New Delhi, Sept. 12 -- For Monica Di Giacomo, the "before" photo is just as powerful as the "after." At 37, weighing 320 pounds, she says she felt worthless, unlovable, and even contemplated ending her life. A decade later, the Miami native is preparing for her first bodybuilding competition, and she credits the woman in that before photo for not giving up.

"She's the reason I'm alive," Di Giacomo told USA Today. "She did the work. She's why I'm here."

Growing up in the 1980s, Di Giacomo says she constantly struggled with body image pressures. Food became her coping mechanism during family tragedies, including the loss of her mother to cancer and witnessing her grandfather's suicide. By her late 30s, her health was spiraling.

During a ...