A Central New York couple who lost nearly 600 pounds together after meeting at a Syracuse-area gym are now getting ready to walk down the aisle together.
Ronnie Brower, 32, and Andrea Mesella, 24, are getting married Saturday – after sharing a remarkable journey together. Their secret, they say is, “a couple that trains together, stays together.”
Brower recalls that he hit his peak weight at 675 pounds, and rock bottom, in 2013 when he was so heavy he could barely leave his parents’ house.
“I was depressed, addicted to pills and alcohol, eating 10 double cheeseburgers or two large pizzas at a time,” Brower said. “My turning point was, my doctor told me if I kept on like this I’d be dead before I was 30. I was 28.”
Taking charge of his health, Brower started working out with Mission Fitness in DeWitt.
That’s where he met Masella – she was trying to trim down from 250 pounds.
“I was just really inspired by him and I thought he was super cute,” said Masella. “We started talking at the gym and I hate to sound cliche but it was love at first sight.”
After 23 months, he had shed much of his excess weight when he met Masella. At 5-foot-4, she had weighed 250 pounds in 2014 and was on her way to losing 120 pounds. Their first date was playing ping pong and basketball at the gym.
Together, Brower and Masella lost 578 pounds.
Read more about Masella and Brower on CBSNews.com.
