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'I am so proud of me': Macon woman drops 85 pounds during pandemic

Amanda Harrell says she was always the biggest kid in class, but the turning point was when she was concerned she wouldn't survive a trip with her grandkids.

MACON, Ga. — You might be one of countless Americans trying to work off your 'quarantine 15' or COVID-19 lockdown weight gain.

One Central Georgia woman went in the opposite direction and lost close to a 100 pounds.

"I was the biggest kid in the class. I was always the overweight kid," said Amanda Harrell.

Harrell says she was born chunky and has never known life as a thin person. As an adult, she hovered around 200 pounds and after she got married, the scale kept creeping up.

"Ended up at 47 and 285 pounds," she said.

She had high blood pressure and diabetes, but the turning point came at Disney World. She thought she might not survive the trip with her grandkids.

"I was thinking in my head, 'Please do not fall out,'" she recalled.

At the beginning of March 2020, Harrell got in touch with Alli Kerr at the Pink Physique, and we all know what happened then with COVID-19 and businesses like the training center.

"Two weeks later it closed down, and I was like, 'Oh no,'" Harrell exclaimed.

When most of us cut ourselves a break, she had to dig deep, stick to her goals, and find a new way to live. It included cooking, where a catchy motto came into play.

"If I can't kill it and I can't pick it, I can't eat it, so the only thing I could shop in is the produce section and the meat section. Period," she said.

She worked out too -- sometimes on Zoom and then in person when things opened up.

She lost 85 pounds in all. A feat that Kerr says is pretty amazing for it to happen during a pandemic.

"Unheard of. Very rare, very odd, very amazing, and it is a huge celebration because there are so many people with the opposite story," said Kerr.

"Man, I am so proud of me right now," said Harrell. "I'm proud when I see the muscles in my shoulder."

She says the grandkids have their play buddy back. Food will always be an addiction, but she knows she has the strength to overcome anything because she did nearly the impossible.

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