The choice was simple for Maranda Ziglar – live or eat a candy bar.

Or at least that was the ultimatum she was given last June by her doctor.

Ziglar was diagnosed with intracranial pressure (ICP), which is the condition of the pressure inside the skull and thus in the brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid. Very high intracranial pressure is usually fatal, if prolonged.

“My doctor put me on medicine and told me I had to lose weight,” she said. “I have lost 55 pounds since last June.”

In January, Ziglar’s sister-in-law asked her to be on a Scale Back Alabama team.

“I’ve lost 15 pounds since then,” she said. “All together, I’ve lost from 247 pounds to 197 pounds.”

Ziglar said doing the Scale Back Alabama program with her family – “The Flab U Less 4,” which also includes her dad and stepmom – gave her even more incentive to lose more weight.

That incentive led to her being chosen as one of the individual winners of the statewide weight loss contest in which more than 33,000 people competed on four-person teams. At the end of the 10-week period, the groups had lost a combined total of 143,309 pounds.

To be eligible to be chosen as an individual winner, one must have lost at least 10 pounds.

So, just how has Ziglar lost the weight?

“Portions,” she said. “Before, I started my diet, I just gorged on whatever I wanted to.”

Now, Ziglar said if she orders a hamburger she asks for it without a bun and she only eats half.

“I also don’t drink sodas,” she said. “I drink lots of water.”

Ziglar has two children, who also help keep her in line, she said.

“They know I can’t have sweets,” she said. “And they tell me I can’t.”

Before losing 55 pounds, Ziglar said she was tired when she played with her children.

“Now I have more energy,” she said. “I can play with them more.”

Additionally, Ziglar has incorporated exercise into her routine.

“I walk every day on my lunch break,” she said. “It’s 30 minutes of me time.”

Ziglar plans to use Zumba as another method to help her lose down to 160 pounds, which is her target weight.

“My doctor said if I can get down to 160, then he might be able to take me off my medicines,” she said. “I’m very excited.”