9 People Who’ve Fought a Weight War and Won Big Time

People
5 years ago

According to an analysis of global trends in body mass index (BMI), more than 640 million people around the world are living with obesity. Out of these, few stand out and become a success story to inspire you. Can you imagine a girl who was once called an ’ugly duckling’ and later won a beauty contest? These people have proven that the sky is the limit. They may have started with an intention to lost a few pounds but actually found themselves in the process and became an idol for millions.

The Bright Side has brought a few of these success stories to inspire you to start your journey toward being healthier.

1. Make your own fairytale.

Joanna Joseph was an obese child. At the age of 13 she weighed 229 lbs. Once she became a teenager she became insecure seeing other healthy much more fit girls around and decided to change herself for good. She didn’t just drop to 125 lbs but also later became Miss Selangor 2016 and participated in Miss Malaysia Earth 2016 too.

2. “Be the hero of your own story.”

Amber Rachdi was 660 lbs when the television network TLC told her story on My 600-lb Life. Because of her weight, she had to drop out of college and became homebound. In her case it’s true when they say “where there is a will, there is way,” she lost 400 lbs with the help of gastric bypass surgery and followed a strict regimen afterward.

3. She didn’t change, she found herself.

Olivia has set an example in her family, proving that even if she has been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, which she inherited from her father, she can live a healthy lifestyle. She lost 60 lbs and her insecurities.

4. “Look in the mirror, that’s your competition.”

Brianna Bernard used her pregnancy as an excuse to overeat. After delivery, she wasn’t able to let go of her poor eating habits and eventually she realized this and lost 100lbs. She even became a personal trainer later.

5. Change yourself for your own self, not for the world.

Rachel Saintfort never felt any less confident being overweight. But one day when her daughter came home sad because one of her classmates called her mom “fat”, that’s what turned out to be the wake-up call for her. She lost 100 lbs in a year and even created an Instagram account featuring her transformation.

6. Fix your mindset and work on your goals.

Mariah Stolfi, a self-proclaimed “binge eater,” lost 84 lbs and is striving to lose more. Having been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) which made it impossible for her to lose weight, she has now become an inspiration for others and currently has 20k followers on Instagram.

7. Stay positive, work hard, and make it happen.

Kathleen Golding was an overweight kid since childhood. After she became tired of being uncomfortable she decided to lose weight and dropped to 178 lbs. She even summed up her journey very well with these words, “Someday you will look back on all the progress you made and be so glad you didn’t give up when you felt like that was your only option.”

8. Age is just a number when it comes to fitness.

Reality hit Jeremiah Peterson when he went for a family hiking excursion and saw his wife and 3 kids easily hiking and enjoying it without him. Later as a motivation, he entered into a transformation competition and ended up winning $50,000. He said: “I feel like I have drive and ambition like I have never had before in my life — and I’m almost 40!”

9. “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Perdue, who was once 308 lbs, had a life-threatening accident in 2012 which made her change her lifestyle. That decision helped her lose 180 lbs. “Now I have so much energy,” she says. “I was able to ride a bike for the first time at 33.”

If you have any other inspiring weight loss success stories to tell, please share them with us in the comments below. We’d love to hear and share them.

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What really helped me to lose weight was drinking green smoothie for breakfast. 20 pounds down after 3 weeks - no exercising or starving myself. If anyone here struggle to lose weight I recommend to give them a try. By the way, you can find some good weight loss smoothie recipes on this fb page - The Smoothie Guy (check their first post).

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