For Aussie teenager Josie Desgrand it was Instagram. At 16 years old and already tip-off the scales at 127 kg, she knew that something had to change. She felt especially glum when scrolling through her feed to see pictures of slim models smiling back at her, and after a few failed tries at dieting she was eating more and more in a vicious cycle of feeling sorry for herself and binging on junk food. She was also the victim of bullying, which had destroyed her self-esteem. She decided that something had to be done. “I went into my room and stripped down to my underwear.” She told Bored Panda . Then she made a pact with herself. “No longer fat Josie.”

“I took pictures of myself at different slants, aroused for my next weight loss journey. I used tape measure and wrote down my dimensions knowing I had a long way to go, but I wanted to track every change , no matter how small.”

Setting herself small objectives and keeping track of her progress, Josie started to notice the changes her methods were building. She adopted a low-carb , no-sugar diet and upped her water uptake. Her dad, Mark, joined in with his own weight loss goals and the pair supported and encouraged each other. “Being competitive with him pushed us both to go the extra mile, it was great to have my dad along for the ride.” Having slimmed down to 90 kg through diet alone, she gained the confidence to take the next step and join the gym. “No longer fat Josie, ” she said with determination. “Working out at the gym gave me the extra move to reach my goal weight.”

Instagram, instead of being a source of bitternes, became an inspirational support network that continued to push Josie toward her objectives. “I shared my meals and progress on my Instagram account @nolongerfatjosie. My followers speedily grew, and each was more supportive than the last.’ You look great! ’ They wrote.’ Mmm, do you have the recipe? ’”

“With people from all around the world along for my journey, I never thought about quitting. Putting aside an hour every night, I responded to every person. Being in their position before, I now wanted to help as many people as I could.’ Keep running, ’ I would write back when someone thought they couldn’t do it anymore.”

Now a svelte 63 kg, half of her previous weight, Josie couldn’t be happier. Her transformation into a new lifestyle is complete, what began as a diet has become a life-changing experience for the 18 -year-old. Her final victory came at her high school formal, where she wowed her friends and family in a figure-hugging dress that depicted off her new figure. Now writing a book about her experience, Josie hopes to help others in their own weight loss journeys. “Now I want to be the push to help people get back up, ” she said. “Because everyone deserves to feel as happy as I now do.”

Scroll down to check out Josie’s transformation for yourself below, and let us know what you think in the comments!