Millions of people all over the world struggle with their weight. One of these people is Jasmine Parent, a 29 year-old mother of two from Nova Scotia, Canada.

Jasmine said she was in amazing shape through the time she graduated college in 2012, but when her father passed away that year, food became something that she went to for comfort. She also had two babies over the course of a few years, and before she knew it, Jasmine was 100 pounds too heavy for her 5’10 frame.

“I started to emotionally eat,” Jasmine explained. “I didn’t realize how unhappy or how anxious I was because it was just my norm.”

Jasmine was disgusted when she discovered that she was 300 pounds after the birth of her second child.

“I looked at myself in the mirror and I was in so much pain,” she recalled. “My knees were shot. My back hurt and I was tired. My anxiety was so bad I didn’t want to leave the house.”

Things continued to get worse until one photo convinced Jasmine to do something to change her body. Ever since she was 12, she posed for an annual photo with her best friend, and the way she looked in the 2017 image had Jasmine pledging to change her ways.

Jasmine teamed up with her partner Jeremy Crawley, who was 6’5 and over 300 pounds, to make 2018 the year they got fit. They decided to embark on the 21-Day Meal Plan which means eating healthy and changing their eating behavior. The couple cut out sugar, junk, and processed foods, while adding lots of fresh fruits, veggies, beans, lean proteins, and whole grains to their diet.

Jasmine started seeing results within a week, and by the next month, she had dropped 17 pounds while Jeremy had dropped 20!

“I had more energy and was more focused,” she said. “Seeing the results is so motivating and such a driver. I think, ‘What can I do next month?’”

Ten months later, Jeremy had lost all of the 95 pounds he’d set out to lose, and Jasmine had dropped a staggering 120 pounds.

The couple now has four pieces of advice for anyone who wants to lose weight:

Find the perfect meal plan or diet for you

“People should do research and find something that’s gonna work for you,” Jasmine said. “Find what is going to be sustainable.”

Don’t expect this to be a “quick fix”

“There are so many diets and fads and things people want you to put your money in but there is no quick fix,” she explained. “It is going to be hard and it is going to take work but it is worth it.”

Find someone who will work out with you

“It completely changed everything,” Jasmine said of working out with Jeremy. “We really fed off each other’s energy and it was a lot easier having someone eat the same meal as me.”

Set goals that evolve over time

Jasmine’s original goal was to lose 40 pounds by July, but when she hit this goal in March, she increased her goal to losing 80 by July.

“I knew that it had to be something short-term and realistic,” she said.

We applaud Jasmine and Jeremy for taking steps to change their lives for the better! Not only do they look amazing but setting an example of eating and living healthy are great examples for their children.