Lexi and Danny Reed of Terre Haute, Indiana, have lost a collective 400 pounds together in two years.
“Doing this as a couple has helped us in so many ways,” Lexi Reed, 27, told ABC News. “On days when we were unmotivated, we pushed each other to go to the gym. We also started meal-prepping together, setting goals, and day by day or pound by pound we grew closer throughout our journey.”
What started as a New Year’s resolution has led to a viral Instagram account, @fatgirlfedup, documenting their inspiring weight loss journey together with a whopping 463,000 followers.
When the couple started their mission to shed the weight, Lexi Reed was 485 pounds and Danny Reed was 280 pounds.
“I went from a size 28 to a size 10,” said Lexi Reed.
“I went from a 46 all the way down to a 32,” Danny Reed, 29, added.
Lexi Reed said they “were fed up with the life [they] were living” so they set out to make a change, hitting the gym, eating healthy and documenting it all on her Instagram account.
“I never expected to have such an impact,” she said. “I just wanted to get healthy.”
Fitness experts say one key to success is having someone else to lean on.
“A workout partner is key. Accountability is everything,” celebrity fitness trainer Latreal Mitchell told ABC News. “Not every day you’re going to want to go out there and give it your all. At least you’ll have someone to say, ‘Come on. Today is my day to uplift you and vice versa.’”
Danny Reed now weighs 191 pounds and Lexi is down to 182, but they said this was no easy feat.
“The hardest part of our journey was changing our relationship with food,” said Lexi Reed. “When I was 485 pounds, I never cooked. My husband and I would go out to eat for almost every single meal and if we did cook at home, it was frozen pizza or anything else unhealthy. We found that by meal-prepping instead of relying on fast food, we were able to stick with our goals when we were at work. And by learning to cook our own meals we were in charge of what we were eating. We were willing to learn every single day of our journey and we also started using the gym as therapy instead of food. By changing our minds, habits and emotional triggers, we changed our lives.”
The happy couple is excited to head into 2018 being the healthiest versions of themselves.
“There are no words to explain the feeling of saving your own life,” said Lexi Reed. “Going into 2018 I have nothing but a newfound happiness for this life I am living. I no longer am a prisoner in my own body and instead of just existing in my own life, I’m finally alive. Every day I wake up is a blessing.”