Tanya Lane has lost 80 pounds since using the Taebo system of weight loss

Tanya Lane remembers sitting in her car, crying to her mother about her substantial weight gain after two troubled pregnancies. In between sobs, she wondered how she was going to lose the weight and regain her self confidence.

At the age of 26, she had a wonderful husband, beautiful children and a supportive family. But she had no energy and felt depressed most of the time. She realized she was lost.

"I wasn't me. I was a frumpy size 18 with no energy and had a pathetic case of severe depression," she said.

Naturally thin and a self-proclaimed "tomboy" growing up, Lane never grappled with weight gains. Plagued by nine months of nausea during both pregnancies, she said she ate constantly.

"If I felt hungry and nauseated; I had to have something to eat to settle my stomach," she said. After the children arrived, she didn't change her new eating habits. As a result, she became an emotional eater, fearing hunger would make her feel sick to her stomach.

She knew she needed to lose weight, but she didn't have the funds for an expensive, monthly membership at a gym. Her mother told her she didn't need to join a gym to lose weight, she could exercise from her living room using Taebo, a new exercise program.

Time for Taebo

Billy Blanks is the creator of the Taebo weight loss and strength building program that emphasizes exercise and eating correctly to facilitate weight loss and muscle toning.

Four years ago, Lane watched a Taebo infomercial and was moved by a 76-year-old woman who loved the workouts. Lane ordered a set of videotapes, and she had no clue taking that first step would drastically change her life. When the tapes arrived, she decided to give Taebo a chance and started with the basic videotape workout.

The first lesson challenges the viewer to complete the Taebo exercises for 21 days, reasoning it takes 18 to 21 days to create or break a habit.

The first time Lane popped in the videotape, she completed the 40-minute workout that consisted of mild cardiovascular exercises.

"The next day, the arches of my feet were so sore, but I kept going," she said. She didn't tell her husband, James, she was doing the exercises, and she kept her new exercise program secret for three weeks.

She created an exercise habit, rising at 5 a.m. to work-out before the children were up. After 21 days, she found she looked forward to her exercise time, and she began to crave the workouts.

From the beginning of working the Taebo program, she noticed she had more energy. Three weeks after starting, Lane said she realized she'd lost weight.

"I fought the scale, and avoided it for a month, because I wanted to see instant results," she said.

She completed the basic program and thought she could move up to the more strenuous, advanced level. However, the advanced exercises, consisting of kicks, punches and constant movement, was too strenuous. So she went back to the basic program for five months, building up her strength. The next time she put in the video, she completed the session with "flying colors," she said.

While she was exercising, she kept a pair of long pants she wore at her heaviest hanging prominently in her closet to remind her of where she'd started.

She ordered more videotapes and enjoyed each new one due to the variety and upbeat presentation of the exercises.

"They were so different and not repetitive," she said.

She hit road blocks, such as reaching a plateau and not seeing any weight loss on the scale, the daily demands of raising two small children and running a home.

Despite her frustration, Lane made sure she set aside time for herself. She continued to exercise first thing in the morning, designating the early morning hour as "her time" to start the day off on the right note.

"It really does give you a completely different outlook on the day and reduces your stress level," she said. "You start the day off with a clear mind."

Time for Television

One day, Lane was checking her e-mail and received a message Taebo founder Billy Blanks was asking for anybody who'd changed their weight and their life through Taebo to send in their story. Respondents would be considered for Taebo's next infomercial.

Lane spent considerable time writing her success story, stating how Taebo changed her life and the struggle she had with keeping up the exercise program and never losing sight of her goal. Her heart-felt, genuine letter reflects her journey back to being fit and trim as well as a personal voyage of regaining her self esteem and finding joy in herself.

In August, Lane received a telephone call from Taebo, asking her details about her weight loss journey. They invited her to fly to Los Angeles, Calif. to talk about her weight loss and perhaps appear in an infomercial for Taebo.

"I packed my bags and went out to Los Angeles, and it was the adventure of a lifetime," she said, breaking out into a huge smile.

Lane had never left her children, but she decided to take a chance because Taebo had literally changed her life. Others who'd experienced success with the program came for the taping, including one woman who had undergone three brain surgeries, but found strength and balance through Taebo.

Another woman lost her mother to cancer, and a race car driver had to lose weight for his job. Others worked the Taebo program strictly to lose weight. But they'd all experienced a tremendous change in their lives, no matter the reason for their start.

Lights, Camera, Action

The crew for the Taebo commercial put the people giving testimonials up in a "nice swanky hotel," said Lane.

"I thought, 'This is a dream,'" she said. When she arrived on the set, the crew helped prepare the three men and nine women for the taping. All were prepared to share their touching stories about struggling with weight loss and regaining a belief in themselves.

"We each took turns telling our story, and there were so many tears shed. There was just love in the room completely," she said.

When it was time for her test, she sat face to face with Blanks as they taped her telling him what Taebo meant to her life.

"I cried, but I had to thank him personally for how he motivates us," she said. "He started crying himself. He has a heart of gold, and it shows."

"It was so hard to muster up all those past feelings again, especially on camera. I didn't think it would be that hard," she added.

After the tapings were finished, the participants also participated in a 30-minute exercise class with Blanks leading the lesson, and that session will be part of the new videotape.

"The set was so hot because of the studio lights," said Lane. "Every time we turned around, someone was slapping us in the face with a puff of face powder to dull the shine or fixing our hair from strays here or there."

All of the Taebo believers had read Blanks' book, "The Taebo Way." The book explained Blanks' tough path to success. He came from a family of 15 and suffered from dyslexia as a child, and he was placed in special education classes. To add to his obstacles, his tendons weren't formed correctly and his gait was stiff.

Over the years, he exercised his tendons, stretching them until he could walk without limping. Both physically and mentally, Blanks worked his way back, overcoming the obstacles plced in his way.

Since they all loved red licorice as a low-fat snack food, having gotten the tip from Blanks' book, they went to the gift shop, purchased a big package of Twizzler candies, and wrote their names on the bag. They surprised Blanks with the gift, and he was touched they remembered his snack advice from the book.

On the last day, the Taebo crew provided a big, buffet lunch for everybody, and it was hard saying their good-byes to each other. Surprisingly, Blanks came up and asked to sit at Lane's lunch table.

"It was so surreal," she said, the awe still evident in her voice. She told him she knew it was him, but she was so accustomed to seeing him on television, she couldn't believe she was seeing him in real life. Despite the crew beckoning him back to the stage, he stayed with the lunch group and talked with them, as friends casually sitting around the lunch-room table.

Growth and Rebuilding

Since losing 80 pounds, dropping at least 10 dress sizes and becoming healthier and stronger, Lane said her self esteem has shot up, and she can think with a clearer mind.

"I did not notice immediate results on the outside, but I felt terrific inside, and I knew that the outward signs would follow," she said. "As I continued to do Taebo, I noticed my self-esteem started to return, and I felt great, inside and out."

Lane wanted to help others become physically fit, so she studied and became a kick boxing instructor. She is now nationally certified, and leads fun, lively kick boxing classes at the T.W. Davis Y.M.C.A. in Richmond.

She readily shares her story of struggling with weight loss with students in her class, showing them photos of herself at her heaviest and then flexing her taut arm muscles and a smile to show them their goals can be achieved.

"My friends and family have given me a nickname of 'Taebo Tanya,'" she said. "I looked upon my road as a journey, and with a journey, there are a lot of ups and downs."

She also educated herself about weight loss and the reasons for overeating. One book, "Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell," taught her how to eat when she was hungry instead of from stress or habit.

"I learned when to eat and to eat only when I'm hungry," she said. She now eats five small meals a day to keep satisfied.

Her husband, James, is extremely encouraging and helpful. Their children understand when mommy is exercising, it's "her time," and she'll be ready and willing to play with them in a little bit.

"I tell them, 'I have my date with Billy,'" she said. She said she's never been so defined in her arms, legs and abdomen, and she has enough energy to complete her workouts, take care of a busy family and teach kick boxing classes without breaking a sweat.

With society's emphasis on being thin, almost to the point of being obsessive, said Lane, she wants to emphasize to her children she's losing weight and exercising to stay healthy.

"I tell Madalyn and Everett that I'm exercising my heart so mommy will live a long time," she said. "I hope I've been a good role model, and now the kids do the punches with me and we all have a fun time."

She owns 46 Taebo tapes and loves watching different videos to vary her workout routine and keep the exercises fresh and engaging.

Her goal is to become Taebo certified and teach classes in Fort Bend County within the next year.

"If I can change one life the way Billy Blanks has changed mine, then that will be a success for me," she said. "I know what it's like to be trapped in a body and then to break out of it."

The benefits of exercising are having a healthy heart rate and feeling better all the time. But the biggest benefit is Tanya Lane believes in herself again.

'I was just determined, and I didn't give up," she said.