How did mom and daughter both lose over 100 pounds?

HOUSTON Barb Henley lost 110 pounds and she did it the old fashioned way. She went on a diet, she dropped the carbs and she eats five small meals a day.

"I did the diet in the beginning for the first nine months and then I realized my body didn't look right," said Barb, who lost 110 pounds in about 15 months.

That's when she began to exercise with a certified trainer.

You know Barb's story, but her mother has a story too. Her mother lost 150 pounds.

"We really controlled everything by portion size. We watched what carbs we took in. We were very careful about fats," said Carolyn Henley, Barb's mother.

Starting at age 62, Carolyn went from 300 pounds, diabetes and high blood pressure to 150 pounds, normal blood sugar and normal blood pressure just by diet and exercise. She works out an hour a day at The Firm in Tomball, where Barb is a now a certified personal trainer.

"She knows what it's like. She's been there. Her attitude because she's been there is amazing," said Trish Josephs, Barb's training client.

Barb says the exercise that helped her most was weight training.

"You want to build muscle and you do the strength and resistance training. Especially with the women that gives you that sculpted look," said Barb.

Dr. Valentina Ugolini, a cardiologist, agreed.

"They look pretty tight and they haven't had anything done. They look pretty good," she said.

Dr. Ugolini says dieters are less likely than gastric bypass patients to need skin removal surgery.

"Much less because your skin slowly reshapes as you slowly change," said Dr. Ugolini.

"They always say to set goals when you're losing weight. One of my goals was to see my collarbone which I can do. The other was to cross my legs. And I can do that, too," said Carolyn.

Some tips from The Firm are to exercise one hour, not 30 minutes, for three to five times a week. Plan your meals. Remember it's not only a diet, you're changing your life, and maybe your lifespan.