Some journeys are more incredible than most, and the weight-loss story of Auckland woman Simone Anderson is remarkable.
Through pain, sweat, tears and the support of an army of social media followers, Ms Anderson has shed half her body weight.
She is off to the United States for surgery to remove the last reminder of her bigger past.
August 29, 2014 was the day Ms Anderson said "stuff it - I want to get healthy".
Her smile is the product of 1000 sit-ups, 1000 pull-downs, 1000 silenced fears.
When she realised she weighed 169kg, she knew she had to turn her life on its head.
"Things that a 23-year-old shouldn't be finding hard were hard, like bringing the bin in, walking up stairs," she says. "If my friends wanted to go to the beach I had to think, 'Is there a big hill there? Am I going to make it up at the end?'"
But to achieve her aim of losing half her body weight, Ms Anderson would need to make it up a mountain. She worked out under the guidance of a personal trainer, ate healthy and underwent surgery to have her stomach shrunk. But she says her secret weapon has been a social media one – accountability.
Watch the video for the full Story report.
