A woman who weighed over 140kg has cured her high blood pressure and hypothyroidism after shedding nearly 60kg on her own — without weight loss surgery.
At just 22 years old, Laura Micetich weighed about 140kg and was close to developing pre-diabetes. The excess weight she carried also caused her issues with her thyroid and blood pressure.
After realising her unhealthy lifestyle was slowly killing her, Micetich, now 26, vowed to get healthy once and for all, going from 142kg to 83kg, according to the Daily Mail.
"In spring 2014, after graduating from college, I decided to take charge of my life and make a change," she explained on her website, The Iron Giantess Life.
"After trying and failing to get a handle on my health numerous times, my weight had become a serious enough concern that I was considering weight-loss surgery."
Laura kicked off her weight loss by making a 30-day commitment to herself to cut everything from her diet except clean proteins and green vegetables while adopting a cardio and weightlifting regimen that had her working out five times a week.
She admitted that she initially tried to lose weight to be considered a safe candidate for weight loss surgery, but the lifestyle changes she made "quickly grew into an intense love of health, fitness and nutrition".
"I started by going to the gym, lifting weights and eating a clean diet tailored to my body's needs," she explained.
"It only took a few weeks for me to realise that I didn't need to go under the knife. I needed to get under the bar."
The University School of Jackson teacher shared that she lost almost all of her weight in just the first 10 months.
Within a year, the 1.8m fitness model shed more than 45kg without surgery. Her newfound love of fitness also inspired her to create her website, which offers fitness plans and nutrition guides.
"I am now health-issue free and my life has changed for the better with the simple realisation that what we want and what we do are completely in our own control," she explained on her site.
Micetich frequently shares before and after photos of her transformation on her Instagram page, and her dedication to health and fitness has earned her more than 260,000 followers.
"Fitness and health have gone from a burden to a passion," she explained in the caption of one of her stunning before and after posts.