It was in 2016 that Joanna Joseph won the Miss Selangor Earth beauty pageant. This year, the 21-year-old model came second in the Miss India Worldwide contest.
But it wasn't always that way for Joanna. Just a few years ago at the age of 13, Joanna, who's from Malaysia but has Indian heritage, weighed 16 stone and was relentlessly teased at school as a result.
It wasn't just her fellow classmates behind the taunts, either. By all accounts, her teachers - and even her relatives - would tease her.
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The bullying led her into a deep depression and a severe bout of comfort eating, which caused her to put on even more weight.
''I grew up eating," she said. "I could eat five plates of rice in one go. I was 60kg when I was seven years old and the fattest child in pre-school.
''My teachers would taunt me and so would my own friends. I fell into depression because of that and I had no friends to talk to. I only had my diary and music to keep me sane in school.''
For a while, it she withdrew into the music of Linkin Park and Justin Bieber, but decided to stop wallowing when she turned 16, swapping her unhealthy eating habits for fruits and vegetables instead.
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And while she didn't go to the gym, she ran for two hours every night in the fields surrounding her home. That caused the pounds to fall off - as it would - and she slimmed down to 8st 3lbs. Not that that was enough to shut the bullies up.
''Even when I lost so much of weight, everyone used to taunt me saying I took drugs and I was a 'drug addict' and more, which is why I decided to just let it go," she said.
''I used to be bullied every single day, even by my own friends because I was overweight and probably looked ugly in their eyes. My own relatives made my life miserable."
Now, she hopes her success as an in-demand model can show others that another life is possible, however unlikely it may seem.
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''I went through hell from the age of 12 till 16 until I decided to take matters into my own hands because I realised that if I wasn't going to act, I'd be the same forever.
"I had to push myself and sacrifice a lot of things in life to get to where I stand today. When I saw changes, I began to like what I see.
"It was pure hard earned work without the gym, good diets and no medication at all. And here I am today.
''If I can do it, give me a reason on why you can't?" she said.
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"It's
all about the mindset. Your goals. Go for it. Prove everyone around you that
you are more than what they imply you to be.''
Topics: Weight Loss, Community, India