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Jeanette Colantonio (pictured before and after) weighed in at 408 pounds when she was pulled over by a Summerville, S.C., patrolman in March of last year for not wearing a seatbelt.

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Though, she had not buckled up in years because the size of her girth would not allow her to do so. Instead of being angry at the officer who gave her the summons, she wanted to find and thank him for saving her life.Colantonio says the summons was a wake up call for her and a grand motivator that inspired her to lose 200 pounds, reports WBTV.

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Colantonio had been driving home from school on that fateful day. “I saw the blue lights behind me and I pretty much knew what the ticket was going to be for,” she told WBTV. The officer, Trooper Mark Amos, whom she says was respectful, never once inferred that she needed to lose weight. However, when handed the ticket, Colantonio stared at it and it was as if she envisioned the following warnings affixed to it: eat healthy, lose weight, exercise and try to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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The ticket was the push that Colantonio needed in order to get her on the right track towards a life that wasn’t plagued with all of the doom and gloom health risks that comes with being obese.

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“I’m sure there’s a lot of things that led up to that point, but that ticket was like reality in my face,” the young woman said. “And I don’t know if I would have done it as quickly if I didn’t get the ticket.”

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WBTV helped Colantonio find the trooper who told the TV station that her situation ” happens a lot with South Carolina’s obesity rate. Hopefully she’s going to set a prime example (for) what you can do and how you can better yourself.”

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Colantonio, who lost the weight without surgery or pills, has a goal of getting down to 145 pounds and has enlisted her Facebook friends to be her continued source of encouragement.

Mark Colantonio, who is so proud of his wife’s valiant efforts, told WBTV “You don’t need to be heavy. Anybody can change anything they want to change, you just have to have motivation to change it.”

And, for Jeanette, it was a police ticket that motivated her to good health! No one likes a ticket, but that one was well worth it!