Lost weight, beat addiction with help of family

Couch Potato to 10-K Runner

Bridget Lichtinger, 36
Her Inspiration: Friend Tracy Baxter Haynes, 43

The Challenge
Bridget Lichtinger went to the gym — she just didn't do much when she was there. “I wouldn't even break a sweat,” she says. “My clothes kept getting tighter, my energy level was getting lower, and my attitude wasn't the greatest, either. I remember not caring about work. It bothered me that I was just existing in my life,” says the Syracuse, NY-based office coordinator.

“Then one day my friend Tracy mentioned she was training for a 5-K race. I told her it was great because, let's face it, running isn't easy. Plus, Tracy had never run a day in her life, so going for even a minute was torture. She told me that her breathing sounded like a freight train when she started.”

The Moment that Changed Everything
“When Tracy finished that 5-K. I thought, ‘I can do that,’” Lichtinger says. So she asked her friend to train her. “I loved helping Bridget get healthy and I loved the company,” Baxter Haynes says. Soon the pair was running 10 to 15 miles a week and swimming regularly.

Her Results
After 6 months of training, Lichtinger completed a 10-K charity run and lost nearly 20 pounds. “I dropped two dress sizes!” she says. And she's brimming with energy, just like her coach: “Tracy became extremely ill 2 days before the 10-K race, but she didn't let it stop her from coming out and cheering me on. As I got close to the finish line, I looked over to see her sitting on the sidelines, huddled in a blanket, sick as a dog, yelling for me. Now that is my idea of a hero — someone who will be there for you no matter what.” Baxter Haynes says it's worth it: “It's very emotional to see people finish who never thought they could do anything like that. I bawled like a baby.”

— Tanya Beers

Quitting Smoking

Cheri Crist, 34
Her Inspiration: Daughter, Paige, 13 months

The Challenge
After a decade of smoking half a pack of cigarettes every day, Cheri Crist, a field marketer for an advertising agency in San Bernardino, CA, needed to kick the habit. “I felt dirty and unhealthy. I couldn't catch my breath walking down the street,” she says. “A deep breath made me feel nauseated.”

The Moment that Changed Everything
“The day my husband and I found out, to our surprise, that we were expecting our first child, I quit cold turkey,” she says. “That was the push I really needed. I had to protect the baby.” It also prompted her to get in better shape: “I'd have a child to keep up with, after all.” She started walking at the local park, something she still does. “Two days after Paige was born, I was out there doing laps. Going outside and walking isn't just about me. I put the baby on my back and do a 2.5-mile walk 3 or 4 days a week.”

Her Results
“I can actually walk without huffing and puffing,” she says. “Now I tote all 20 pounds of my daughter around, and that doesn't slow me down.” As far as cravings go, “I still get the urge, usually when I'm stuck in traffic,” she says. “But then I laugh and think about my little girl. I've come too far to go back now.” These days, the only pack Crist really craves is six-pack abs: “I'm back to my pre-baby weight and still working on losing 20 more pounds,” she says. “But the real reward is being a good example for my daughter.”

— Rebekah George

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