Tag Archives: true weight loss stories

Joe Cassise Lost Nearly 100 Pounds with “Borrowed” Inspiration

A spark clicked in my head, and I thought maybe I can use this to lose weight. Maybe this is a sign.

That’s how Joe Cassise described his weight loss epiphany. Did he come to this healthy affirmation after an impassioned speech by a friend? Did he watch a particularly heartwarming episode of The Biggest Loser, or see a motivational bumper sticker on the highway? No.

Joe’s weight loss story begins with a poor choice, but ends with a new outlook life, and a staggering 90 pound weight loss.

Joe Cassise describes himself as a mostly typical teenager. Already on the heavy end of the scale as a child, Joe said his weight really skyrocketed in high school due to lack of exercise and eating fast food twice a day. After high school, he enrolled in cosmetology school and started a relationship that would take its toll, both mentally and physically. “I guess I just let myself go at a young age, he said.”

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Posted on March 29, 2024 by Dani Stone

Military Wife Who Dropped 100 Pounds and Surprised Deployed Hubby Has Kept It Off For Almost A Year

Last spring, Misty Shaffer gathered with her family at the airport and waited anxiously for the arrival of her husband who had been stationed in Afghanistan for 12 months. When Larry scanned the crowd for his wife, his jaw dropped when he spotted her. After secretly losing 100 pounds while he was deployed, all Misty could do was smile.

When he finally remembered to speak, the Army Specialist simply said one word, “Wow!”

I spoke with Misty by phone from her home in North Carolina. In a deep southern accent she confirmed that almost one year after surprising her husband, she has maintained her phenomenal weight loss. The story of how she lost the weight and why is still just as captivating as it was last year.

“I just wanted him to pick me up,” she said. During the long months without her husband, while she struggled with food cravings and cared for their young daughter, Misty held that vision in her mind. For the first time ever, she wanted to be swept into his arms.

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Posted on March 21, 2024 by Dani Stone

Erin Ball Lost 70 Pounds While Battling Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Every week I’m inspired by men and women who take charge of their health and improve their lives. Losing a significant amount of weight isn’t easy. Even when you think you have all the tools in place and the determination of a warrior, the body can put road blocks in your path to success.

Today’s story focuses on Erin Ball, a wife and mother of two whose weight gain and loss were both affected by a serious health condition – Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). The condition is characterized by a hormonal imbalance, and often leads to the production of excess insulin resulting in obesity.

How Erin fought back

Erin lost 70 pounds when she figured out how PCOS affected her body, and then took steps to counter the attack.

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Posted on March 15, 2024 by Dani Stone

Ray Allen Lost 50 Pounds (Again) When He Stared Down His Own Mortality and Made a Big Lifestyle Change

Ray Allen knows how important it is to have the right mindset when you want to lose serious weight. After dropping almost 60 pounds during a company sponsored weight loss contest, he slowly gained almost all of it back. Now, 50 pounds lighter, Ray says his biggest obstacle was getting out of his own way.

Stephanie Magrisso Lost Over 110 Pounds. Next Goal – “Onederland”

This week I’m privileged to introduce you to a woman whose story just makes me smile. Stephanie Magrisso has lost over 110 pounds, and she’s still working toward her goal weight.

She may be struggling with a weight plateau, but she’s smiling every step of the way thanks to her motivational techniques, including the life lesson she learned by watching Ellen Degeneres. This is Stephanie’s true weight loss story.

Fat has just always been my life.

Stephanie’s struggle with weight started when she was too young to realize there was a problem, but the bullying and name-calling by her peers quickly caught her attention. As a child, she admits eating too many TV dinners and McDonalds meals. When she was old enough to make her own decisions, she became an emotional eater and presumed the destiny of her weight would be determined by genetics, since she had family members who were also overweight.

Having someone I could relate to made a huge difference

A new friend entered Stephanie’s life and made an immediate impact on her. “I met one of my now best friends. While she was nowhere near as overweight as I was, she had some weight to lose, and she did. Suddenly I had a friend I could talk to about it, who really understood the struggle.”

Instead of relying on one diet to achieve her goals, Stephanie found several techniques that not only helped her lose weight, but also kept her in the right frame of mind.

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Posted on March 1, 2024 by Dani Stone

Dani Holmes-Kirk Lost 82 Pounds and Completed a Half Marathon on Her Birthday

Dani Holmes-Kirk has a smile that is infectious, and a personality that exudes so much happiness, it comes right through her emails. I’ve never met her in person, but I’d like to think we would get along famously, until she tried to make me run. Dani is a runner, a marathon-er and blogs about her adventures at, “Weight Off My Shoulders.”

It’s hard to believe that a few short years ago she led a sedentary lifestyle and battled an eating disorder. Today, Dani is 82 pounds lighter and she’s keeping it off thanks to smarter food choices and her rekindled love of running.

This is Dani’s true weight loss story –

When did your weight struggles begin? For as long as I can remember I was overweight. I can look back at a certain picture of me on the beach in my bathing suit when I was maybe 3 or 4 and thinking, wow, I even had a little belly then. I remember being made fun of in 7th grade and getting MOOed at by a passing car. The overweight mentality was burned into my brain for a long time.

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Posted on February 22, 2024 by Dani Stone

Mark Ryan Lost 100 Pounds and Became an Athlete Again

In his early twenties, Mark Ryan was a fit competitor who participated in rigorous sports including hockey. Ultimately, the activity that kept him in such good shape, would ultimately lead to his weight gain. After receiving multiple injuries, Mark slowly gave up competitive sports. Over the next decade, his physical activity waned, but his eating habits remained the same, leading to significant weight gain and depression.

Today, thanks to the weight loss program, Jenny Craig, Mark feels better than he ever has, and even took up biking, which allowed him to raise $1,000 for Multiple Sclerosis when he participated in the MS: City to Shore Ride.

This is Mark’s 100 POUND true weight loss story –

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Posted on February 15, 2024 by Dani Stone

Mark Bailey Drops 65 Pounds and His Pants – For New Cookbook

Mark Bailey is a speaker, motivator and full time chef with a culinary focus on breakfast food. He’s even penned a cookbook titled, “Cooking in Boxers with Chef Bailey: 50 Ways to Keep Your Mate In Bed.” Today he’s a champion for living a balanced life and incorporating healthy meals and exercise into his daily routine, but he admits it took years to break his bad habits.

How did Mark (Chef Bailey) go from, “chubby boy” to the guy pictured in his undies on a cookbook? This is Mark’s 65-pound true weight loss story.

“My weight struggles began when I was 12 years old,” Mark explained. “I like to say this is when my ‘fat gene’ kicked in because prior to my preteen years, I was a relatively thin kid. But by 13, I had become a chubby boy.” Mark said eating second helpings was a regular habit, especially when it came to mama’s home cooking. This pattern of overeating followed him into his adult years. In his late twenties, while visiting his parents, Mark started looking through old photos. “It was at this moment, that I came to realize I had spent the better half of my young adult life yo-yo dieting,” he said. “This eye-opener motivated me to not only make a change but approach my weight loss effort differently.”

Instead of focusing solely on losing weight, I had to figure what I needed to change permanently thereafter to keep the weight off. My workout routine was about to become a way of life instead of just a means to an end.

Chef Bailey’s 4-Step Plan:

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Posted on February 8, 2024 by Dani Stone

Kim Emert Lost Nearly 100 Pounds – “I Signed Up For My First 5K and Never Looked Back.”

Last fall, Kim Emert ran the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon and finished with a time of 4:35:39. It was her second marathon and she did it with a 23-minute personal record. For Kim, the event was another milestone in her weight loss journey and proof that all her hard work over the last few years is paying off. The 34-year-old wife and mother from Tennessee has lost 86 pounds, and she did it the way you might expect a runner to, by pacing herself and taking one step at a time.

“I was average and active as a child,” Kim explained. “My weight struggles began later in life. After marriage, kids and my first sit-down desk job. I made poor food choices, overate and made excuses about why I didn’t exercise.” Like many women, Kim lost a significant amount of weight after her first child, only to gain it all back during her second pregnancy, which put her back at square one. “This wasn’t my first time on the weight loss wagon,” she said. “It wasn’t until my son was 2 that I decided to do this for real and for good because my kids and family needed me. I wanted to be healthy and active for myself and them.”

Kim has been successful with her weight loss because she started with the right mindset. Instead of using starvation tactics or falling for the get-skinny-quick promises of some diet programs, she simply relied on, dedication and determination saying, “I cleaned up my diet and started hitting the gym. Once I got into a regular routine I took up running and signed up for my first 5k. I haven’t looked back!”

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Posted on February 1, 2024 by Dani Stone

Noel Rich Lost 60 Pounds By Making Good Choices Part of Her Daily Routine

Noel Rich has a story that many people can relate to. As a self-described, “chubby girl” throughout her childhood, she accepted her “large frame” as the way she was simply destined to be, but after she graduated high school and got married, she added another thirty pounds.

Today, though she has struggled with setbacks and pushed her way over many plateaus, she’s been successful in losing 60 pounds and keeping it off. She was recently diagnosed with celiac disease which has her switching up her diet once again, but she’s determined not to let this new challenge get in her way or sabotage all the weight she’s lost.

Freelance White House Photographer Carrie Devorah Dropped 8 Sizes After Knee Injury and Hip Replacement

Carrie Devorah was a vibrant woman with an enviable freelance career through the White House News Photographers Association. She was fit and led an active lifestyle. That was before an unfortunate accident took away her mobility, self-confidence and was ultimately the catalyst for a 50+ pound weight gain. After several surgeries, learning “how” to eat and what exercises she could do safely with a limited range of movement, Carrie has now gone from a size 18 to a size 10.

Her life-changing accident

Although Carrie admits she never had the perfect diet, she was always able to counter poor eating choices with hard work in the gym. Unfortunately, Carrie’s downward spiral occurred during a fluke accident when slipped in a rental apartment and hyperextended her knee. The knee never healed correctly and eventually, she had to undergo surgery to repair a torn meniscus followed by a hip replacement, all in the same leg. During this time her mobility was greatly decreased and a deep depression settled over her. “I was a vibrant person dying inside an increasingly obese person,” she admitted. “I was struggling in pain while losing a career and my social identity.”

Dark days

Due to the extent of her injuries, Carrie’s recovery lasted years and it was a painful process. First she became a recluse and then made “getting to the coffee shop” her daily mission. While that was good for exercise, it was a hindrance to her diet. “Coffee meant a pastry which meant I could delay struggling to walk back to my apartment,” she said. Early on she met a physical therapist who “got her.” She credits the PT with giving her the information she needed about counting calories but admitted it was tough to stick to noting, the worse the pain got, the less she moved and the more she ate. (more…)

Posted on January 18, 2024 by Dani Stone

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