Friends and family haven’t seen nearly as much of Kitty Souza lately — and they couldn’t be happier.

Souza, who will turn 72 on Dec. 22, is one month and 5 pounds away from fulfilling her 2016 New Year’s resolution of losing 50 pounds within the calendar year.

It was Jan. 1 when Souza, packing 206 pounds onto a 5-foot-­ 5 frame, decided she’d had enough of feeling tired and heavy.

“I just said to myself, ‘OK, get moving, fat-a—,’” she recalls with a chuckle.

Souza started walking at Valley of the Temples Memorial Park near her home, venturing 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back to start.

Before long she was walking up and around the winding, hilly pathways all around the park.

But to fulfill her goal, Souza knew that she’d have to keep increasing her level of exertion.

And so the mother of two and grandmother of three kicked it up a notch or three, availing herself of every program and support system she could find.

Through the Blue Zone Project’s Walking Moai program, Souza was able to ally herself with a group of similarly motivated walkers. They continue to walk together twice a week, rain or shine.

She spends another two days a week working with personal trainer Debbie Faildo at Kakaako Fitness, plus one other day working out on her own.

“The first time I went to the gym, I was so afraid to go inside,” Souza says. “But once I got in there, I learned to get to it and not look at what anyone else is doing.”

The workout begins long before Souza enters the gym. As part of her regular routine, she loads her backpack with up to 12 pounds of canned goods and walks a couple of miles from the Atkinson Drive end of Ala Moana Center to Kakaako Fitness, where she unloads her bounty as a donation to the gym’s ongoing food drive.

To support her workouts, Souza took a class from the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaii and learned to make weekly action plans. She also uses the MapMyWalk app to track her walks, enjoys online support through the Changing Lives Changing People group on Facebook, and reads nutrition labels with the attention of a diamond cutter. Earlier this month she completed a 21-day challenge in which she cut out sweets, alcohol and other dietary trapdoors, and ended up dropping 9 pounds.

All this is a far cry from the mostly sedentary life that Souza led prior to her New Year’s resolution.

Souza, who is of Samoan and Portuguese descent, spent her early childhood raised by her grandparents in Laie. She was later sent to live with relatives in Los Angeles, a rough situation marked by verbal and physical abuse.

After running away from home at age 17, Souza made her way back to Hawaii, where she took shelter with her uncle, legendary professional wrestler Neff Maiava.

In short order, Souza met and fell in love with Maiava’s neighbor Ned. On their first date at Fisherman’s Wharf, Souza boldly ordered the lobster.

“He told me later that he knew I would one day be his wife because I ate everything,” she says.

The two have been happily married for 52 sometimes all-too-comfortable years.

“Before I started working out, I was fat and lazy,” Souza said. “I would eat breakfast, then do my puzzles — KenKen, sudoku, crosswords. I wouldn’t get off the couch. Now once I eat breakfast, I’m out the door.”

Since January, Souza has lowered her body mass index to 28.48 from 44-plus and has dropped eight dress sizes.

“My husband thinks it’s fabulous,” she says. “He’s shocked at my endurance, dedication and stamina, and I feel a lot better.

“I’ve seen too many of my friends get sick with diabetes and heart trouble, and I’m determined to change my life,” she continues. “You just have to decide what you want to do and make the right choices to achieve it.”

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@staradvertiser.com.