Suheily Rodriguez27, 5’7″North Wales, Penn.Before: 236 lb., size 18After: 140 lb., size 2Total pounds lost: 96 lb.Sizes lost: 8 Growing up Puerto Rican, I ate meals that were mainly rice-based and filled with fried plantains and pernil (roast pork). My saving grace: I was active—a cheerleader and a gymnast. But once I graduated from high school, the number on the scale shot up. Two pregnancies later, I weighed 236 pounds. The worst part: I couldn’t walk for long without my ankles and knees throbbing. Still, it wasn’t until I saw the few photos I was unable to dodge from a trip to Puerto Rico in December 2011 that I was forced to confront my size; it was staring me right in the face. Though I had tried and failed to lose weight before, I decided to give a healthy lifestyle a go one last time. No more drive-throughs Starting in March 2012, I cut back on carbs, eliminating my daily helpings of rice, bread and pasta. Then I added more fruit and vegetables to my diet. I also traded in fast-food stops for home-cooked meals, feasting on spring-mix salads topped with chicken breast, salmon or tilapia every day. Within three months, I knocked off 10 pounds. Next I got a handle on my portions, serving my meals on my son’s mini plates. Home-gym slim Thirty pounds lighter, I was ready to sweat. The problem: I was too embarrassed to go to a gym. So I built a home one, where I exercised an hour a day six days a week. I dropped another 25 pounds by September. Just as exciting, I was able to fit into size 6 jeans! This motivated me to kick up my training intensity. I started using ankle weights while on the treadmill and when doing leg exercises. That really helped me firm up. One year after committing to getting fit, I reached my goal. Even better, I no longer want to hide when a camera comes out. Secrets of a 96-pound loser A doable diet and exercise plan were the keys to Suheily’s makeover. Try her tactics, and find even more at health.com/weight-loss-stories. Flat-belly trick: Eat yogurt When I have more Greek yogurt (I like Yoplait’s tropical flavors), even for just a week, my tummy is instantly flatter. Fitspiration: Massiel arias I stumbled across her on Instagram (@mankofit). She posts great workouts and fitness challenges. Workout must: Electronic dance I listen to Tiesto’s podcasts; the fast pace makes me push harder. Go-to meal: Kimchi jjigae It’s a Korean stew made of kimchi, tofu, chili pepper, pork belly, red pepper paste, sesame oil and scallions, and it’s pretty low-cal, too.

This, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?Look, I don’t know what’s hidden within you. You yourself may barely know, although I suspect you’ve caught glimpses. I don’t know your capacities, your aspirations, your longings, your secret talents. But surely something wonderful is sheltered inside you. I say this with all confidence, because I happen to believe we are all walking repositories of buried treasure. I believe this is one of the oldest and most generous tricks the universe plays on us human beings, both for its own amusement and for ours: The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.RELATED: Find Your Ultimate Happiness The hunt to uncover those jewels—that’s creative living. The courage to go on that hunt in the first place—that’s what separates a mundane existence from a more enchanted one.The often surprising results of that hunt—that’s what I call Big Magic.When I talk about “creative living” here, please understand that I am not necessarily talking about pursuing a life that is professionally or exclusively devoted to the arts. When I refer to “creative living,” I am speaking more broadly. I’m talking about living a life that is driven more strongly by curiosity than by fear.One of the coolest examples of creative living that I’ve seen in recent years, for instance, came from my friend Susan, who took up figure skating when she was 40 years old. To be more precise, she actually already knew how to skate. She had competed in figure skating as a child, but she’d quit the sport during adolescence when it became clear she didn’t have quite enough talent to be a champion.RELATED: 12 Worst Habits For Your Mental Health For the next quarter of a century, Susan did not skate. Then she turned 40. She was restless. She felt drab and heavy. She asked herself when was the last time she’d felt truly light, joyous and—yes—creative in her own skin. To her shock, she realized that the last time she’d experienced such feelings had been as a teenager, back when she was still figure skating. She was appalled to discover that she had denied herself this life-affirming pursuit for so long, and she was curious to see if she still loved it.So she followed her curiosity. She bought a pair of skates, found a rink, hired a coach. She ignored the voice within her that told her she was being self-indulgent and preposterous to do this crazy thing. She tamped down her feelings of extreme self-consciousness at being the only middle-aged woman on the ice, with all those tiny, feathery nine-year-old girls.She just did it.Three mornings a week, Susan awoke before dawn and went skating. And she skated and skated and skated. And yes, she loved it, even more than ever, perhaps, because now, as an adult, she finally had the perspective to appreciate the value of her own joy…