Kara Ketley loves spending time with her family but, until now, her weight has been holding her back.

The 34-year-old working mother of two is looking forward to getting more physically active with her kids when the weather breaks -- with a little help.

"That has been a real struggle, not be able to keep up with them or feeling uncomfortable about myself, and that limited what I do with my daughter or my son. So it's really important to me to have the energy back and to feel good about myself so I can do more with my children," Ketley, of Johnstown, said.

She said she always struggled with an extra 20 or so pounds every so often, but that changed when her young son was diagnosed with a rare disease and doctors gave him a 34 percent chance to live.

"Our son had gotten really sick and so … I spent a good two years, taking care of him. (It was) very sedentary, it was very stressful. One of the main ways I dealt with it was though eating," she said.

Ketley gained 100 pounds over the two years that Elijah was in and out of the hospital. Now, 5-year-old Elijah is doing well, but after he regained his health and strength, Kara realized she was in the worst shape of her life.

"I've tried many different things, I have the knowledge, but the consistency and the self discipline has been really lacking," she said.

Ketley, who is participating in WJAC-TV's Losing It Across The Alleghenies, said she hopes the program will give her the extra motivation she needs to stay on track and break the vicious cycle of emotional eating.

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"It's different between asking my mom or my husband to help me watch what I do or encourage me. It's a big difference when I'm reporting to the public on my progress. So I'm hoping that that higher level of accountability will get me through the tough part of developing healthier habits," she said.

Darci Sanner, the owner of Curves in Richland Township, Cambria County, said the fitness center is created specifically for women and is the perfect fit for Kara.

Sanner said, "Most women don't have a lot of time and that's where Curves is a nice fit for Kara, It's 30 minutes (and) she's getting her strength training and her cardio all in one stop."

Sanner said she will be giving Kara one-on-one classes based on Curves' weight management plan.

"Number one: eliminate soda. If she's serious about her goal and wants to get to her goal that's one thing even if she eats super clean and exercises like she should be and still drinks soda, like she does, she won't meet her goal."

The trainer also said she will measure Ketley's weight, body fat and other measurements. Ketley also got a crash course on the Curves Fitness Program, a 30-minute routine that combines strength and cardiovascular training on hydraulic resistance exercise equipment.

"With hydraulics the faster you work the equipment the harder it is," Sanner said. "You don't need to change settings, you don't need to read just anything -- your body will tell you what you need to do. If it feels easy you go faster, and it gets as hard as you need it to be. Our goal on the equipment is fatigue. We want you to do as much as you can in 30 seconds so that you are physically burned out."

Now, Ketley is putting in 30 minutes a day, three to four times a week.

"I think a healthy weight for me would be about 140 pounds. Some people that seems very overweight, but for me that would be a maintainable, healthy weight where I feel good about myself, and I look good," she said.