Two best friends have shared their process of losing 255 lbs together.

Hanna Sisson, 25, and Nikki Terrell, 27, have been best friends since they were only six and eight-years-old, and grew up together being inseparable.

When they got into their twenties they found a love for food, and often ate and partied together, however, for both of them, their weight started increasing.

Soon, they noticed they had got to sizes 24 and 22, and realised they had to do something about it.

“We just began to feel so uncomfortable in our skin, it was killing me,” Hanna, a business owner from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, US, told NeedToKnow.co.uk.

“I hated looking in the mirror or even leaving my house.

“I eventually just got tired of feeling sorry for myself and called up my bestie and told her let’s do the dang thing!”

Hanna’s starting weight was 270 lbs, 19.2 stone, and Nikki’s was 310 lbs, 22.1 stone, and started their journey in April 2022.

Hanna said: “We each started going to local weight-loss clinics, we went to separate ones, and stuck to their programs for a year!

“When the programmes finished, we managed to keep the weight off, and have lost even more with diet and exercise alone.

“Our main thing has always been making sure that we are eating in a calorie deficit daily.

“We got our deficit number by using a calculator online.

“As far as exercise, wear our Apple watches daily and challenge one another to clear our rings so we can maintain 8-10k steps a day.”

The process wasn't easy, and at times the two even thought about giving up at times.

Hanna said: “In the beginning, there was a time or two that I wanted to give up because I wasn’t losing the weight as fast as I thought I would.

“I remember I had only lost maybe 20 lbs in the first 3 months and it was discouraging.

“But once Nik and I hit that 50lb weight loss mark and people were starting to notice, we were so excited and nothing was stopping us at that point.”

And the two made sure to support each other through the whole journey.

She said: “We made sure to have daily FaceTimes to see what each other had.

“Sometimes it reached five or six phone calls a day.

“We also both would talk about the amount of calories we each logged for that day.

“Doing this weight-loss journey together has been nothing short of incredible, and I know that I would have never held myself accountable if it hadn’t been for Nikki.

“We motivated one another daily and it makes me want to cry when I see before and after photos of us because some days it’s like a dream come true.

“I am so proud of us for sticking together and accomplishing everything we said that we would!”

Looking back, Hanna can't believe the girl she once was and is determined to keep the pounds off.

She said: “I physically couldn’t do anything.

“I would’ve been out of breath within seconds.

“Looking back, I was most definitely depressed and I hate I missed out on times with my family due to my weight or me being self-conscious.

But now, she and Nikki are completely new women.

She said: “We feel great. I can’t remember the last time that I felt this amazing.

“My mental health has improved, I actually wore a swimsuit and went swimming with my kids and husband this year instead of sitting on the beach in a T-shirt.

“We’ve also inspired so many girls and best friends to lose weight together and to be honest, it’s crazy.

“I never thought me and Nikki of all people would inspire people to do something but it goes to show you what the power of friendship and dedication will do.

“I love that we did this together, it makes it even more special.”

And to anyone looking to do the same, the girls advise to stick to it, even on the bad days.

She said: “ Even on the days where the number on the scale isn’t moving.

“We have tried time and time before to lose weight and I tell people all of the time.

“The only difference between now and all of our other failed attempts is that we wanted this more than anything and we stuck to it every single day.

“It has 100% been a lifestyle change for us, not just a diet.”

Hanna now weighs 155lbs, a size 10, and Nikki weighs 170lbs, a size 12, losing 255lbs, 18.2 stone, altogether.

Hanna added: “I just want to say that I think everyone is beautiful regardless of the number on the scale, all that matters is that you love yourself.

“And I still have days where I don’t 100% love myself so to say, but one of the most important things to me, that I have learned throughout this journey, is that I am so much more than what I appear on the outside.

“So much more than that number on the scale.

“Looking back, I spent so many years hating myself that I never really got to know who Hanna was.

“And today I can say without a doubt I love the person I have grown into.”

ENDS