Married couple Heather and Richard Dieffenbach struggled with their weight for years, but after seeing a friend's story featured on Joy Fit, it inspired them to collectively lose 297 pounds.
Forty-one-year-old Heather maintained a healthy diet until she went to college and started living on fast food and pizza. The pounds started to creep on, but she put off doing anything about it. Her boss asked whether she was pregnant — she wasn't. Heather still couldn't find the motivation to get serious about her health and weight.
The turning point came when she learned a former co-worker shed 280 pounds and appeared on Kathie Lee and Hoda's Joy Fit segment in May 2013. Personally knowing someone who had been successful motivated her. She started tracking her steps, joined a weight loss program with her husband and paid attention to her food intake. After one year she dropped 100 pounds. Now she weighs 126 pounds.
Forty-year-old Richard's battle with weight is similar to his wife's story. He ate healthy as a child but once he went to college, the freshmen 15 turned into the freshmen 50. He graduated with three degrees and got busy with his career and family. Richard didn't have time to manage his weight.
Heather shared her former co-worker's Joy Fit video with him and it helped encourage him to make a change. Richard and Heather shook hands that night, and started his journey to a healthier life. Now, he weighs 173 pounds, losing nearly 200 pounds, and says he feels like "Rich 4.0."
