Killing cravings, with the DuBose family

Troy and Carla DuBose — along with their seven kids — are committed to living a healthy lifestyle and inspiring others to do the same.

By Emily Blackwood
| 5:00 p.m. January 11, 2017

The DuBose family: Sophia, 3, Jonathan, 6, Calvin, 7, Danielle, 9, Julia, 10, Madison, 12, Carla and Troy (Photos by Emily Blackwood)

Isaac, 2, was not present in the photos due to a very important nap.

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Even if you've maintained an active and healthy lifestyle for some time, life can still happen. And for Carla and Troy DuBose, "life" was having seven children.

For a majority of the past decade, Carla DuBose was pregnant with children, and that led to late-night cravings for Snicker bars.

"Running out to CVS in the middle of the night to get snacks was our life for a while," said Troy DuBose, who is also on the Flagler County Planning and Zoning Board.

Carla DuBose said she hit rock bottom in January 2016. She was at her heaviest, and her doctor told her he was going to put her on meds if she didn't get her act together. So in combination with consistent exercise and clean eating, she started taking premium nutritional supplements that helped her drop 35 pounds by August.

"It helped with my energy level and craving all that sugar," she said. "Sometimes it takes a low point to make you realize how bad you really want it."

Troy DuBose started getting back into shape the same time his wife did but struggled to stay as strict. At the time he was always out on the road, and it was easier for him to have cheat meals and stay sedentary. When he got the opportunity to have a month-long work trip in Nebraska, he decided to use it to reset his healthy lifestyle.

During his stay, he went the full 30 days with basically no sugar and no alcohol. He lost a total of 13 pounds — and never told his wife what he was up to.

"I was pretty shocked when I picked him up at the airport," she said, laughing.

Now that the Palm Coast couple has made their own strides with their personal health, they said their current goals are to keep their family healthy and inspire their friends to get back into shape. Carla DuBose says while they don't always force their kids to eat as healthy as they do, she does make smarter choices while grocery shopping.

"Some days I'm just like, 'Eat the chicken nugget,'" she said. "My kids don't always like veggies, and I'm trying to ween them off lemonade, but we do try to buy everything as fresh as possible. I stay away from canned stuff because it has a lot of sodium, and we eat a lot of grilled chicken."

Troy DuBose has inspired his group of friends to get back into shape by challenging them to do 90 30-minute workouts within 90 days. The challenge started on Jan. 1.

"I'm on about 13 out of 90," he said. "People I haven't talked to in years are taking me up on the challenge."

"Lifestyle changes aren't easy," Carla DuBose said. "But when you're committed, and you get into the routine, it becomes a part of who you are. And you don't want to go back."