People want to lose weight for a whole slew of different reasons. Some want to feel better about the way they look and give their self-esteem a boost, while others aim to stop using food as a coping mechanism for emotional struggles. No matter what reasons you have for wanting to shed some pounds or where you are in your journey, these inspiring weight loss success stories prove that it's never too late to turn things around and get a new lease on life. The following people you'll read more about here have battled—and overcome—difficult challenges, such as depression, anxiety, and feelings of self-worthlessness to achieve their weight loss goals. And you know what that means? You can do it, too!
1. The doctor who lost 125 pounds after beating his food addiction
Kevin Gendreau, MD, 31, wrestled with a food addiction for more than a decade, and was 306 pounds at his heaviest.
"I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, hypertension, high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, and sleep apnea, among other things," Gendreau told Best Life in October. "I knew they were all because of my eating habits, but I just couldn't stop."
But when his sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016, it became a wake-up call for him to make his physical health a priority. "What she was going through wasn't her choice," he said. "What I was doing to myself was."
By cutting out all the junk food and replacing it with a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, and protein, Gendreau lost 125 pounds in 18 months.
"The best advice that I can give is to find a motivation to change," he said. "For me, it was my sister getting sick and needing to be there for her kids, but it could be anything. Once you find that reason and commit to it, you're good to go."
2. The 73-year-old woman who lost 55 pounds and became a viral sensation
Think it's too late to change your body once you're over 50? Think again. In October, 73-year-old Joan MacDonald became an internet inspiration after showing off her incredible transformation.
"For many decades, I was more often overweight than at a healthy weight," MacDonald told The Daily Mail. "I was on medication for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and acid reflux. My arthritis was acting up pretty bad."
Concerned about her health, MacDonald's daughter taught her mom how to use her iPhone to track her meals and exercise activity. That tool helped drive her to eat more protein and healthy fats, and go to the gym four or five days a week. And after making those major changes to her lifestyle, MacDonald lost 55 pounds in a year, gained plenty of muscle, and now helps others reach their fitness goals, no matter how old they are.
"For those who truly feel at a loss, I'd say change one thing with your food intake, one exercise to do, and each week add something new," she said. "Don't expect miracles right away, take it slow and steady but keep building."
3. The woman who lost 190 pounds after overcoming an eating disorder
Amber Neale spent most of her young-adult life in a pattern of losing weight on various diets, and then gaining it all back. In January 2017, she hit 325 pounds—her second heaviest weight—and decided to seek treatment from a mental health professional to address her unhealthy eating habits.
"I realized I needed help when I found myself living the same dismal day over and over again—and food was my only oasis," Neale told Women's Health in April 2019. "It took therapy to make me realize how awful my eating habits had become: I ate from the moment I woke up to the moment I went to bed."
Once she dealt with her anxiety, depression, and binge-eating disorder, Neale was able to cut out fast food, reduce her portion sizes, and start exercising daily for 45 minutes. She lost 190 pounds in two years, and today, she says she takes things "one meal, or one moment, at a time."
4.The man who lost 150 pounds thanks to his college professor
When Joey Morganelli was 16 years old, he watched his father die of a heart attack right in front of him, only three years after losing his mother to cancer. Looking for a way to cope with such tragedy and loss, he turned to food. By the time he graduated high school, he weighed 400 pounds.
Luckily, Morganelli had people around him who cared about his wellbeing and were concerned by what they saw. In his freshman year of college, his microbiology professor pulled him aside to express concerns about his health, and asked him to watch the 2011 documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. The film had a major effect on Morganelli and slowly but surely, he replaced fast food with healthy, home-cooked meals. Eventually, he became more committed, going on a vegan diet, and by mid-2018, he had lost 150 pounds.
In January 2019, he wrote on Instagram that even though losing weight is hard, what's harder is facing yourself and dealing with the issues that drove you to overeat to begin with. "Give yourself a fair fight and take that blindfold off," he wrote. "It will propel you into places you never thought you could be."
5. The woman who became a fitness influencer after giving up alcohol
We all know alcohol contains plenty of calories, has little nutritional value, and can impede weight-loss and other lifestyle goals we set for ourselves. But a viral post by Instagram influencer Jelly Devote really showed just how much curbing heavy alcohol consumption in favor of drinking more water can help you lose weight.
The photo on the left shows her at 21, during her college partying days, when she was drinking beer and cider with abandon. Now 27, Devote exercises, drinks in moderation, and feels like she's aging in reverse as a result.
"I'm a new person and I feel better both on the inside and about my outside," she wrote on Instagram in February.
6. The bride who lost 135 pounds and wore her dream wedding dress
When Mary Jane O'Toole got engaged to her longtime boyfriend in 2016, she couldn't have been more excited about it. Weighing 281 pounds, however, made picking out a wedding dress somewhat of a disheartening process.
"I didn't want to buy a plus-size wedding dress, because they cost way more than straight sizes," O'Toole told People in April. "I felt like I was paying this fat tax—I didn't have the ability to buy affordable clothes because I was bigger."
When she and her husband-to-be saw photos of themselves from a trip to Disney World, they made the decision to lose weight together and began tracking their calories and meals with the the app LoseIt!
O'Toole lost 75 pounds in the first year, and another 25 once the couple began incorporating exercise into their routine. By the time the wedding rolled around earlier this year, she had lost a total of 135 pounds and was able to walk down the aisle in the dress of her dreams.
7. The teen who lost 175 pounds and fell in love with fitness
Hunter Croteau had to go to the doctor to find out he was 367 pounds, because the scale at his home was no longer capable of weighing him. Once he graduated high school and with the help of his family, Croteau threw himself into a healthy diet. But two weeks in, he fell off the wagon.
"I knew lying in bed that night that I was not going to go back on the diet the next morning, and I needed to make a drastic step," Croteau told Yahoo! Lifestyle in July. His doctor suggested getting sleeve gastrectomy, which typically removes 80 percent of the stomach and therefore limits the amount of food a person can consume.
Croteau decided to have the surgery, even though he was "extremely nervous" going into the operation. "You're going into this building specifically because you're fat," he said. "It's almost like you're coming to terms with it in front of the world. You're saying, 'I need help. I can't do this on my own.'"
About a month after the surgery, Croteau began going to the gym, and he became increasingly interested in the science of fitness. Thanks to his workout routine and portion control, he lost 175 pounds in eight months and is now studying to become a certified personal trainer.
While he believes that the surgery was "totally worth it," Croteau also credits his love of exercise with helping him keep the weight off and stay in shape. "You need to fall into a habit of something you can maintain, something you enjoy," he said.
8. The woman who lost 220 pounds for her health
By the time she was 28, Stacy Blair was already beginning to have health problems due to her weight.
"I was taking medication for high blood pressure, my asthma was getting worse, and it was physically painful to walk or stand for more than five minutes," Blair told Women's Health in October.
For the first time in her life, she was motivated to lose weight not for the sake of looking good, but for personal wellness and improving her health—an approach that changed everything.
"I wanted to be able to play an active role in my little brothers' lives rather than watching from the couch," she said. "I wanted to be able to be a mom one day. I wanted to be able to move without being in pain. I wanted to live instead of just exist."
Blair got started by counting calories and keeping a daily log of her meals, which led to her going on a keto diet that helped her lose 220 pounds in 17 months.
"At the end of the day when everything is all said and done, it's not about the weight you lose, it's about the life you gain," she said.
9. The mom who lost 80 pounds and discovered self-care
Stacey Welton, 50, knew she'd never be a gym aficionado—not with six kids and a full-time job as a teacher, at least. But once her weight began to give her health problems, she knew something had to give.
"I saw a picture of myself and wasn't happy," Welton told Best Life in July. "I knew that, as I was getting older, that the weight would continue to increase if I did nothing, so I made up my mind to change my life once and for all."
She went on the Atkins diet, which had her eating fewer carbs—and in just eight months, she shed 80 pounds.
"I learned to eat to live, not live to eat," Welton said. "I would say that weight loss is one of the very few areas where it's OK to be selfish. It is about you. Whatever it costs, it's worth the personal investment in you. This is the sacrifice that a mom has to make—not only for herself, but her family."
10.The man who lost 90 pounds with the help of his girlfriend
