Path to losing 100 pounds leads to running TCS NYC Marathon

NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Tanisha Crichlow isn't shy about sharing her weight loss story.

"I've lost nearly 100 pounds. Yes, I was a big girl. But now I'm cute." And skinny, she said. "I did it the old fashioned way. I put in the work."

Faced with growing health concerns, Tanisha realized she needed to change her lifestyle.

"In 2015, I looked in the mirror and I saw that I was at my heaviest, which was about 265 pounds. I never had an issue with self esteem but, I realized I just wasn't at my healthiest," she explained.

That's when Tanisha decided to get serious about exercising and changing her diet.

"I said I can control this. I got myself here, I can get myself out," Tanisha told Eyewitness News before a run in Central Park on a crisp fall morning.

She says when she began running on a regular basis, it wasn't long before she saw results.

"I started to see the changes within the first two or three weeks. I started feeling stronger," Crichlow said.

Although appearance wasn't her first priority, Tanisha admits, she enjoys flaunting her new figure.

"I like to post transformation pictures from before and after. I can wear clothes I've never been after to wear before. It was good," she said.

Now Tanisha is training for her second TCS New York City Marathon.

She hopes to be an inspiration for others who are struggling with their weight and unsure of where to start.

"I live in an area of Flatbush where you really don't see women of color running in the street," she said. "Being able to say to them 'you can do it!'. Because if I can do it,and I was 265 pounds, you definitely can do it!"

Watch the TCS NYC Marathon this Sunday morning on Channel 7 and abc7ny.com.