Real Life Weight Loss: How this Texas woman lost 160lbs and became a bodybuilder

Tori Scott, from Baytown, Texas, has gone from over 300lbs to a bodybuilding competition after losing a staggering 160lbs. She was overweight as a child and blamed binge eating for her weight gain.

"Whatever I was doing, food was involved," said Tori. "I wanted to eat my emotions. Eventually, I got on the scale and said 'Tori, something has to change'."

 The turning point for Tori was when she saw pictures of herself during a vacation and was horrified with the way she looked. Tori told Truly: “Seeing those pictures was like a slap in the face." She felt invisible while being overweight, but at first wanted to stay that way because she hated how she looked.

Watch: Tori's incredible weight loss journey here

After feeling upset about the pictures, Tori decided to have VSG surgery and began her incredible weight loss and fitness journey. She started to visit the gym at least five times a week with her boyfriend, who also trains with her, and began a vegetarian diet. 

The vegetarian diet isn't necessarily a weight loss solution for itself (plenty of unhealthy foods are perfectly fine to eat on a vegetarian diet) but Tori's trainer helps her set her macro goals, balancing her intake of protein, carbs and fat with her weight training requirements. Some of the best fitness apps contain options to help you track your daily diet, which studies say can help double your weight loss progress. 

Her newest goal is to push things even further, and she is currently training for her first bodybuilding competition. Building lean muscle requires an increased intake of protein in addition to lots of resistance training. While protein is often associated with animal products, you can get plenty of vegetarian and vegan options. Just check our best protein powder for weight loss guide for more info. 

Tori added: “I want to be the healthiest, best version of myself when I walk across that stage to say goodbye to that 300lb version of myself.” She now lives a life that fulfils her and is open to new challenges.