Hamilton women lose half their weight
[projekktor id=’20151′]
Just a few years ago, Courtenay Shepherd, and Stephanie Nikolica, were both a size 28. Neither woman could walk down the block without sweating profusely and doing so made their legs and backs ache. Their lives were very similar but they had never met.
Then each woman reached a breaking point. For Shepherd, realising she couldn’t pick up a few groceries because walking was too painful caused her to make major changes in her life. She weighed 320lbs. For Nikolica, not being able to ride a roller coaster because of her size was the wake up call, “I sat down and they couldn’t close the bar. And that was probably the lowest point that I personally felt. And I had to get escorted off the ride.” She weighed 335lbs.
They both starting exercising- slowly challenging their bodies with new distances to walk, weights to lift and stairs to climb. Shepherd stopped drinking pop- before she could polish off a case in a day. Through healthy eating and exercise, Shepherd and Nikolica each shed their first 100 pounds. Then, six months ago, they met randomly at a restaurant and bonded over their transformations. They became instant friends. And ever since, they’ve trained together daily- finally achieving their goal weights.
Courtenay has lost more than half her weight, “in total I’ve gone down about 180lbs. But when I hit the 100lb mark and you start comparing pictures and people start coming up to you like, oh my God I didn’t even recognize you. That’s when it was like, “wow”.”
Stephanie now weighs 175, down 160 pounds. Just weeks ago, they rode a roller coaster for the first time in years. For Nikolica, the experience was almost as gratifying as seeing the number 199 on the scale, “when we sat down and they closed the bar, I almost didn’t want to go on the ride. Just sitting there and knowing I could fit onto a ride. That I’d say was a really amazing feeling.”
Together, they’ve lost 340 pounds. And gained a lifelong friendship. You can follow their journey here.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1591590637774292/
