“I started trying quick fixes and that’s when the vicious crash diets really started,” Leveille tells PEOPLE. “A few of them worked but just for a minute. I would lose 20lbs and gain back double.”

When her weight hit 270lbs., Leveille considered getting weight loss surgery, but first wanted to try her hand at losing it naturally. She adopted a high protein, low carb diet and began exercising. “I ditched the sugar and put on my sneakers,” she says.

She reached her goal weight of 130 lbs. in 2014, and created a Facebook community called “Getting Closer Everyday,” meant to inspire people’s weight loss journeys and provide support.

“The change for me has been more than I could ever dream of in this lifetime,” she says. “It’s never too late to change your life no matter how long you’ve been stuck.”