Exercise, dieting help Waterville woman to shed 300 pounds.

WATERVILLE (AP) – With persistence, lots of exercise and an improved diet, Cathi Lee lost 330 pounds in three years.

At 500 pounds, Lee couldn’t vacuum a room without sitting down and couldn’t do the dishes standing up. There was no flying on planes or going to movies because the seats were too small.

Lee, 47, read up on weight loss and weaned herself off pastries, cheese, potato chips and other junk foods. There were no pills, crash-dieting or medical procedures.

“I lost 90 pounds the first year and no one noticed,” said Lee, of Waterville.

Last year, she started an exercise regimen that included walking a quarter-mile a day. In October 2004, Lee joined a gym where she works out every morning from 4:30 to 7. Other people there are very supportive, Lee said.

One of Lee’s biggest supporters is Stacy Jochem, who also works on the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness, Sports, Health and Wellness.

“Her whole life is different,” Jochem said. “She can do things she could never do before. She is a clothes shopping fanatic! She was hidden for 20 years.”

Lee’s clothing size has dropped from 38 to 12 petite, and she can walk into a store and buy them rather than having to place a special order. In October, Lee and Jochem walked a 26.2-mile marathon on Mount Desert Island. Acquaintances who haven’t seen Lee since her weight loss only recognize her after she speaks.

“I have stopped people dead in their tracks,” said Lee. “They just don’t believe it. The best response I’ve gotten is, What the hell happened to you?’ or I heard you have cancer and that’s why you lost all this weight.”‘

Revamping her diet was a big part of the change. In the past, Lee never ate breakfast. She would typically eat a bag of chips and a couple of sandwiches for lunch, and a couple of dozen doughnuts, two bags of cookies or pastries or four peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches for supper.

“It wasn’t pretty,” she said.

Now, Lee has breakfast every day. It might consist of fat-free yogurt, nuts and berries and a bagel. After a fruit snack, lunch might consist of a salad or chicken wrap, and a typical supper is stir-fry vegetables and a baked potato. She drinks three-quarters of a gallon of water a day.

“It’s nice having a life. It’s still a work in progress. I think it always will be,” she said.