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They each tipped the scale at over 130kg, would be out of breath after the simplest of tasks, and barely got any sleep at night.
But the final straw was when Adél and Dave Annandale got into a plane in February last year and one of them wasn't able to fasten their seat belt. Things needed to change!
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Today, when you look at this couple from Hoedspruit, slim, trim and brimming with health, you would never guess that their weight was ever an issue. Because Adél and Dave, both 48, have lost a combined 131kg since that day on the plane.
It wasn't easy, but this journey has been worth it, says Adél, a manager at a nature reserve.
"The incident in the plane was humiliating, but it also made me realise that we were never going to grow old together if we didn't do something drastic about our weight.
"I was so overweight that I didn't have a lot of mobility. I sounded like a steam train," Adél says.
"For 18 years we have been on chronic medicine, we both had high cholesterol and high blood pressure and suffered from sleep apnoea. I'd stop breathing in my sleep. Plus I was insulin-resistant.
"I've been overweight my whole life, but over the years things just got worse. You can probably blame my lifelong bad eating habits, all that fast food with excessive starch and sugar," says Adél, who weighed 153,7kg before her weight loss.
She believes their great downfall was takeaways and pasta. "It was too convenient to order and eat something quickly. And exercise wasn't high on the priority list either."
From the outset, the couple knew it would take hard work to shed the weight, she says. "Realistically, we knew we wouldn't shake it off overnight; that there was no quick fix."
They joined a weight-loss program and started following an eating regimen that included protein drinks. In addition, they cut down on starch, sugar and fatty foods. They also exercise regularly now.
It was the best decision of her life, and Dave, who also works as a manager at a nature reserve and used to weigh 130kg, agrees. "I'm so glad we were able to do it together."
Today Adél weighs 80,5kg and Dave tips the scale at 72kg.
"It's nice to be able to tie my own shoes again now and not to be restricted from doing certain things," she says.
"I remember when I was able to walk into a normal shop for the first time and take clothes off the shelf and buy them. That day I had to go to the dressing room to cry before I could continue."
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They are enjoying their new energy levels and even went ziplining for the first time the other day, she says with a smile.
They don't look back for a second. "Dave has lost 58kg in total and now has to maintain his goal weight. I have already lost 73.2kg and I have about 15kg more to go."
"One thing is for sure, we never want to go back to the low point where our journey began."
