Nikiel lost 102 pounds

Weight Loss Story of the Day: Nikiel lost 102 pounds.  As a nurse she’s witnessed how being overweight can affect your health and she wanted to be there to see her kids grow and thrive for years to come, so she made a change.  Read all about her journey…

My journey started over 9 years ago. Now I’m down 102 pounds!!!!! I’m 5’7″ tall and my current weight is 178 pounds. I can remember getting up to at least 280 pounds. I had always been overweight and dealt with low self-esteem. My career in the medical field as a nurse exposed me to the realities of physical difficulties and illnesses that come as a result of being overweight. Many patients were suffering from conditions like hypertension and diabetes. Even my family members were suffering from heart disease and I saw myself potentially becoming a statistic, so I decided to make a change. That’s what motivated me and wanting to see my children grow up is what inspired me.

My eating habits changed little by little. I mainly cut calories by keeping those cookies and chips to a minimum and eating baked chicken and fish, fresh fruits and vegetables. I was following a plan cutting calories Monday thru Friday leaving the weekend to have a cheat meal or two because that is what worked best for me at the time. I initially lost about 70 pounds following that routine as well as doing TAE BO and the The Firm DVDs for women. However, the biggest obstacle was gaining about 50+ pounds back when I got pregnant with my last child over 6 years ago.

It seems like it took forever to loose the weight but I went back to my roots where I started from and added some new things I had learned on the way. Over a year ago I introduced running into my routine by joining a local running group. This move helped me to lose an additional 30 pounds and that has been great. After losing the weight there is definitely a sense of accomplishment that I felt and looked better but my real accomplishment comes from the fact that I have encouraged others. My goal is to lose about 20 more pounds, tone up more and become a personal health coach.

My advice to those who want to lose weight would be to just start small and work your way up.  Do not beat yourself up when you have a bad day because the next day is the first day of the rest of your life. Keep positive people around you and remain positive yourself.  Find out what works for you and have fun. Always remember that it is a lifestyle change and not simply a “diet”.

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