At 23 years old, Simone Anderson couldn’t get herself to step on a scale to face the number that stared back at her. She was, by all standards of measurement, massive. When she finally got the courage to to step on scale at the jewelry factory where she was working at the time, the number 373 stared back at her. This is nearly two and a half times the weight of an average female in Simone’s age range.
“Honestly, bringing the bin in the house up the driveway was hard,” the New Zealand resident tells PEOPLE. “Walking up the stairs to the kitchen I’d get tired.”
Simone, coming to the realization that she may not make it to 30, decided to do a complete life overhaul. The now 25-year-old changed her diet from takeout and fast food “at least five or six times a week” to foods like meat, nuts, vegetables and fruit.
She coupled a healthier diet with working out for one to two hours a day, diversifying her workouts with activities such as basketball, water polo, netball, personal training sessions, boot camp and running.
“When people ask me how I got to where I am today, it definitely comes down to exercise,” she says. “As much as I do it, you don’t want to go and eat shit afterwards because you know you’ve worked hard and how much effort you’ve put in!” [PEOPLE]
In just twelve months, Simone more than halved her body weight, dropping from 373 pounds to less than 170.
Simone has revealed that just losing the weight is only the beginning of the journey. She had to undergo an abdominoplasty, which is a surgical operation involving the removal of excess flesh from the abdomen. She also underwent a bra line back lift, a breast lift and a breast augmentation.
‘Basically most of my lose skin has been removed apart from that on my upper thighs and bottom.’
Hopefully for those who are looking to shed a few and subscribe to a healthier lifestyle, these pictures of Simone will give you the bump you need for a physical and mental makeover.
[h/t PEOPLE]