Woman Loses 100lb in Year Naturally, Shares Amazing Time0lapse of Progress

As quick fixes for weight loss dominate headlines, a California woman has gained viral attention after sharing her year-long natural weight loss journey in a 30-second time-lapse video.

Tonilyn Garegnani, a 34-year-old from Southern California, transformed her physical health with a self-described regimen of “a calorie deficit and a dream.”

Garegnani’s video, encompassing 12 months of hard work into a few seconds, has gained over 2.1 million views on social media. It revealed the stark contrast between her starting point in January 2024 and today.

Her motivation for the weight loss was deeply personal. “I was motivated to get to a ‘healthy’ BMI category in order to get approved for a breast reduction surgery,” Garegnani told Newsweek. Over the period of a year, she managed to lose over 100 pounds and completely transform her life.

“My journey started January 20, 2024. I focused on high protein and a calorie deficit,” she explained. “I started by slowly cutting a few hundred calories step by step. I did not strive for perfection in the gym, just focused on getting in there every weekday! My mental health has drastically improved, I attribute that mostly to the fitness and getting outside more often.”

The video’s caption reflects Garegnani’s no-nonsense approach to her health journey: “They wouldn’t give me Ozempic, so I just had to work off a calorie deficit and a dream.”

Ozempic is a prescription medication primarily used for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, but has in the last year been prescribed off-label by some healthcare providers for weight loss.

While effective in helping people lose weight, the use of Ozempic for weight loss has led to shortages of the medication for diabetes patients, and prompted concerns over misuse—with some users even being hospitalized after overdoses.

While Garegnani initially started her journey with a surgical goal in mind, the benefits of her new lifestyle quickly became evident in other areas of her life. “I wanted to share online because I was so inspired by others’ videos,” she said. “I felt like maybe I could give someone else like me hope.”

As the time-lapse video gained millions of views, people shared their reactions in the comments. “Doing this naturally is setting you up to successfully maintain the weight loss. Congratulations—you look fantastic, and the dedication is amazing,” said one commenter. While another viewer wrote: “You look so much younger!”

“You give me some much hope,” said another viewer, while one added: “You look amazing girl!! Keep it up!”