26-year-old Conner Rensch was once bullied at school over her size, weighing in at 271 pounds and even being told by her classmates that she should “just kill” herself. Originally from Nebraska, upon entering her freshman year of college Conner decided that enough was enough and that there was no way in hell she was going to let her bullies win. Determined to drop the excess weight and regain control of her life, Conner began meeting with a nutritionist and personal trainer.
According to Daily Mail, the nutritionist had her omit processed foods from her diet and her trainer put her on a regimen including workouts like kickboxing, cardio, and weight lifting. While most people would have given up after the first day, Conner managed to stick with it for a whole month and lost 23 pounds in just 21 days.
She says that the dramatic weight loss gave her that final bit of encouragement she needed in order to turn her life around.
‘The biggest change was emotionally – I was my biggest bully. Now I’ve learned to be kind to myself.
… But she admitted: ‘I’m chubby girl stuck in a skinny girl body. I eat healthy 80 percent of the time and whatever I want the rest.
‘I’m the same girl but I am happier and healthier.’
…’When I see photos of me before, they make me feel sad in terms of how I felt.
‘I dealt with depression and emotionally coped with food. But I am also very proud of that girl.’(via)
Conner now weighs in at a toned 144 pounds and even won first place in the 2015 World Beauty Fitness And Fashion contest – the first time she’d ever worn a bikini. Speaking to Daily Mail, Conner said “I am so proud of my scars and stretch marks as they tell my story and how far I’ve come. It was amazing to get up there and they shared my story as I walked out – it was such a proud moment of me, all my family was there.”
As for her Instagram fame, she’s amassed over 36,000 followers with her weight loss success story – and judging from the photos, it doesn’t look like she’s anywhere close to slowing down with her fitness regimen: