Deciding to go to the gym instead of watching TV and choosing beets over burgers aren’t always easy lifestyle choices to make. But going the healthier route is easier to do with someone by your side, and mother-daughter duo Cheryl Shaw and Tessa Nichole are proving it with their impressive combined weight loss.



More on Yahoo Shine: Woman Learns How to Masterfully Dance in 365 Days

After Shaw, 50, called off her wedding last year, she became depressed and, as a result, started eating poorly. “My life started spiraling out of control. I put on all this weight,” says Shaw, who works as an EMT at a New Jersey hopsital. “My kids got very worried about me.” And she had an extra reason to be concerned: Her poor eating habits were impacting her kids as well. After working late into the evening, Shaw was bringing fast food home for her family at 10:30 at night.



More on Yahoo: Lifestyle and Diet Are the Keys to Reducing National Health Care Cost

After seeing a video on Giveit100.com, a website that challenges people to commit to something for 100 days, Shaw, who weighed 256 pounds, asked 17-year-old Tessa if she wanted to join her and lose weight together. The pair exercised every day with each other, even when Shaw put in 12-hour days in the emergency room and Tessa had long days at school. They also modified their diets by cutting out sugar, wheat, and flour. In total, at the end of the experiment, mom had lost 42 pounds, while Tessa had dropped 32.

In a video the two posted to Giveit100.com, the mom and daughter take us through their 100 days of getting fit as they lift weights at the gym, go for jogs, weigh themselves, prepare healthy meals, indulge in one (OK, maybe two) cheat days for sweets, and then finally get to proudly display their impressive results with striking before and after shots.

Tessa, who weighed 181 pounds when they started their challenge, was withdrawn socially and academically before she shed the weight. “At school events like dances, I wouldn’t want to go because I wouldn’t have anything to wear,” she confesses. “Even in class, in the beginning of the year when I was at my biggest, I wouldn’t answer questions or raise my hand for anything. I felt like everyone around me was judging me because of my weight." Since this endeavor, not only does she not “have a double chin anymore,” but also she feels happier, more confident, and finally comfortable in her own skin. Her mother also notes that the teen’s grades have gotten better as a result.

A large part of Tessa’s success can be attributed to the partnership with her mother. Studies have shown that when parents are active participants in their child’s weight loss interventions, the adolescent is more likely to not only lose weight but also keep it off later in life. Because of their combined accomplishments, both Shaw and Tessa will continue working toward goals together. Their original plan has been expanded from 100 days to 365, and they’re now training for an obstacle course race.

The mother and daughter aren't the only ones who have pulled off something great in less than a year thanks to Giveit100.com. LaKeisha Shurn from Berkeley, Calif., spent 100 days at the gym and dropped from size 26 to 22. And Cynthia Abrams, 52, who was paralyzed after developing a lesion on her spinal cord, almost regained her ability to walk. Karen X. Cheng, who created the site after her own 100-day challenge to learn to dance received an overwhelming response, and tells Yahoo Shine, “When we started Giveit100, we didn't realize we'd be helping change lives in this way. We're just a tool. The hard work is all theirs.”



More on Yahoo Shine:

Sports and Energy Drinks Lead to More Unhealthy Habits in Kids

Weight-Loss Blogger Claims Shape Magazine Tried to Censor Her 'After' Photo

This Wheelchair-Bound Mom's Exercise Blog Will Totally Inspire You





