On her bad days, back when she tipped the ol’ Toledo at 208 pounds, Bonnie Hersch- miller used to sit on the couch, eat chocolate and cry. “I was disgusted with myself,” says the Ed- monton mom, who stands just under five- foot-four. “I like to feel pretty. I’m a girly girl. When you’re fat, you don’t feel girlish at all.” The New Brunswick native says she was already about 30 pounds overweight when she got pregnant in mid-2003. She then packed on another 60 pounds while “eating for two,” a strategy that landed her in Royal Alexandra Hospital during her third tri- mester with severe high blood pressure. “That’s what I’ve always heard – eating for two. I just ate and ate,” she recalls, adding a doctor put her on medication and bed rest for her high blood pressure. After giving birth to son Brett in February 2004, Herschmiller set her mind to taking off her excess cellulite and lowering her blood pressure. But she quickly discovered it was easier said than done. “It wasn’t coming off at all,” she says. “I was exercising and everything, but it just wasn’t coming off.” Herschmiller’s struggle continued for about a year until she saw a TV commercial for LA Weight Loss Centers. Desperate to re- claim her girlish figure, she signed up at a lo- cation on Edmonton’s south side. “I was just sick of myself,” she explains. “I wasn’t used to being that heavy. I just got there so quick. I really needed to lose the weight because I had high blood pressure.” Through a meal plan designed specifi- cally for her, Herschmiller began eating six small nutritious meals a day. She also bought a Pilates DVD and began doing the exercises for between 30 and 60 minutes a day. Suddenly, Herschmiller became the in- credible shrinking woman, losing eight pounds in Week 1 and around 3.5 pounds each subsequent week. After six months, she was 94 pounds lighter, at a trim 114. Herschmiller has maintained that weight by continuing to eat wholesome foods while drinking eight eight-ounce glasses of water daily. “It’s not just a diet, it’s a way of life,” says the bubbly and energetic 27-year-old. “It’s all about how much you eat, what you eat and when you eat.” Herschmiller, who allows herself occa- sional treats like a McFlurry from McDo- nald’s, also keeps up her Pilates workouts. Plus, she gets plenty of exercise chasing her now two-year-old son around. “I love life now. There’s a happiness in- side me,” she says, adding her blood pres- sure is back to normal. Indeed, Herschmiller has plenty to be happy about. And so does her husband, Clark. “He has never seen me this thin and sexy before,” she says. “It has made our sex life fun and adventurous. It’s never been better.” Shortly after Herschmiller hit her goal weight last September, word spread about her success story – all the way to the U.S.- based head honchos of LA Weight Loss Cen- ters, who made her a company poster girl. Herschmiller now appears in print and TV ads across the world for the interna- tional chain. She doesn’t get paid for it, but she hopes to become an LA Weight Loss counsellor when Brett starts school. “I want to help others. If it works for me, it can work for anybody,” says Herschmiller, who’s slated to be featured this fall in Look- ing Good Now magazine and the National Enquirer. – Do you have an inspirational story for Keeping Fit? E-mail Cary Castagna at [email protected] EDITOR: Sally Johnston PHONE: 468-0115 FAX: 468-0139 E-MAIL: [email protected] THE EDMONTON SUN • Thursday, July 20, 2006 lifestyle 63 CARY CASTAGNA LEFT: Edmonton’s Bonnie Herschmiller tipped the scales at 208 pounds fol- lowing the birth of her son, Brett, in 2004. RIGHT: To- day, Bonnie is a svelte 114 pounds and a poster girl for LA Weight Loss Centers. She hopes to become a weight-loss counsellor af- ter Brett starts school. Weight loss as a way of life – BRENDON DLOUHY, Sun – Supplied photo