Real life weight loss: "How I lost 195lbs safely and sustainably"

Jillian Rogue was a plus-size model before she lost an incredible 195lbs. She was always an overweight child because she used food to comfort her in times of need and gained even more weight when she became homeless and fast food was cheap to get. 

She became a plus-size model after deciding that she was ‘going to embrace her body and learn to love it’. Modelling gave her confidence to go out and enjoy her life and all her experiences ‘brought her away from addiction with food’ and she started losing weight. 

Jillian began losing weight seriously after getting into cycling and exercising portion control. If you want to follow in Jillian's footsteps, you can check out our portion size guide and our look at the best exercise bikes.

Check out Jillian's weight loss journey below, as she opened up to our sibling YouTube channel Truly:

Watch Jillian's inspiring weight loss story here:

Jillian started to gain a massive following after posting her plus size journey on social media - she gained over 200k followers but lost 50k once she showed off her weight loss journey. 

Once she decided to focus on her health she started ‘bike riding, intermittent fasting, controlling portion sizes’ and lost ‘a whole person’. It's important to not crash diet, create unsustainable habits and end up piling the weight back on, so Jillian focused on looking at her diet and reducing volumes to start with. Cycling is also a very effective, low-impact, low-intensity way to exercise, toning your quads and hamstrings while burning calories and elevating your metabolism. 

Finding a safe, low-intensity exercise you enjoy is vital when first beginning your weight loss journey. Research has found you're more likely to continue with exercises you like, and cycling (especially in green spaces) lowers levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which contributes to weight gain. 

Jillian's loose skin still makes her self-conscious at times, especially around her arms, but she says "her life has changed in every way possible". Jillian's weight loss has been a transformative journey, and she got several tattoos to commemorate the experience.

"I do more things now, I'm more active, I go out, I have fun... I definitely feel like I have a new lease on life. Before, I always felt like I was going to have a heart attack, and now I feel healthier than ever."