In between jobs, Terri Hoolihan of Dyer decided she would stop by Jenny Craig in Highland.

"I went there in June," Hoolihan said. "I just thought I'd drop in."

Hoolihan, who has a friendly, outgoing personality, was offered a job as a Jenny Craig consultant, which she accepted.

"They sent me for training and then I started working," she says. "People would ask me questions about the food and the program and I decided that I needed to be doing it so I could tell them."

Hoolihan went on the Jenny Craig diet Sept. 17 and within five months had dropped almost 40 pounds.

"I was very strict about the diet until Christmas time," Hoolihan said. "And then I cheated over Christmas. But the great thing was, it wasn't hard to go back. The food is so good, I didn't mind. I've been on other weight loss programs, but I think the reason why Jenny Craig works for me is that the food is delicious and if I cheat, I don't mind getting back on the diet."

Hoolihan describes herself as a full-blooded Italian who likes to cook from scratch. And though she doesn't make as many of her Italian pasta dishes as she did before, she will occasionally whip up something in the kitchen.

"But instead of making something and then eating only a thimbleful, I just eat Jenny Craig," she says.

Hoolihan also doesn't do any rigorous exercise regimes either.

She says since she switched from being a Jenny Craig consultant to the receptionist there, one of her duties is unpacking the 300 cases of frozen foods that arrive there each week.

"Because our store is so popular, we sell a lot of food," Hoolihan said. "So I'm stocking shelves and I think that is very good exercise. And it's not only the frozen food, it's also the dried food, too."

Hoolihan also has several tips that help keep the pounds off. She eats first thing in the morning.

"It's important to eat within the first hour of getting up," she says. "I also drink water all the time and I eat small amounts of food frequently. The other people at work are teasing me that I always have something in my mouth."

A mother of three, Hoolihan says that her oldest is away at college and frequently calls her for weight loss ideas. Her 16-year-old will eat some Jenny Craig items and her husband cooks for himself and their youngest.

"My family is very supportive," she says. "That makes it work for me."