Everybody loves an inspiring body transformation story. Losing weight and gaining muscle—especially when you’re starting from square one—may be incredibly difficult, but the results are also amazingly motivating. 

Today’s motivation? Meghan Gilbert, a 21-year-old from Dallas, TX.

In high school, Gilbert was often bullied by her classmates who told her that her legs “jiggled” so much that “thunder struck” every time she walked into a room. Depression and a binge-eating disorder, only made worse by the taunting she received at school, led Gilbert’s weight to spiral out of control so much so that at one point she weighed north of 200lbs.

 

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The girl on the left was 200 lbs of depression, anxiety, and sin. I was addicted to drugs and I partied every night. I woke up in the morning wanting to forget that I had to wake up this morning.. my life was just..sad. I hated every part of my body and being until I took one too many pills and sipped one too many drinks, waking up after 36 hours of straight sleep. Well, could be longer. When I woke up from my overdose, I saw my tattoo "walk by faith not by sight" and that's when I knew I wasn't doing life right. The Bible PREACHES LOVE! That's Jesus's commandment. So that's where I started. I loved myself. I loved the gym. I loved the hardship. I loved the pain and soreness. I loved the people around me. And most of all, I loved God. When you first start to lift weights and someone pushes you to go harder, most the time you say no I can't do that much! But then you try, and you get one Rep out. You think you can't do it, but in reality you can. It hurts. You build muscle by tearing it down… Same thing goes in life. You gain strength through hardship. You will always have gloomy times in your life, and what matters most is your mindset. Saying no, I can't do it and not trying. Or saying yes, I can do it. I will try. I won't give up, no matter how hard it is or how much it hurts. I trust You, God. After the pain and trials, you end up stronger. I started at a 5lb dumbell, and now I'm lifting a 25lb. It hurt when I first lifted that 5.. so bad. But I kept on going. To 10. It hurt. To 15. It hurt. The same goes for life. Trials are like God's gym. Building you up to prepare for what is to come next. ❤️ 80 lbs downs plus a gained mindset of strength and endurance. Clean for 2 years and one month ?????????????

A post shared by Meghan Gilbert (@megsmotivationn) on

 

 

Gilbert first started by working out in her local park every day before eventually falling in love with exercise and hiring a personal trainer. The now-Instagram-famous young model, who has nearly 45,000 followers, has since lost more than 80lbs and achieved a toned physique with visible muscle—silencing all the bullies who once put her down.

See more of her incredible transformation in the Instagram photos below: