Her motivation began with her dream dress.
Queensland, Australia teen Josie Desgrand, 17, had a dream of fitting into a figure-hugging sparkly red dress for her school formal. The only problem was that she weighed over 260 pounds. She hated the thought of wearing a plus size dress to the formal, so she got busy. Here she is now, a year later.
And here she is in her beautiful formal dress.
Josie has gone from being a teen who experienced severe bullying to a confident and healthy young woman.
What is the secret to her success? Getting off sugar and eating healthily, she told Daily Mail Australia. She cut out sugar completely and stopped eating carbs and processed foods.
“Before losing weight I would constantly eat bread and wraps, ate huge portions and went back for seconds and thirds all the time.”
She’s done with that life, though. She said that she doesn’t see it as a diet. She sees it as a lifestyle. The first two weeks were the hardest, but after that, she remained committed.
“I don’t want to touch a single piece of chocolate again in my life! That’s my choice. Living a healthy lifestyle is the best decision I have ever made. Sixty kilos down and feeling amazing,” she captioned an Instagram photo.
That said, she’s started adding some fats back to her diet now that her weight loss goals are complete. She also eats a lot of meat, vegetables, and salad, plus three pieces of fruit per week.
“I’m eating more fats now, like the occasional bit of cheese, and carbs like sweet potato now that I’m working out more often.”
She also joined a gym, which she says gave her the final push and motivation. She now goes to the gym 3-4 times per week and is working mostly on toning.
“No longer fat Josie,” she said with determination. “Working out at the gym gave me the extra push to reach my goal weight.”
Josie has a new goal. She wants to encourage and help other people with their own weight loss journies. She’s even writing a book to help inspire others. She said her book should be out this year and she is currently looking for a publisher. The book will include tips and recipes.
“Now I want to be the push to help people get back up,” she said. “Because everyone deserves to feel as happy as I now do.”
Josie’s mother, Catherine, couldn’t be more proud.
“There’s no better feeling watching my daughter turn her life around like this – and she’s had so many teenage girls reach out to her to and look at her as a source of inspiration.”
We are so happy for this beautiful confident young woman. She met a goal that many people struggle to meet, and she did it through sheer strength of will and self-motivation. She lives as a testament that anyone can achieve their dreams, no matter how difficult.