The Most Inspiring Weight Loss Story Of The Year

People often overlook the progress they're making throughout their weight loss journey. . It's easy to grow discouraged when hitting a plateau or regressing. Identifying with this struggle, Karen Cheng and Finbarr Taylor developed Giveit100, an online platform for fitness beginners. Members can post video blogs to track their progress and share the trials and tribulations of starting a workout regimen. One Giveit100 blogger, LaKeisha Shurn, has attracted quite the following. She even received a shout-out from celebrity personal trainer Jillian Michaels, who shared Shurn's video blog and commented, "I've never met this woman, but watched her video blog. What a bad ass. Bravo. Get it girl!"

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Shurn is, indeed, a bad ass. In fact, she may have the most inspiring weight loss story of the year. She began her weight loss journey over a year ago with the hopes of changing her life for the better. Shurn suffered from depression and low self-esteem, and says her goal was to lose weight and "find love in [herself]." Her vlog depicts her going to the gym once a day for 100 days straight. As time went on, filming the experience became a form of therapy. "I realized I always put down my body," she told Greatist, "Learning to finally accept my body for what it is took a lot of stress off of me."

In the first 100 days, Shurn lost 18 pounds. She worked out consistently and made other lifestyle changes, like cutting out fast food and incorporating more vegetables into her diet. Over the course of a year, she lost 51 pounds, bringing her weight below 300 pounds for the first time in years. Today, however, Shurn's motivation to continue this journey doesn't come from the number on the scale. Instead, she focuses on staying committed to healthy choices and listening to her body's needs. We could all take a page out of Shurn's book: Love yourself and don't give up. Your body and mind will thank you.

The accompanying slideshow is provided by fellow Daily Meal special contributor Kim Cooper.