Woman drops 113 pounds to join Army

DALLAS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- A super-committed Texas woman spent a year dropping 113 pounds so she could enlist in the Army.

Ashley Barrett-Carter of Lewisville lost the weight the old-fashioned way, the Dallas Morning News reported. She changed her diet, began exercising regularly and avoided fast food.

She also returned regularly to the Army recruiting station where Sgt. Ryan Memolo had told her she was too overweight to join up to report to him on her weight loss. Memolo told the newspaper that his initial reaction when Barrett-Carter came in the first time was, "I'll never see her again."

Barrett-Carter said she knew when she tried to enlist that she was probably overweight by Army standards, but was shocked to find out how much she needed to lose. She weighed in at 263 pounds and Memolo gave her a target of 160.

"I didn't stop eating normal food -- I just started rationing," she told the newspaper. "I still eat rice; I still eat ice cream. It's just about how much you eat. ... You have to control the urge to eat the entire half-gallon."

Barrett-Carter is about to leave for basic training. Her husband, Jerrod Carter, will remain in Dallas to finish school.