My Story

GROWING UP

Like some of you, I was skinny as a kid. My mom had to buy me “slim” clothes until I started middle school. As a kid, I ate whatever I wanted, when I wanted it. Potato chips, cookies, cakes, and candy were my favorites! I can still remember going to corner store and loading up on my goodies of choice several times a week. I had no thought of gaining weight because it seemed that I could eat anything and stay small.

Things started to change when I got to high school. All of a sudden, I started to pick up a little weight. I was tall for my age, so the extra weight didn’t look bad, but I was used to being skinny so I decided to go on a diet. I went to the library and checked out a diet book for teens. I followed the tips religiously and I lost the extra weight in a matter of months.

From the age of 16 to 23, life was good. I ate what I wanted when I wanted and my weight stayed the same. I was somewhat active but I didn’t put any real effort into maintaining my healthy and being fit. My metabolism was high and my bad habits didn’t catch up with me until the age of 24.

THE YEAR EVERYTHING CHANGED

Around the age of 24, I started having self-esteem issues. I had big plans when I graduated college and so far it just wasn’t happening. I had been out of college for 3 years and I still wasn’t making the salary I thought I should. I had moved out on my own for a while but it quickly became too expensive and I moved back home. My life just wasn’t going in the direction that I wanted and I began to turn to food for comfort.

Between the age of 24 and 32, I ballooned from 165 lbs to 260 lbs. I ate out all the time and rarely made healthy food choices. I didn’t exercise, ever. I can honestly say I lived to eat. I was always thinking about what restaurant I would go to next and I never passed on dessert. I was an emotional eater, so whenever I had a hard day at work, I ate even more than normal. I ate until I was stuffed and sometimes I still ate a little more. I savored the taste of the foods more than I valued my health and soon I began to pay for it.

Nearly 100 pounds overweight, my face was round and chubby. I wore a size 24 W and I hated shopping for clothes. I was embarrassed to look at myself in the mirror and hated how I looked naked. I wore baggy clothes to cover up my stomach and love handles. It didn’t take me long to get ready in the mornings because I really didn’t care how I looked. In addition to my appearance, my health began to suffer. I was winded walking up the stairs and I grunted every time I got in our out of my car. My knees started to ache from all the extra weight. I dreaded going to the doctor because I knew he was going to bring up the weight thing again. I knew I was overweight, but I didn’t have diabetes, cancer, heart problems, or high blood pressure so I considered myself fairly healthy. I knew I should try to lose weight but I just didn’t have the willpower to do it until a contest came along.


THE NEW ME, SORT OF

In January of 2006, one of my co-workers decided to start a weight loss challenge. Everyone would pay a certain amount to join the challenge and the top 3 “losers” would each get a share of the money. Money was just the motivation I needed! My best friend was getting married later that year and I wanted to lose some weight so that it would be easier to find a decent dress. I decided I would cut back on how much I ate and hit the gym 5 days a week and it worked. By the end of the challenge, I had lost 35 lbs! I was able to buy an 18W dress for my best friend’s wedding. When the day came, some people could hardly recognize me! I still remember how great that felt, but those feelings didn’t last for long.

After the wedding, I continued to watch my portions and workout 5 days a week but something changed. The scale stopped moving even though I was doing all the same things. It wasn’t long before I became so frustrated, that I stopped working out altogether. It wasn’t long before my eating habits began to change too. I had lost the will to continue to weight loss efforts and decided a size 18W was the smallest I’d ever be. My daily activities soon consisted of working, eating, watching TV, and sleeping. I ate whatever I wanted, when I wanted it and by the early 2007, I had gained 10 of the 35 pounds back.

MY TRANSFORMATION

In mid-December 2007, I went to the doctor for a physical. He reminded me that we had talked about “the weight thing” in a previous visit and that I needed to make some changes. I didn’t like what I heard but I knew he was right. Then he said something that really struck me “if you don’t do something soon, you’re going to get sick”. Sick. Wow. I felt fine, so I had never really made the connection between my weight, lack of activity, and my health. But as I sat there, I realized he was right. High blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease were prevalent in my family and the majority of us were severely overweight. I accepted that I needed to do something, but I wasn't sure what.

One night, I happened to run across exercise DVD infomercial. The program sounded more like dancing than exercising. I hated exercise, but I enjoyed dancing. The testimonials were inspiring, but then the skeptic in me wondered if the program could work for me. I wrote down the phone number and said I would call the next day to order. A day or two went by before I stumbled across the phone number again. I decide to “Google” the program and see what others were saying. Surprisingly, I came across some good reviews. I hesitantly placed my order and a week later it was on my steps. I pulled everything out of the box and got started. It was challenging at first, because I had been inactive so long. But before I knew it, it got easier and I was actually looking forward to my workouts. The instructor made exercising fun and I was hooked. In just 16 weeks, I lost 40 lbs and 5 inches in my waist.

Today, I am 168 pounds and I have lost a total of 9 inches in my waist. When I look in the mirror, I can hardly believe it's me. I’m not the only one who has trouble believing what they see either. People I’ve known for years walk right past me! They say I look different and they’re right. I now walk with my shoulders back and head up high. I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished through faith, that I’ve committed the rest of my life to helping others create their own personal transformation story.

My friend, I've been where you are. Your situation is not hopeless. You can change and your change begins today!