banner image of Sussy and Wes H. reads: We feel empowered. We've come out stronger knowing we can overcome anything, as long as we do it together. Sussy and Wes H., Independent OPTAVIA Coaches. banner image of Sussy and Wes H. reads: We feel empowered. We've come out stronger knowing we can overcome anything, as long as we do it together. Sussy and Wes H., Independent OPTAVIA Coaches.
Photo collage of before and after images of Sussy and Wes H. Photo collage of before and after images of Sussy and Wes H.

Sussy and Wes — “Together, we lost over 300 pounds* with the help of OPTAVIA and during a pandemic, no less.”

I’m Sussy. I’m excited to share our story. Our struggles with weight go back to the start of our relationship. While engaged, we were candidates for The Biggest Loser TV show, but decided to pull our names from the list of people because we were getting married the following month.

Fast forward a few years, we found ourselves still overweight. l felt like life was running me and I was always lagging behind, just trying to keep up. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy. I have an 8 year-old daughter and an incredible husband. Both of them bring joy to my life, but I had real worries. Wes and I both faced health issues that were only getting worse—we knew we needed a different approach. We needed to ensure we could be there for our daughter, for many years to come.

In June 2019, we started trying to eat healthier and even worked in exercise. I lost 25 lbs., but eventually plateaued while my husband made no progress at all. Meanwhile, we had watched our friend transform before our eyes for the last year, so we finally reached out for help after struggling to get healthy on our own.

Not only does my back no longer hurt, I’m also able to ride horses again! I’m truly enjoying life. I love waking up and getting out, I love being more active with my dogs, I love being able to shop at whatever store I want, and I LOVE the way I feel. I no longer think negatively about myself. Instead, I empower myself.

My husband started OPTAVIA November of 2019 and lost 39 lbs.* that holiday season. When I saw his initial success, I was excited to get started and began my journey in February 2020. I was one month in when the pandemic hit. The first week of quarantine, my daughter was home from school and I went completely off the rails. If she wasn’t sobbing all day, she was yelling at us about how unfair it was. I didn’t know which way was up and fear quickly crept into our home. I lived there for about a week. Finally, when the long-term school closure was announced, I decided I couldn’t live like that.

In June 2019, we started trying to eat healthier and even worked in exercise. I lost 25 lbs., but eventually plateaued while my husband made no progress at all. Meanwhile, we had watched our friend transform before our eyes for the last year, so we finally reached out for help after struggling to get healthy on our own.

Not only does my back no longer hurt, I’m also able to ride horses again! I’m truly enjoying life. I love waking up and getting out, I love being more active with my dogs, I love being able to shop at whatever store I want, and I LOVE the way I feel. I no longer think negatively about myself. Instead, I empower myself.

My husband started OPTAVIA November of 2019 and lost 39 lbs.* that holiday season. When I saw his initial success, I was excited to get started and began my journey in February 2020. I was one month in when the pandemic hit. The first week of quarantine, my daughter was home from school and I went completely off the rails. If she wasn’t sobbing all day, she was yelling at us about how unfair it was. I didn’t know which way was up and fear quickly crept into our home. I lived there for about a week. Finally, when the long-term school closure was announced, I decided I couldn’t live like that.

I changed my mindset and started back on plan. During this time, I couldn’t control anything. I couldn’t control what was going on outside my home and most days I couldn’t control what was going on inside my home, but I could control how I was taking care of myself.

The result? With OPTAVIA, I lost more weight during the pandemic than I did the 6 months prior* Together, Wes and I have lost hundreds of pounds, transforming our lives in more ways than one—and our journey is not over yet! Yes, we held each other accountable, but if it wasn’t for the Community of thousands of other people who were going through a similar journey and the support of my independent OPTAVIA Coach, I wouldn’t have made it through. That piece is a game-changer. It’s because of this one-on-one Coach support that we were able to transform our lives, with a focus not only on physical health, but also our emotional health, especially during a time of such isolation.

Our relationship has gotten so much deeper throughout this process. We have grown together during what would’ve been an uncertain and otherwise challenging time.

*Average weight loss on the Optimal Weight 5 & 1 Plan® is 12 pounds(5.4 kg). Clients are in weight loss, on average, for 12 weeks.

“OPTAVIA has changed our perspective on how to eat and how to live. It's touched every aspect of our lives and helped us create healthy habits in every area.”
— Sussy

Visit the Transformation Stories page for more inspiring stories of transformation.