The Inspirational Story Of A Couple Who Lost 400 Pounds

For many Americans, it’s a daily battle to become healthier and get into shape. One young American couple struggled with obesity, but theirs is a story that is unlike many others. Lexi and Danny Reed decided to do something about their situation AND followed through. They rose to the challenge of transforming themselves and becoming the healthiest they could be. The results are nothing short of amazing! This is the Reeds’ story.

Take Out Food

It seemed like Lexi and Danny were just like any other American couple. The two fell in love, then decided to get hitched. They enjoyed spending time watching TV and at restaurants, they usually went for junk food. Lexi already hadn’t been leading a healthy lifestyle and getting married appeared to have made her eating habits all the worse.

Enabling One Another

Lexi and Danny began dating in 2007. They also unknowingly brought about unhealthy eating in each other. The couple didn’t really realize that their lifestyle was becoming more and more unhealthy. Meals and take-out at fast-food restaurants became a regular thing in their lives. Watching TV while they were eating didn’t help matters either. Sometimes they succeeded in losing some pounds, but the weight quickly returned.

Taking On The Challenge Together

At the age of 25, Lexi Reed’s weight unbelievably shot up to 485 pounds. Danny, who was at 280 pounds, was pretty overweight too. What’s more, the pair appeared to be putting on more and more weight. A lot of day-to-day activities appeared to have become actual burdens, even if they are simple, such as going on a walk or riding a bicycle. However, in 2016, during the first anniversary of their wedding, everything changed.

A New Year’s Resolution

As the couple were making preparations for welcoming the year 2016, they also did something that many others around the world do on New Year’s Eve – the Reeds made a New Year’s resolution. And not just any resolution, the couple went for something that would be challenging, yet life changing. A lot of people make huge promises to others and themselves with respect to the new year. Unfortunately, as is usual, people don’t really keep their promises. The Reeds decided to be different.

Daring Challenge

When a friend of the couple heard that the two were making a New Year’s resolution with regards to their weight, he got involved. It kicked off with a smart suggestion of avoiding alcohol and cheat meals for 30 days – the two thought this was a piece of cake (oops, sorry). However, as time went by, Lexi and Danny came to realize just how hard it would be. The pair even got a gym membership.

Taking Baby Steps

The cardio classes that were offered at the gym were very challenging for Lexi. “I tried to do high-intensity cardio, but I wasn’t able to,” she recalls. Despite the fact that Lexi was absolutely motivated to get fitter and shed some pounds, she quickly found out that with her weight, it was difficult to keep pace with the others in the class.

Seeing The Progress

As the 30-day mark was closing in, Lexi felt impressed with how she looked and with the fact that she felt a lot better. Needless to say, this really boosted her motivation and convinced her to carry on with her exercise routine and new diet. Soon, she was shedding off 20 pounds every month up until the point when it plateaued. She said, “My weight loss had slowed and I had picked up the intensity of my workouts and adjusted my calories to continue losing consistently.”

No Excuses

A lot of people would like to lose weight. However, when it comes down to actually doing something about it, their willpower diminishes fast. Any time a person doesn’t keep to his word, he doesn’t only lose motivation but he also starts feeling bad about himself. Lexi didn’t let herself reach that stage, so she always kept in mind that the most important thing to her was her gym routine. She explained, “I just kind of try to set it up like a business meeting. I am my own boss and I can’t cancel.”

Partnering Up

Despite the fact that Lexi weighed way more than Danny, her husband, both of them still took on the task to lose the extra pounds together. During the times that were most challenging, Lexi and Danny were there for each other. They made sure that neither of them would fail and that both of them were on track to become the best that they could be.

What About Danny

Danny had also fallen into a rather unhealthy routine himself prior to the couple committing to becoming healthier. “At first the idea didn’t sound great because it was always good going home, sitting down, eating and not having to worry about anything.” He started at 280 pounds but today he only weighs roughly 190 pounds.

Getting Viral

Unbeknownst to the couple, they began to get plenty of attention when they began losing weight. Lexi used Instagram to keep friends updated with her progress, but she was really surprised when she and her husband were featured on People Magazine in the magazine’s “Half Their Size” issue. Lexi and Danny Reed’s journey started to become a viral story.

Couch Potatoes

During her appearance on Megyn Kelly’s show, Lexi revealed what made her decide to begin getting healthy: “We were just fed up with spending so many nights sitting on our couch binge watching television, mindlessly eating all our calories.” However, being stuck to the couch actually was a result of the couple’s inability to do a lot of other things.

Rollercoaster Rides

Lexi had always dreamed of visiting Harry Potter World at Universal Studios. However, her weight literally hindered her from doing so because of the size and weight restrictions that were assigned to some of the rides.

Becoming A Mom

Actually, entertainment was just one of the issues for her. Lexi was thinking about something far more serious. “I knew I could never be a mom at the size that I was and that was the one thing that motivated me,” she said. At her weight, carrying a baby could be dangerous not just to the mother but also to the baby.

Warning Signs

On Megyn Kelly’s show, the host asked Lexi about the greatest challenges that Lexi faced daily and she immediately answered, “I would wake up in the morning, my joints would be sore, I would be tired, I would be out of breath quickly.” At 25 years old, Lexi knew that this wasn’t how she wanted to live her life.

Changing Their Lifestyle

For Lexi and Danny Reed, small changes were the biggest deal. “We started changing the foods that we were eating… we stopped eating out for every single meal and we made healthy versions of the food that we were craving. We started moving more and walking and going the gym just five times a week.”

Instagram Fans

Instagram has the capability of reaching a large number of people. What Lexi didn’t realize was just how many. Hoards of followers started to get attracted to her appropriately named account, “Fatgirlfedup”. Before long, she had gotten nearly 700 thousand followers. She decided to use the platform not only to express her opinions, but also to motivate and inspire others.

Looking And Feeling Good

As always, there were people who believed that the couple pursued this journey simply for superficial reasons. However, Lexi said something positive as a reply to them: “I’ve always been a super happy person. Like I loved myself even at 485 pounds, but just to be able to wake up and do whatever I want to do and go wherever I want to go… I don’t feel like I’m a prisoner in my own body anymore.” It was a bonus to look good, but their goal was to feel good.

Love In All Shapes And Sizes

The thing that is really amazing about the Reeds is how, through “thick and thin”, they have kept very much in love with each other. “He (Danny) never saw me as my size, asked me to change, or made me feel as anything other than beautiful,” explained Lexi. “He treated me the same way at 485lbs that he does at 182lbs. Love doesn’t have a size or weight limit.”

Lexi’s Weight Loss Advice

Needless to say, because she has come a very long way, people were curious to find out how Lexi did it. For anyone who would like to lose weight, she says, “Start small. Small changes add up to big result.” We often set ourselves massive goals, but then feel overwhelmed by them.

Gaining Not Losing

The story of Lexi and Danny leads us to believe that all of this is about losing weight. However, she says that it’s more than just losing; as a matter of fact, it is actually “gaining”. Lexi proudly posted on Instagram this quote: “It’s not about the weight that you lose but the life that you gain.”

No Rush

In spite of how easy it is for Lexi to speak about her remarkable transformation, she would really like everyone to recognize that losing weight takes a long time and that it isn’t a race. She put it best in her Instagram post, “I am human and it’s so important to remember at the end of the day this is a journey, not a sprint. This is a lifestyle, not a diet.”

Growing Together

“This helped our relationship a lot and that is pretty cool… Us being able to do stuff together has brought us closer together.” It only goes to show that when a couple have a mutual goal, together they can make things happen.

Addicted To Being Healthy

Lexi and Danny transformed their life into one big health challenge and has reached a point that it has become sort of an obsession. Lexi was unable to hold back her delight as she explained, “Once I saw the results, it kind of became more of an addiction for me.”

No Liposuction Required

There were people who assumed that she had undergone liposuction, but Lexi proudly let them know that she hadn’t. “You don’t have to have surgery, you don’t have to pay crazy amounts of money just to eat healthy or to have a trainer, like just move! Start walking,” she explained. It’s not a secret that Liposuction brings about weight loss. However, there are certainly other healthier ways of becoming slimmer.

Huge Following

Today, Lexi has over 750,000 Instagram followers, and all of them have been inspired in some way or another by what she has achieved. “I just would be happy if like maybe ten people would follow me that were my friends. I didn’t think anybody would follow me. It’s just crazy.”

Inspiring Others

“It’s not even about that, just for people to come and be like, ‘You really inspired me. Because of you I went to the gym today’ or, ‘because of you I’ve started to diet and I’ve lost 20 pounds and I can do this now.’” Lexi is not in it for the glory. She is happy with the knowledge that she continues to make a difference in other’s lives.

Just Numbers

For many people, getting on the scale is the best method in telling whether a person is healthy or not, but Lexi doesn’t think so. “Always remember to love yourself because at the end of the day the scale is just a tool and you are worth more than a number.”

Cooking VS Eating Out

Everyone knows that habits are hard to break, especially if they are bad ones. However, once you succeed in doing it, you will feel a huge weight taken off your shoulders. “The hardest part of our journey was changing our relationship with food. To go from eating out for every single meal to teaching myself how to cook every single day to meal prepping together, it was a very drastic change,” says Lexi.

Not Paying Attention

When the couple started their own YouTube channel, they had no idea it would turn into a public platform where they could answer questions. Someone asked them how they got so heavy while they were still dating and Lexi just said, “I don’t think we realized in actuality how large we were because I look at progress pictures and I’m like, ‘That was me? That doesn’t even look like me.’ We didn’t feel like it was a problem.”

Their Channel

The name of their channel on YouTube is also “Fatgirlfedup” and over 30,000 have subscribed. The couple employs vlog-style videos to motivate and inspire other people who would like get fitter.

It Takes Hard Work

Despite the fact that we are constantly bombarded with commercials which promise fast and easy weight loss, the fact is that it actually takes plenty of work. Lexi and Danny really get the point across that losing weight isn’t just a one-pill solution. It is a journey filled with many obstacles.

Comparing Themselves

If you take a look at this couple’s first picture and compare it with a photo that is recently taken, your jaw will probably drop. We know ours did. It’s hard to believe that the people in the pictures are the same, but the photos do prove that determination and hard work can literally transform who you are.

Over Eating

Looking back to the days of unhealthy eating and bad health, Lexi and Danny remember that all their trips to a restaurant had been another chance to pile food on their plates. Getting some Chinese food usually meant that the couple would munch down food as much as seven platefuls. It could be meats, ribs, chicken, chips or whatever else, which they usually ordered deep-fried.

Loved For Who She Was

When Lexi and Danny first met, they were only 16 years old. However, the pair knew they were meant to be together. Danny didn’t think Lexi’s weight was an issue since he saw his future wife for the person she was. In an interview, Lexi said that, “When Danny and I met at 16 years old, I weighed over 300lbs. He never knew me as any less and never asked me to change.”

Homemade Fastfood

One of the toughest challenges that the Reeds faced had been to stop eating out. “For the first month, I didn’t eat out at all, I made everything and I don’t even like cooking, so I was constantly learning. I was cooking foods I enjoyed and taking foods that I had liked before and making healthy versions of those meals. I didn’t feel deprived and could still eat the foods I wanted.” Lexi, herself, was making “homemade fastfood”.

Walking Was Difficult

Some of us cannot even begin to imagine what being so overweight means. As for Lexi, she really hated that all things were a burden, “I wanted to be able to go on hikes and walk with my husband, to go on the bike and rollercoasters. I wanted to do all the things you want to do, that you can’t when you are overweight. For me, even walking was chore.”

Waiting For Results

Lexi really knows how challenging things can get when aiming to lose weight, so she said something inspiring for people doing it: “Obviously you didn’t gain all that weight overnight, you’re not going to see results right away and you’re not going to lose all your weight in a day.”

Finally, A Sign

Even when Lexi had begun changing how she lived her life, the first results took three weeks to come up. When talking about this, she said, “It took 3 weeks before I really saw results. Once I did, I became addicted.”

Straining The Relationship

Despite the fact that Lexi and Danny were spending time with each other and they were literally on the sofa side by side, they were drifting apart. Recalling this, Lexi said, “We would spend so many nights, eating and watching Netflix and not talking.”

No Knowledge, Just Will

It was not easy to make the decision and take on the task that these two had. Lexi explained, “I just decided enough was enough. I was ready to change my life. I decided I was going to work hard for it every single day. I didn’t have a trainer or meal plan.” She continued, “I didn’t know about nutrition, cooking, I had no surgery, took no pills. I was just your average girl who was fed up and wanted to change.”

One Day At A Time

The path to getting healthier was also an experience that taught Lexi things about herself. “I was willing to learn every single day. I focused on the single day ahead of me, not the 300 pounds I knew I had to lose, because that would have overwhelmed me. It made me feel like I didn’t have such a long way to go.”

Lexi’s Diet Plan

Now, for people who would like to know about the things Lexi does and the food she eats to have come this far – 30 Minutes Cardio (on Elliptical Machine), Breakfast – 2 large eggs, 3 turkey bacon pieces, Snack 1 – Protein shake, Lunch – cottage cheese, Salmon patties, broccoli, asparagus, Snack 2– Almond butter and banana, 30 Minutes Cardio (on Elliptical Machine), Dinner – Turkey Burgers (Honey Wheat Thin Buns, Fat Free Cheese), Steamed Cauliflower / Broccoli, Mushrooms.

Saving Their Lives

When a person gets so severely obese, his or her life is actually in danger. The Reeds’ decision to become healthy was, in fact, saving the couple’s lives. “There are no words to explain the feeling of saving your own life,” Lexi said. “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.”

Studying Nutrition

All the things which Lexi has learned regarding nutrition have inspired her to get a deeper look into the subject. Recently, she has developed a desire to study the subject at university.

Quite Busty

Lexi’s sense of humor is great and she finds her bust size when she weighed almost 500 pounds quite amusing. Now, she says that it’s a lot less difficult to find bras which are regular sizes compared to the massive ones that she had to get back then.

Getting Out

Needless to say, changing the exercise that you do and the things that you eat will have an effect on your weight. However, being outdoors is also good for the body and for the mind. Lexi said, “We now have a more adventurous relationship & can do more active things together such as hiking, walking, bike riding, etc.”

Get The Right People

Love and support can do incredible things and that’s what Lexi and Danny Reed are all about. She explains the way support and positivity from people around her had such a big difference, “Losing weight is hard and even harder when those you love don’t support you. I’m one lucky girl to have someone who always loved me no matter what size and saw who I could be.”

Leaving The Comfort Zone

Shedding the pounds has made Lexi really confident and she’s basking in her newly found confidence. “Riding a dirtbike! Never in a million years did I ever think that my weight loss journey would take me here or I ever would get to do something that [Danny] loves so much.”

Protein Shakes

Lexi says that a protein shake is a meal replacement that is safe and healthy. She makes herself at least one shake in a day and she points out that shakes can be “in-between” meals.

Setting High Goals

Despite the fact that many people say you shouldn’t set unrealistic goals, Lexi and Danny firmly believe that it is still better that you set high goals in order to challenge yourself. The husband and wife served as each other’s motivation and inspiration.

Summer DietBet

“DietBet” is a movement which encourages people to shed weight by winning various money prizes. “DietBet” has helped hundreds of thousands who want to lose weight. Some of these people have even gotten a little richer.

Needles And Tattoos

Do needles bother you? How about tattoos? Lexi has been thinking about getting a tattoo that represent how far she has come on her journey to weight loss. There is one catch, though. Lexi is afraid of needles. She posted on Instagram, “Fun fact – I HATE needles and even though I want a weight loss tattoo I’m terrified.”

Making Dreams Come True

If there is anything amazing that Lexi and Danny Reed have taught us, it is that when there is a goal you have set your sights on, you can definitely achieve it. Not all days will be easy and there will surely be rough challenges, but anything is possible if you’re committed.