growing up i was always a big girl i’ve always struggled with my weight something i was addicted to when i was overweight was soda and fast food my daughter was a huge part of my journey i wanted to set the example for her and be a better person for her i feel happy about my mom being the woman she is today looking in the mirror is a little crazy sometimes i really see my 363 pound self all together i have lost 203 pounds since the age of 12 i was always dieting i’ve tried everything and i basically gave up around the age of 19 i actually missed a lot of school due to being bullied i did not turn in my homework because we had to walk in front of the classroom and i was too embarrassed to do so and like squeeze through the seats i let other people’s opinions affect the way that i lived i had to really put on a show for everyone and pretend that i was confident [Music] this was consumed about a week of course you know my coffees my burgers my fast food soda was super hard to give up i used to have four of these a day which is 600 calories 140 grams of sugar which is a lot what made me want to actually start my weight loss journey was seeing my daughter grow up i had her at 19 and for 10 years of her life i was overweight and i felt like i was making an impact on her childhood i wanted to set the example for her and be a better person for her if i can do this she can do literally anything she puts her mind to my mom had gastric bypass surgery in 2002 so growing up i thought weight loss surgery is kind of the way to go my first nine months was so hard in the beginning i was not protein focused i did not drink enough water and i ended up with kidney stones i lost feeling from my waist down my vision was getting blurry and finally after multiple hospital visits and trips they found out that i had a b1 deficiency and i finally got on the right track my diet changed dramatically i was focused on my protein and staying in that 1200 calorie range i went from hamburgers to salmon and vegetables all together i have lost 203 pounds now that i’ve lost all of my weight i do work out three to four times a week [Music] exercise makes me feel great i love moving my body i don’t have that extra weight to carry around i can do so much with my daughter now than before and i never realized it until i lost my weight theme parks going to the park playing softball with her i think her transformation is inspiring and i’m super proud of her without the surgery i don’t think i could play softball or do any of those things with her i absolutely want to be active and encourage her to continue to be active throughout the rest of her life i am very proud of my journey if you would have told me four years ago and showed me an actual like picture reel or a video i feel like you’re lying that is not how my life is going to turn out everybody is everywhere my favorite pair of jeans and i give into one leg my life has changed dramatically this is my brand new start i hope the future holds me reaching out to more people and inspiring others and that everyone relates back to my journey and realizes that if she can do it i can do it too you Video source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UokT68PPXw
