Shedding excess weight is undoubtedly difficult. After all, it is not just a challenge on enduring difficult and tiring workouts, but also a test for your willpower not to overindulge on food.

If you barely started your fitness goal for 2020, you might have to learn something from these people who successfully achieved their goals and now enjoying the fruits of their endeavor.

1. Kevin Gendreau

Doctors are not just providers of healthcare. They should also be a role model for a healthy lifestyle.

Unfortunately, Kevin Gendreau, MD, 31, has an extreme food addiction which pushed his weight to 306 pounds. Due to his excessive weight, he suffered from multiple illnesses such as hypertension, high cholesterol, fatty liver disease, and sleep apnea.

However, when his sister was diagnosed with terminal cancer in 2016, he knew he had to prioritize his health among other things. So he dropped junk food for healthier foods like fruits and vegetables. In the end, he lost 125 pounds in 18 months.

2. Joan MacDonald


The saying "age doesn't matter" also applies to be fit, and the 73-year old Joan MacDonald proves that.

According to MacDonald, she was overweight for many years, which resulted in multiple lifestyle diseases like hypertension and acid reflux. She also suffered from arthritis.

Her fitness journey began when her daughter taught her how to use her iPhone on tracking her meals and workout duration. This serves as her drive to push herself to have a better lifestyle. After the major changes, she lost 55 pounds within a year. Now, she's helping people reach their fitness goals no matter how old they are.

3. Amber Neale

Amber Neale was suffering from depression and sought comfort through overindulgence on food. By the new year of January, she is already 325 pounds, and it prompted her to seek mental health care to address her bad eating habits.

After dealing with her mental health issue, she also began cutting out fast food, reducing her portion sizes and working out. In two years, she lost 190 pounds.

4. Joey Morganelli

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Joey Morganelli has traumatic teenage years. At 16, he witnessed his father died of a heart attack. Three years later, he lost his mom from cancer. To ease the pain, he sought solace in eating too much. So by the time he graduated from high school, he hit 400 pounds.

Morganelli's wake up call happened during his college days after his professor pulled him aside and expressed concerns about his health. To wake him even more, the professor asked him to watch the 2011 documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.

Morganelli said that the film scared him, so he changes his diet. He even became committed to a vegan diet. In mid-2018, he had lost 150 pounds.

5. Mary Jane O'Toole

Mary Jane O'Toole's motivation might be a bit shallow compared to the rest but no one can deny that her hard work is amazing and inspiring.

When she got engaged in 2016, she dreamt of wearing the best wedding dress she could find. However, weighing 281 pounds, that is almost impossible.

But she did not let it affect her. In fact, she used the frustration to drive herself to strive for better: through losing weight.

In her first year, she lost 75 pounds, then another 25 in the following year. Before her marriage in 2019 took place, she is already 135 pounds lighter.

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