As the owner of an agency that provides makeup artists for stage actors and TV personalities, Juanita Dillard was constantly surrounded by thin, gorgeous women—and free buffets. The ever-present food proved to be too much of a temptation for Juanita, especially in such a high-pressure environment.

“I’d eat all day, then help the caterers clean up just so I could take home the leftovers,” says the 37-year-old Cheverly, Maryland, resident. Before she knew it, she weighed 274 pounds.

It took a souvenir photo from a vacation in the Cayman Islands to persuade Juanita to slim down. “The photo was taken in late 1989. When I saw how I looked, I became determined to lose weight in the new year,” she says. “I was tired of compliments that stopped at my face. There I was, surrounded by gorgeous women. I wanted g to be one, too.”

Juanita stopped cruising the big buffets and instead signed up for Weight Watchers, where she learned about portion control and the importance of filling up on vegetables. But the most valuable lesson she learned was how to journal. When she started writing about her stress instead of feeding it, the weight rolled off. In a year-and-a-half, she lost 137 pounds.

The biggest test of her weight-loss success came when her dog, Nikki, was killed by a car. Distraught, Juanita grabbed a block of American cheese, a box of Saltines, a jar of black-bean salsa, a super-size bag of Tostitos, and a bottle of blueberry wine—all the fixings for a binge. Before long, tears were rolling down her cheeks. The jar of salsa was empty; the bag of tortillas, half-eaten.

By chance, Juanita reached into her purse and felt her journal. She took it out and started writing about how much she missed Nikki. When she was through, she felt better, and her desire to eat was gone.

“Stress was what made me fat before, and I wasn’t going to let it happen again,” she says. “Now, journaling is my zero-calorie stress buster.”

WINNING A C T I O N

Put your feelings on paper. The next time you’re inclined to pick up a fork, grab a pen instead and start writing. Research shows that journaling when you’re tense can help avoid emotional eating.

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