Wake County mom of 4 loses 100 pounds after son's journey with heart defect

ROLESVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Wake County mom of four lost more than 100 pounds in 18 months after seeing her son face the challenges with a heart defect.

"Right now, I've lost 108, I have 20 more to go," Nicole Feiser said from her Rolesville home.

Feiser said she was inspired to start on a health journey after her son Ryan faced his own health challenges.

Ryan is 10 years old now. He was born with a congenital heart defect. With both parents working full-time, dad is a pilot and often gone for work, and many hospitalizations and surgeries, Nicole's health also took a toll.

"We spent a lot of time in the NICU and PICU so you kind of eat your way through that," Feiser said. "I had more kids and multiple c-sections so, I didn't realize I had gotten so unhealthy."

When Ryan had a health setback in 2017 that required physical and occupational therapy, Nicole decided she would also put in the hard work of her own to support him.

"I kind of looked in the mirror and I couldn't ask him to do the hard work of PT and OT, which was going to be hard, if I wasn't going to do the hard work to get myself healthy too," she said.

So, Feiser started with small changes including upping her water intake.

"I drank half my body weight in water in ounces every day," Feiser said. "I also started having portion control and intermittent fasting. I'm a big believer in that. I'm done eating at 7 o' clock every night."

While those changes started to produce results, Feiser decided she also needed to move. She was an athlete in college and wanted to put exercise back into her routine but going to a gym was out of the question.

"I knew there was no time for me to go to a gym, it wasn't going to happen," Feiser said. "On top of that, I had gotten so uncomfortable with myself, did I really want to walk into a gym at this point? I didn't. I needed to do something at home. So, I bought a Peloton.

Peloton is a subscription stationary bike workout with instructor-led videos leading riders.

Feiser began riding her Peloton at home and never looked back, recently completing a 100-mile ride. The ride was an accomplishment for Nicole but also for Ryan who took over for the last two miles to take his mom across the finish line.

"I think what everybody needs to know is you can do it!" Feiser said. "Small changes make a big difference."