How This Father-Daughter Duo Achieved Their Weight Loss Goals

For father and daughter Bill and Ashley R., family is everything. So, it made sense to set weight loss goals as a family, too. With Ashley’s wedding approaching, this father-daughter duo were particularly motivated to drop the extra pounds before the “Big Day.”

Working toward a common goal—and motivating one another along the way—made a tremendous difference in their weight loss success.

Difficult Times

The past couple of years have not been easy on anyone. Both Bill and Ashley admit that the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to their weight gain. Bill says that he was afraid, at his age, to go to a public space like a gym, so he was inside and not moving nearly as much. Ashley was dealing with the stress of working as a nurse during the pandemic.

Over time, the pounds started adding up. Unfortunately, it was beginning to take a toll on their quality of life—and health.

“I could tell, with the extra weight, I had no energy,” Bill recalls. “I didn’t want to do things. I felt depressed because of the weight gain at times.”

Ashley felt similarly. When her clothes started not fitting right, she also felt depressed. She says that her family noticed that she’d put on weight. When she went to try on wedding dresses, she was shocked by the size.

A Simple Solution

Everything started to change when Ashley’s mother discovered Nutrisystem. All three of them got started and leaned on one another for support.

“It is a wonderful plan—and even better with a support system,” Ashley says. “You can cook together, pick out meals together, and it doesn’t have to be the same thing every day.”

It also worked out when Ashley and her parents visited each other because they would both always have extra Nutrisystem meals on hand. That made it easy for everyone to stick to the plan. Ashley admits she’s been known to steal some of her mom’s Chocolate Nutrisystem Shakes (her favorite), and Bill would often steal some of the frozen Nutrisystem meals that Ashley had stocked up on.

They loved that they could share food and tips—and ultimately work together.

Celebrating the Success—Together

In addition to supporting one another during the weight loss journey, one of the great things about partnering up is the ability to celebrate success together, too. Ashley says that she’s incredibly proud of her dad and he clearly feels the same way about her.

“We obviously gained weight in the family—but we lost it too,” she says. “It did get a little competitive, but we were more supportive the whole time. And as months went by, we were happier. It brought us together.”

Bill agrees. He says that they did weekly check-in calls to talk about their weight loss progress and who had lost the most. This helped to inspire some fun competition amongst the family.

But instead of being work—like most weight loss plans—the father and daughter say it was fun.

“It was fun together using Nutrisystem because we got to pick out different meals,” Ashley shares. “We would try certain things and we’d see whether he liked it, or I liked it—and it was fun to do together. We learned to cook together and we enjoyed it.”

Bill says, in many ways, he feels like he got his daughter back.

“Ashley wasn’t her normal self but as the weight gain started to come down, she got more bubbly,” he recalls. “You could tell that she was happy again.”

A Special Day

With Bill dropping 20 pounds* and Ashley losing 40 pounds*, Ashley’s Big Day was made even more special.

“It was almost like a big weight lifted off of my family to see my dad at my wedding, where we rented a house for him just to play in the pool and goof off with us and swim with my nieces,” she remembers. “It was one of the best sights I’ve ever seen, because my dad hasn’t gotten in a pool or water since I was probably 10 years old. It was one of the best moments we’ve had together.”

Bill says that Ashley looked wonderful in her wedding dress—and most important of all, she was confident, happy and healthy. While they could have done it individually, both say that “accountability” made a huge difference in their weight loss success.

“We kept each other accountable,” Ashley says. “We would not bring snacks or sweets into the house. We shared motivation to want to lose weight, get healthier and be ready for the wedding.”

With so much success, the family is now motivated to keep the weight off for good.

Ashley sums up: “Nutrisystem has helped us to live healthier lives.”

Get started with Nutrisystem today!

*Real Success Story. Weight lost on prior program. Compensated for appearance. Expect to lose an avg 1-2 lbs per week.