Thousand Oaks Mom Lands On Cover Of 'Woman's Day' Magazine

THOUSAND OAKS (CBSLA.com) — A Conejo Valley mother who lost 90 pounds by walking has made the cover of a popular women's magazine, which publishers say marks the first time a "real woman" has been featured on the front page.

Vanessa Herron, 38, of Thousand Oaks is featured on the cover of the June issue of Woman's Day for an exercise regimen she took up after a doctor's visit in February 2014 showed she was a 242-pound pre-diabetic with "sky-high" blood pressure, according to the magazine.

The mother of four decided then that it was time to get healthy. But when thinking about ways to fit aerobic activity into her everyday routine, Herron realized she could multitask by walking her youngest daughter to her middle school about one mile from their home instead of driving her there.

"I thought, 'OK, I can drive her to school every day and drop her off and go back and have a big, fatty breakfast or I can walk with her and maybe that will be the way I find to squeeze it in,' " she said.

It didn't go as planned in the beginning.

"I could not walk fast enough. I couldn't keep up a pace. A couple of blocks, and I was winded," she said.

But two months in, she recalls a particular morning in which she was sharing earbuds with her daughter "and we looked up and I said, 'That's the school. I made it to the school!' "

As CBS2's Kristine Lazar reports, Herron lost 15 pounds right away just by moving.

After four months, Herron said she lost 40 pounds and could walk "without huffing and puffing." She also credits diet changes like replacing "bad" carbs like white rice with "good" ones like quinoa.

"And when I would find myself exercising, I didn't want to eat all the stuff that would undo all my work," she said. With regular walks and a healthy diet, Herron is 90 pounds lighter.

"It's another person. It's a person that I lost," said Herron, who hopes her story inspires other working mothers.

"I was able to witness what one small step can do," she said, and has the goal to lose an additional 15 pounds.

The Woman's Day issue is set to hit newsstands May 19.