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AMPED UP: Restaurant owner helps others get healthy

"I realize I want to live, and that made me start thinking about my health and my size, and that's where I realized I needed to eat right."

Earlene Appling, affectionately known as 'Dab' to her family and friends, has dabbled in the restaurant business for 25 years. She's struggled to find balance with nutrition and fitness even while having a degree in food and nutrition from Fort Valley State University.

“I realize I want to live, and that made me start thinking about my health and my size, and that’s where I realized I needed to eat right”, says Appling.

Despite the fact that she's around fried foods all day, Dab decided to start her health journey with better nutrition and intense workouts in her golden years at 60. With help from her personal trainer, Larry Lynn, she's lost more than 40 pounds. Her daughter Tiffany Wallace couldn't be more proud.

Wallace explains, “Going from having arthritis to saying, 'I'm going to do jump squats or push-ups,' or watching her actually push the weights up and down the parking lot and even running -- my mother used to be a runner back in college and high school, and she's getting back to that.”

“I didn't realize the need and the demand for people wanting meal prep,” says Appling. “There are so many people out there busy working but want to eat healthy and don't have time to go to the gym if they eat wrong or don't have time to cook. That is what this is replacing.”

Even though Dab has seen progress, she's striving for more and placing an emphasis on the fork over the gym and she's putting her money where her mouth is.

If you want to check out Dab’s meal plans, go to her website.

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