ALLEGHANY COUNTY, Va. – Many have turned to exercise to pass the time while stuck at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
10 News caught up with one woman who not only started her own fitness routine, but now has dozens of women around the world following her lead.
“Right when COVID started and I realized the kids were not going back to school anytime soon I decided that if I was going to have any type of workout life I was going to have to do it at home,” said DeAnn Stull.
Recognizing her own need for accountability, Stull created a private Facebook group.
The first group social media post read, “When women support each other, incredible things happen.”
Stull found it to be the perfect starting point when asking other women to join her for daily workouts.
Melissa Stull, backsliding in her weight loss journey, also joined in.
“I was just eating the things that were in the pantry, I was just sitting on the couch watching TV and I thought okay, I’ve got to get back on track,” said Melissa Stull.
She found success in the online fitness community.
“If you’ve got somebody there that’s like, ’Have you done your workout today,? Have you done your workout today?’ You’re going to do it, because you don’t want to be the one who said, ’Oh, I skipped today,’” Melissa said.
Melissa is now down almost 50 pounds.
Seeing results posted in the group daily is overwhelming for creator DeAnn Stull.
“It’s very emotional because I had no idea that God would use me in this way and to see so many women tell me that their lives have changed repeatedly,” said DeAnn Stull.
She says it’s not just improvements in their pant size either.
“One of the girls messaged me recently and she was struggling with alcohol because of COVID and it had been building up and this group, she said she was thankful for this group and for me and that God put us in her life for a reason,” said DeAnn Stull.
While they call the group Slim N Sassy, they’re really working toward happy and healthy.
If you would like to join, you can email DeAnn Stull at deannstull@gmail.com.