When Chantel Rohdy and Allyson Pearcy see themselves in a mirror, it still sometimes takes a second before they recognize themselves.
Both women had been overweight since childhood. Pearcy, 31, at her highest weight was up to 344 pounds and Rohdy, 30, got up to 298.
Back then, the women – both Brownsburg residents – avoided movie theaters because they couldn’t fit in the seats. They hated shopping, because they had to go to the plus-size sections of stores while their friends looked at the smaller sizes.
Those are problems they no longer have to worry about. Since 2013, the women have lost a total of 330 pounds.
The wake-up call came when Pearcy’s doctor told her to lose weight or take medication for her high blood pressure. Rohdy, Pearcy’s roommate since 2011 and a Lebanon High School graduate, had started taking medication for her blood pressure when she was 21.
In December 2013, Pearcy joined the Weight Watchers program. She began keeping track of points, walking for exercise and cooking healthy meals at home for herself and Rohdy. In three months, she lost 50 pounds.
Rohdy joined the program six months later.
“I saw how much success (Pearcy) was having and I thought, I’m already eating the food, I can try and do it,” she said.
Over the next two years, the women would steadily drop weight through healthy eating and exercise. They tried Zumba, yoga and Pilates, and both now exercise consistently in the mornings at their home gym. They prefer to run, walk or use their elliptical machine, and both have run several 5K races.
Since 2014, Rohdy has lost 150 pounds and Pearcy has lost 180, more than half their former body sizes.
The change in their bodies has affected more than just their physical appearance.
“I was overweight my whole life,” Rohdy said. “This has changed my mindset and made me more positive about things. I realized that I can make goals and reach them.”
Pearcy said that the weight loss has made her more confident and outgoing. Shopping is something she enjoys rather than dreads. The two of them have gone dancing a few times, something they never would have done before.
“I never envisioned myself as a skinny person,” Pearcy said. “I’m still surprised when I fit in movie seats.”
The key to losing weight, said the two preschool teachers, is to set small goals for yourself. Pearcy started with a goal of getting down to 300 pounds, then of running 3 miles, then of getting under 200 pounds, a weight she hadn’t seen since high school.
For both women, snacking and portion control were the biggest problems. They ate because they were bored, said Rohdy, who often drank two gallons of milk per week.
They miss the foods they used to indulge in, but they’ve learned that weight loss isn’t as much about giving things up as it is about control.
Both women are still involved in Weight Watchers and attend meetings regularly. It helps to hear people’s stories and get support from people who know what they’ve been through, Rohdy said.
Last year, they submitted their story to the program and were chosen to have their photos in People magazine’s December Weight Loss Winners issue. The fact that they were chosen came as a huge surprise, Pearcy said.
Though they make the task sound easy, the challenge of weight loss is a never-ending one. Pearcy said she used to imagine what it would be like to be thin, thinking that if she could just lose weight her life would be easy. But maintaining a healthy weight is just as hard as it was to lose it, she said.
“It’s a lifestyle change and you have to always work at it,” Rohdy said. “You have to take it one meal at a time and not be too hard on yourself.”
One thing both women know: they needed each other’s help to accomplish their goals.
“I definitely couldn’t have done it alone,” Rohdy said.
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