By the time she was 28, Stacy Blair was already beginning to have health problems due to her weight.

"I was taking medication for high blood pressure, my asthma was getting worse, and it was physically painful to walk or stand for more than five minutes," Blair told Women's Health in October.

For the first time in her life, she was motivated to lose weight not for the sake of looking good, but for personal wellness and improving her health—an approach that changed everything.

"I wanted to be able to play an active role in my little brothers' lives rather than watching from the couch," she said. "I wanted to be able to be a mom one day. I wanted to be able to move without being in pain. I wanted to live instead of just exist."

Blair got started by counting calories and keeping a daily log of her meals, which led to her going on a keto diet that helped her lose 220 pounds in 17 months.

"At the end of the day when everything is all said and done, it's not about the weight you lose, it's about the life you gain," she said.



"I didn't want to buy a plus-size wedding dress, because they cost way more than straight sizes," O'Toole told People in April. "I felt like I was paying this fat tax—I didn't have the ability to buy affordable clothes because I was bigger."

When she and her husband-to-be saw photos of themselves from a trip to Disney World, they made the decision to lose weight together and began tracking their calories and meals with the app LoseIt!

O'Toole lost 75 pounds in the first year, and another 25 once the couple began incorporating exercise into their routine. By the time the wedding rolled around earlier this year, she had lost a total of 135 pounds and was able to walk down the aisle in the dress of her dreams.