Two and a half years ago Marielle Doughty weighed nearly 250lbs. Today the mother-of-two has dropped 113lbs and discovered a new lease on life after learning how fun healthy eating and exercise can be.

Mrs Doughty now leads regular Healthy Lifestyles Meetings out of her home with the goal of encouraging and inspiring others to reach their health and weight loss goals.

She spoke with The Royal Gazette’s Lifestyle section and offered us her tips and advice for what worked best for losing the weight and keeping it off. However, she asserted there was no ‘one size fits all’ formula when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle — people have to find a routine that works for them.

“I can’t stress enough that I did things I love and enjoyed,” Mrs Doughty said. “I didn’t eat food that didn’t taste good to me because I love food and am not going to suffer for the rest of my life.

“I love salmon and steak, so I eat those things. I have tried lots of different recipes, but only keep the ones that I really like.

“There are some people suffering through a ‘diet’ thinking they can’t have this or that but I never use that word. It was a lifestyle change for me and my family so it had to be realistic and healthy.”

She said she will still have desserts and other food items she enjoys, but in moderation whenever the craving hits.

Mrs Doughty said her weight loss journey started in May 2011, when she was helping with ushering at her daughters’ dance recital at City Hall. The role involved her standing up for hours at a time — for 15 shows over a two-week period — and her feet would hurt once the show closed each year.

“Then in 2011 I remember saying to someone ‘It feels like we were just here, even though it was a year ago’.

“It clicked for me that if I could lose a little weight, like 10lbs or 20lbs, before the next show my feet would hurt a little less. A year later at the next recital I had lost 92lbs.”

She started by changing the way she ate, then was able to incorporate walking into her regime after losing 70lbs.

“I walked an hour every day, five or six times a week and would just set my timer for 30 minutes and turn around once that went off and walk back home,” she said.

“I didn’t walk fast or get very far, but it was to get myself in the habit of going out every day for an hour.”

She started exercising even more when she discovered Zumba, which combines Latin and International dance moves into a fun workout class.

Mrs Doughty said: “After losing about 85lbs, I was ready to try something different. I started Zumba classes and kept going because I enjoy dance and you don’t realise you are exercising because it’s so much fun.

“I also started Barre classes for toning and just fell in love with feeling strong.”

Since dropping the weight she has been able to move outside her comfort zone and try a host of new activities.

In addition to taking part in the Bermuda End to End, Mrs Doughty has tackled paddle boarding, tubing and CrossFit sessions on the beach.

“It’s very much a mental game. I still sometimes find myself feeling like I’m unable to do those things because of my weight, but I have to overcome that and remind myself that I can,” she said.

Read on to get some of Mrs Doughty’s advice for how you can get healthier and transform your life:

Make exercise time a priority. Mrs Doughty is often busy taking her daughters to different classes and extra-curricular activities throughout the day, but she does her best to plan activities or appointments around her Zumba and Barre classes, so she can get her exercise in for the day. She said it also helped that her children were a bit older and could look after themselves when she went out for a walk or to a class.

Simplify your meals. Although she still eats dishes she enjoys, Mrs Doughty said she tries to keep things simple and load up on meats, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Diets that cut out whole food groups like carbs don’t work for her and her family, so she just tries to control her portion sizes. She also stays away from too many sauces and gravies and limits the salt and sugar content.

Stop eating before you get full. Mrs Doughty said she eats until she is almost full rather than stuffing herself, because once her body has time to digest the meal properly she finds that she has had enough. If you stop when you are full that means you have overeaten a bit, she said. She also had a cousin who lost weight by eating a salad, about the same size as her meal, before lunch and dinner.

Drink water. She tries to fill a 20oz container with water and ice and refill it eight to ten times a day. On the days she didn’t drink water she found the number on the scale didn’t go down, no matter how well she ate that day.

Have fun. Mrs Doughty said losing weight wasn’t a painful process because she found things she liked doing. She also tried new activities, made friends and enjoyed the journey, she said.

Set goals. One thing that worked for Mrs Doughty is always having a new target to work towards. Along with a friend, she decided to complete the End to End last year, and in order to prepare they had to go for regular walks to improve their fitness levels.

Don’t let minor setbacks deter you. You might have a bad day, week or month when you don’t make any progress, but Mrs Doughty said it’s all part of the journey. She tells people who attend her Healthy Lifestyle Meetings to wake up the next morning and try again. “Every little healthy change makes a difference. I didn’t gain all that weight overnight by having one bad meal and I’m not going to lose it overnight.”

Indulge once and a while. Although you can’t eat certain things all the time, it’s also good to enjoy your favourite foods, whether that’s enjoying a three course meal on a Valentine’s date with your spouse or having a small slice of cake when a craving hits you.