FORT STEWART, Ga. - Jillian O'Malley is the image of an athlete. Trim and fit, devoted Army wife and mother of two, she is a seasoned triathlete and veteran of the Ironman Triathlon, a grueling race which consists of a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run.

She's a fixture at the swimming pool in Newman Gym, and runs on the track regularly. Yet just a few short years ago, Jillian could not run a single mile.

Jillian met her husband, Sergeant Joel O'Malley of 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Heavy Brigade Combat Team, while stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas. She left the Army in 2006, and became a stay-at-home mother to their two daughters.

While in the Army, Jillian was able to run well and passed physical fitness tests easily. But after giving birth to her first child, she struggled to lose weight, and she gained even more with her second daughter.

At her heaviest, Jillian weighed 300 lbs, which is considered to be morbidly obese.

Her health and joints suffered, and her cholesterol and blood pressure exceeded normal levels.

"I was desperate," she said. "I didn't know what to do anymore. I was upset with myself and what I became."

She tried countless diets and exercised persistently, but to no avail. Finally, with all other options exhausted, Jillian elected to have gastric bypass surgery in June of 2009.

"I did lots of research," Jillian said. "I didn't just say 'let's go for it.' [Finally], I made the decision. I'd reached my breaking point and I was out of options; surgery is always a last resort."

As she recovered, Jillian knew it would take more than just dietary changes to get fit.

"I started exercising four weeks after the surgery, once the doctor cleared me to do so," Jillian said, "[Joel] deployed at the same time. It really hit me that things were coming along; I was getting my endurance back. Six weeks after my surgery, I was able to start walk-jog intervals. I knew I had an inner athlete in me."

In March of 2010, Jillian went to the mile-long dirt track by Winn Army Community Hospital and decided she would make it a goal to jog an entire lap.

"It really hurt. I was still around 230 pounds. But I ran the whole way around, and that set it off."

It was the mile that would truly change her life, and that of her Family, for good. Jillian signed up for her first 5K race just two months later.

"I managed to run the whole thing without stopping, and I was hooked," Jillian said. "I immediately signed up for four more races, improving my time at every single one. That September, I did my first sprint triathlon, the Rock of the Marne triathlon at Hunter Army Airfield."

Her husband, Joel, was her biggest fan along the way.

"We would talk on the phone [during the deployment]," Joel said, "and I kept hearing about her active lifestyle. She would ask to sign up for events, and I was 100 percent supportive."

He even helped the Family budget for racing bicycles and entry fees, knowing that competition kept her motivated and active.

As she continued to shed pounds and build muscle, the Ironman Triathlon became Jillian's ultimate goal. She first heard about it online from other weight loss surgery patients.

"I found out about what the Ironman was, what it entailed," Jillian said, "I watched countless videos about the Ironman Triathlon, and I knew I had it in me. I said, 'I am going to be an Ironman.' I told Joel my crazy ideas, and he never once laughed at me. He never once said, 'That's crazy.' I told him the entry fee was $600, and he said yes."

Jillian completed the Ironman Triathlon in Louisville, Ky., in August 2011, and says she never looked back. She is now a bona fide "IronMom."

Her steadfast supporter, Joel even started to train along with her. Ten days after he returned from deployment, Jillian was scheduled to run her first marathon. He accompanied her to the event and was in awe of his wife's accomplishments.

"Seeing her come across the finish line, I remember telling her, 'I don't know how you can do this. I don't think I could ever do that,'" Joel said, "Then 365 days later, I'm doing that same exact race with her. The motivation she puts out, I see it and it makes me want to do more."

Now both Jillian and Joel are ambassadors for Team Red, White & Blue, a non-profit organization that supports wounded veterans.

"[Team RWB] focuses on the human aspect [of wounded veterans]," Jillian said. "They remind us that we have wounded warriors out there and that we do need to support them at all costs."

Getting involved in fitness has also been positive for Joel's well-being.

"I used to have a lot of stress in my life," Joel said. "Since I've been working out a lot, swimming, running with my wife, my stress level has gone down. I even wake up early on Saturday mornings to join group rides in Savannah."

The couple trains together mornings and evenings using MWR facilities, including the indoor swimming pool. Joel even fits in pool workouts on his lunch break.

For the O'Malleys' daughters Laci and Miley, ages 5 and 3, having active parents is the norm and makes them more active too. Laci even has her own training bicycle and hopes to compete in her first children's triathlon someday. Jillian says they don't remember her being overweight, and don't recognize her in old photos.

"They don't know 'Big Mom'," Jillian said. "My five-year-old tells the kids at school that 'My Mom does the Ironman. My Mom runs a lot.' Sometimes [Laci] will ride her bike alongside me when I run around the track. They race around the house and want to win medals."

Jillian encourages others struggling with their weight to stay positive and stick with their resolutions to get healthy and change their lifestyle.

"Don't let anyone ever put you down or laugh at what you want to do," Jillian said. "Even just going for a walk is a start. I had great people around me who supported me. The Ironman motto is 'anything is possible.' I went from 300 pounds to winning awards in these competitions. We all have our excuses, but I have two kids and go to school full-time. I've gotten up at four-thirty in the morning to get a workout in. If I can do it, anyone can do it."