DECATUR - Together, the Lose to Win role models shed a total of 68 pounds throughout the Herald & Review's 12-week healthy eating and lifestyle change program. That's the equivalent of a golden retriever.

The four role models persevered through their own personal struggles to make exercise and healthy eating become part of their lives. They learned that thin doesn't always mean healthy and that making a lifelong healthy change is not about the numbers on the scale.

"I'm not going to snack as much as I used to, and I think I've pretty well gotten into the groove for that," said role model John Davis, 66.

Davis went from 284 to about 274 pounds. He also dropped 7 inches from his waist since the beginning of the program.

Davis, a retired attorney, said weight has been a lifelong struggle for him. He used to be a heavy smoker with a three- to four-pack a day habit.

"But the difference between that or a drug addiction or something else is that one has to eat," Davis said, adding that compulsive eaters must learn to cut down their intake without eliminating the object of their temptation.

He said that learning discipline was important.

"I'm not as obsessed with every morning getting up saying, 'Today's the day I'm going to start,' and then going to bed at night saying, 'Well, there's another day of failure,' " Davis said. "Because that was me every day, and it's a healthier outlook now."

Davis, who has had both hips and knees replaced, has made exercise a regular part of his life. He swims in his pool daily during the summer and works out in his home gym. He is still conscious about portion control, but he's realized that he can still eat his favorite foods in moderation.

"The thing that I hope I've learned is to stay away from the snacks, evening in particular. And that's just habit. It's not hunger, it's habit; you think you're hungry but you're not."

Marcia Williams, 64, said she's become more conscious of what she's eating. And despite the fact that she's endured struggles with slow weight loss and her mother's

illness, she will continue. The majority of the battle for Williams has been realizing that she deserves to have a healthy body.

"That's one thing I learned, too," Williams said. "You just can't compare yourself to another body. Your body is yours, and how you lose weight and how you do it, that's your personal decision."

Williams went from 213 pounds to 205, and she dropped 4 inches from her waist.

"I think we just live in a society that has a lot of food in your face, you know," she said. "Everywhere you go, it's there."

Williams, who is diabetic, has learned to incorporate a healthy eating schedule and regular exercise into her daily routine. Both are crucial to her long-term health.

"What's really neat that I've learned is I actually can do those things," Williams said. "I can cut back, and that just makes me feel really good, because I'm not the type of person to cut back."

Linda Constant, 29, made changes that would impact not only her personal health but the life and outlook of her daughter, Paige, 3. Constant went from around 261 pounds to 237 pounds at the final weigh-in, and she had a 4-inch loss from her waist.

"I exercise," Constant said, "and I love it. It makes me feel really good."

Partway through the program, Constant joined a gym and began attending fitness classes there with a friend. She also learned the importance of portion control and tries to eat smaller quantities at each meal and snacks.

Constant said that being part of Lose to Win helped her understand that there are good and bad days for everything, and she can achieve her goals if she stays on track.

Leanne Canaday, 51, fresh back from a weeklong vacation at Turkey Run State Park in Indiana, joined the group for the final weigh-in.

"I kind of took all the things I had been learning and doing and put them in practice while I was on vacation," she said.

Canaday exercised portion control. She swam laps, ate treats in moderation and went for walks regularly.

"Nothing was off-limits for me, but everything was in balance," Canaday said.

Over the 12 weeks, Canaday went from 184 to 158 pounds, and she lost more than 4 inches from her waist.

Canaday said her biggest challenge was learning to trust her own goals, strengths and motivations. When she started the program, she expected a specific meal plan and exercise regimen and said the seeming lack of structure discouraged her at first.

"Through this process, I've learned that no one else can do it for me," Canaday said. "It's got to be something that I do myself … No one puts the food in my mouth or kicks me out the door in the morning to exercise. These have to be choices that I make."

The role models also learned to think more positively about themselves.

"We're not bad people," Davis said. "We thought we were when we were just eating and eating and eating, and you've got to stay positive and have an upbeat attitude."

Thinking back to herself as she started, Constant offered a piece of advice to anyone undertaking his or her own healthy living goals.

"Never give up," she said as she cradled her dozing daughter in her arms.

Annie Getsinger can be reached at agetsinger@herald-review.com or 421-6968.