CHRISTINA CORES, THEN: 240 LBS.

"Girls ganged up on me and said, 'She's so fat,'" the Medinah, Ill., resident – who gained most of her weight in eighth grade after her father's sudden death – says of her high school years. "I was like, 'I can't live like this.'" So Cores began taking steps to shed the pounds, bringing "turkey sandwiches for lunch" and working out at Curves.

Courtesy Christina Cores