After years of being put down by bullies in her school because she was overweight, Josephine Desgrand decided she has had enough and decided things must change. She was tired of feeling embarrassed and ashamed about her body. The 16-year old weighted a whopping 278 pounds. She knew if she was going to change things, her unhealthy lifestyle centered mainly on food and sweets would have to change.

Josephine was tired of the kids in school who relentlessly bullied her because of her size. Despite being a brilliant girl with a beautiful heart, they never ceased to tease her and said harsh words to her. Josephine realized she couldn’t take a lifetime of harassment and decided to change things once and for all. She wasn’t doing this to please the bullies, but she wanted to feel good about herself. She decided that she wanted to make everyone’s jaws drop by the time senior prom rolled around!

For the next two years, the teen stuck to a strict diet and regular workout. She dreaded the thought of hitting the 300 pounds’ mark. That simply couldn’t happen! The determined teen cut out sugars completely, rarely ate carbs and remained dedicated to her fitness plan. She wasn’t going to risk her physical and mental well-being for a few tasty treats.

It wasn’t easy, being used to such an unhealthy lifestyle for so long, breaking it and starting to eat healthily wasn’t easy at all. But once she got into the habit and started eating healthy and exercising, she started shedding off weight at an incredible rate.

At the end of the two years target, she set for herself, and Josephine was able to surpass her expectations and lost more than 138 pounds. She took to Instagram to share the impressive results of her journey towards weight loss and how she was able to achieve such impressive results despite all odds. Here’s what she wrote:

“I stuck to a low carb, no sugar diet for TWO WHOLE years. I began to eat natural sugars about six months into my journey. In the first 12 months, I lost 63 kgs [138 pounds]. I do not see this as a diet to lose weight; I see this as my new lifestyle change. In these two years, I have faced some very difficult challenges, but I have chosen to pick myself up and keep moving. Everybody has bad days, never let a stumble be the end of your journey.”

What better way is there to reward herself for all the hard work than to show off her new look in the presence of all the people who bullied her at her senior prom. Josephine got herself the most stunning red dress for the prom, and she was the star of the show. She looked just like a fashion model.

Feeling confident as ever, Josephine proudly waltzed her way into the prom venue with her beautiful dress shimmering in the light. She looked so beautiful all heads were turning in her direction. All those how once bullying her were shocked by her amazing transformation.

Josephine is proof that everyone is indeed the author of their destinies. While we cannot control what people do and say to us, especially when people decide to be mean because of how we look, we can take charge of our own lives and steer things in our direction. Josephine story also shows us how important it is that we watch out words. It is wrong to try to bring someone down because of how they look. Good thing Josephine was able to turn all the negativity around and use it to her advantage.