Teen who lost 10 stone credits Instagram for her weight loss

A teenager who dropped a whopping 10 stone credits her weight loss to Instagram posts from strangers.

Social media is often tarred with having a body negative impact thanks to it’s often unrealistic standards of perfection.

But, it can also provide inspiration and motivation to those keen to overhaul their lifestyle.

And Josephine Desgrand certainly claims it was pivotal in helping her achieve her health goals and shed almost half her body weight.

At her heaviest Josephine, 19, weighed over 19 stone, claiming her addiction to sugary snacks such as chocolate and sweets had contributed to her weight tripling in just two years.

Wearing a size XX dress size, Josephine felt uncomfortable when wearing summery clothes, and was in need of a serious confidence boost.

READ MORE: A size 22 woman who spent £70 a week on takeaways sheds an incredible nine stone

She knew she needed to make a change, and found inspiration in ordinary people who shared their weight loss journeys on Instagram.

"I was using Instagram daily in a bid to try and lose weight, I loved looking at the inspiring pictures from strangers around the world,” she says.

"My mindset changed, normal people like me, post pictures of their transformation and it made me realise I can do it too.

"I could relate to their captions which helped motivate me, so I stopped snacking on junk and got tips from the accounts on what to replace it with.

"I stopped thinking of it as a diet and seen it as a lifestyle change which it absolutely was,” she continues.

The aspiring author, from Queensland, Australia, has since dropped 10 stone and thanks Instagram for helping her reach her weight loss goal.

"If I ever thought about giving up, I would just look on Instagram and it would push me to keep going," she explains.

Now wearing a dress size 8, Josephine has completely transformed her diet, cutting out sugar completely.

"I have always been chubby, my family and I love food so there was always crisps and chocolate in the cupboards,” she explains.

"I would eat anything sweet in between meals, such as cookies, chocolate and ice cream but now if I ever crave sweet things, I just chew on a mint and that does the trick.”

READ MORE: Bride celebrates losing half her body weight in old wedding dress

Josephine has managed to maintain her ten stone weight loss for the past three years and can’t believe how different she looks and feels.

"I can't believe the girl in the photos is me, I would never go back as my life has completely changed,” she adds.

"I live on the beach, yet I would avoid going or wear long sleeved dresses despite it being over 30 degrees.

"Now I am comfortable in my own skin and love wearing short dresses or crop tops with leggings.

"I will never forget the day I turned up to prom wearing a figure-hugging size 8 dress and people who had ignored me for years, congratulated me,” she adds.

The 19-year-old now hopes her story will help to inspire others.

Her Instagram now boasts over 130k followers and she uses her platform to post meal plans and share her transformation journey with people looking for weight loss inspo.

"I used to be so shy but now I have come out of my shell and I am doing my best to help others do the same,” she explains.

"I receive messages daily asking for tips and it is an amazing feeling knowing I am helping others achieve their dream body."