East Texas woman loses 200 pounds in 4 years

LONGVIEW, Texas — As a new year begins, fitness resolutions are top of mind for many and that can be challenging for many. An East Texas woman is proving that with the right resources and maintaining a consistent routine, anything is possible. 

At almost 400 pounds, every day was a battle.

“I could cry right now thinking about it,” Lacey Meredith said. “I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and I just wanted to be active with my family.”

But after losing 200 pounds, Meredith isn’t just transforming her body. She is rewriting her life story and claiming her confidence back.

“I’m living the best life I could possibly live. My worst day after my weight loss is 10 times better than my best day when I was at home doing nothing eating junk food,” Meredith said.

But this journey didn’t come easy. Lacey was determined to turn things around; she stopped drinking and smoking, walked into Crunch Fitness in Longview and put her trust into her personal trainer Eric Dickerson for the past four years.

“She’s reached so many milestones from injuries to surgeries to different things and she always comes back so there’s no quitting there,” Dickerson said.

She said for the past four years, she’s held herself accountable through every tough day, every workout and healthy meal.

“I said just do better. Be a better person tomorrow than I was yesterday,” Meredith said. 

And it’s the little things that gave her a little extra push to up the weight.

“I set small goals, I would go to Boorman Trail and start walking and when I would see that I could go further every time and push myself even more,” Meredith said.

And then before she knew it, she was lifting heavy weights just like everybody else at the gym.

“The scale might not say what you want it to say, that’s not important. Watch your nutrition and looking at what you’re eating to feel better,” Meredith said.

Recently, Meredith had skin removal surgery to get rid of the extra skin from her weight loss. She never imagined she would be standing strong and confident, 200 pounds lighter in 2025. What seemed impossible is the start of her new reality

“You don’t have to be that number you weigh, it’s how good you feel what you see yourself doing at the gym and outside of the gym with your family,” Meredith said.

As the new year begins, her advice for those with fitness and nutrition goals is “there is no better moment than right now to become the best version” of yourself. 

CBS19 is available live and on-demand on your favorite TV streaming device, anytime from anywhere in the U.S.

The free CBS19+ app for Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and smart TV devices features a 24/7 stream with the latest from CBS19.

In addition to the live stream, watch the latest from CBS19 on-demand, along with additional programming from our partners at TEGNA (like Verify, “Murder at My Door” and “In the News”) and Locked On Sports, plus special collections from CBS19 like Under the Lights, Hooked on East Texas and CBS19 Originals.

Add the free CBS19 channel by searching for CBS19 East Texas News in the Roku Channel Store on your device, or add the CBS19+ Roku channel using this link.

Search for the free CBS19+ app in the Amazon App Store directly on your Fire TV or Fire TV Stick, or add the CBS19+ Fire TV app using this link.

Learn more about the free CBS19+ app in the Apple TV App Store and download directly from your Apple TV device.

The CBS19+ app is also now available directly on “smart” or “connected” televisions made by Samsung, LG and Philips, as well as televisions with Android TV. Search for CBS19 East Texas News in your television’s app store to add CBS19+.

The CBS19+ 24/7 stream can be viewed on any desktop or mobile web browser anytime on the Watch page here on cbs19.tv.