Samantha and Rick now feel better together after their weight loss transformations. MDWfeatures / Samantha Gilmore

By Liana Jacob

 

MEET THE COUPLE who went from being OBESE together to working out together SIX DAYS a week and after collectively losing NINETEEN-STONE claim that their SEX DRIVE and STAMINA has ramped up.

Bartender and university student, Samantha Gilmore (22) from Missouri, USA, was always overweight growing up and as a child she was told by her paediatrician that she would be over 14st by the time she was 16.

Due to having a tough childhood, she was uneducated about nutrition and after doing no exercise and eating junk food, she reached 15st 1Ib and a UK size 16.

Turning point: this is the picture that encouraged Rick to make a change and lose weight. MDWfeatures / Samantha Gilmore

Samantha moved in with her boyfriend, photographer and machine operator, Rick Stahl Jr (26) when she was just 17, and Rick also struggled with his weight growing up, despite playing football in high school.

When he moved out of his mum’s house, he began overindulging in food and reached his peak weight of 30st and shirt size 5XL.

It wasn’t until they came across a picture of themselves that they realised how big they had become, and in 2017, Rick decided to make a change. He discovered the keto diet, a high-fat, adequate-protein, low-carbohydrate diet. He has since been working out six days a week at the gym doing cardio, ab workouts and weight training. He slimmed down to a healthy 15st 5Ibs and shirt size medium.

Seeing the impressive change her boyfriend had made and after he proposed to her in October 2018, Samantha decided to follow in his footsteps and they now workout together and encourage each other. Within six months, Samantha has shrunk to 10st and a UK size eight.

The two of them now feel more energised, even in the bedroom, as their sex life has been re-born due to their dramatic weight loss.

“My family life wasn’t the best. With drug addicted parents that had me very young and never stayed together, I really had to raise myself,” Samantha said.

Samantha pictured sporting red hair before her weight loss. MDWfeatures / Samantha Gilmore

“My fiancĂ© is a different story. He grew up with separated parents, but they are amazing. They have always been supportive and kind, and just phenomenal parents to him.

“He has great relationships with his mother, father that raised him, his step father, and his biological father today.

“We met at the grocery store down the street from our houses. He worked there, and I would come in a lot. One day my friend just told me to message him on Facebook and it went from there.

“We have both always been overweight. Rick was in football in high school, so he did gain a lot of fitness knowledge and was fit for a short period of time, but neither of us have never weighed this low before.

“I remember my paediatrician telling me as a child I would be over 14st by the age of sixteen, but I wasn’t until I was twenty-two.

A slimmer Samantha pictured hugging a slimmer Rick after their weight loss transformations. MDWfeatures / Samantha Gilmore

“For me it was really a lack of direction; I didn’t really have anyone to keep me accountable before. I ate whatever I wanted and wasn’t active much at all.

“For Rick it was about the same. When he moved out of his mum’s house he began eating anything he wanted.

“I always told myself I needed to lose weight, but never would, and I would be even harder on myself. I’ve always felt like it’s the first thing people think about me, it’s still hard to get out of that mindset.

“Rick felt like the healthy lifestyle just wasn’t for everyone. He tried to get comfortable being the ‘fat guy’.

“We both saw photos of important moments of our lives and were just disgusted with who we let ourselves become, so we decided to make a change. It took me a little longer, but I did it.”

They now follow the keto diet and work out six days a week and while they both have excess skin, they are both very proud of what they’ve achieved.

Rick pictured in the gym before (left) and after (right) losing weight. MDWfeatures / Samantha Gilmore

They can now wear what they like, and Samantha says that she wears less makeup now as she finally feels more confident in herself.

“We have been eating keto; keeping our net carbs under twenty to thirty grams-a-day and we workout six days-a-week,” she said.

“We do twenty to forty-five minutes of cardio, fifteen minutes of ab workouts, and thirty to forty-five minutes of weight training.

“We love being able to wear whatever we want now. We no longer have the trouble of not being able to find clothes, in fact we can’t decide between all the options that we now have. It’s liberating to have more energy and just to feel good about yourself more often.

“We both have more sex drive since losing the weight, as well as more stamina. I even wear less make up now.

“It’s definitely hard to keep the positive mindset all the time. A lot of the times I still feel like the first thing people think when they see me is that I’m fat. But yet I wear a size small now, it’s just hard to wrap my head around all the time.

Samantha and Rick now feel confident in their bodies after their weight loss transformations. MDWfeatures / Samantha Gilmore

“We both have some loose skin so it’s not always easy to feel accomplished when you look in the mirror. But we’re so proud of our progress and we know we’ve come a long way.

“We have cut down our carb and sugar intake massively. We’ve also made working out a daily part of our lives.

“Start fresh; if that means getting rid of what’s in your pantry, or getting some new workout shoes, it helps to start motivation.

“Remember that you can do anything you want to do, and if you want it bad enough, what’s hard now becomes easier as you get stronger.

“Find someone to keep you accountable as well, someone you can’t or won’t hide any slip ups from. It helps to have someone in your corner.”