three years ago. But this time, at 158 lbs., she was the one floating on air as she tried indoor skydiving for herself. "This is the most appropriate way to celebrate everything I've been through," she says of her flight. "It's extremely emotional and cathartic for me. It's my journey coming full circle."

non-scale victories