Anita lost 206 pounds

Update Feb 2019: Anita is still going strong!

Transformation of the Day: Anita lost 206 pounds. When day to day tasks became unbearable to perform, she knew that something had to change. As a health professional, she was sharing the importance of healthy living, but not making healthy choices in her own life. Check out how she took action to release the weight.

My motivation for losing the weight was when day to day tasks became unbearable to perform. Things like traveling on public transportation and being out of breath, walking short distances and feeling chest pain and not being able to fly on airplanes without a seatbelt extender.

My highest weight was 385 pounds and was pre-diabetic. In the past, I’ve reached a point where I wanted to give up while thinking about what I do for a living as a health professional. I was sharing with others the importance of living a healthy lifestyle, but I was not able to save my own life by making healthy eating choices and exercising. Actually, my struggle was with eating fast food, eating sweets and eating late at night, not exercising,

After doing alot of research and a lot of praying, I decided to have weight loss surgery on August 20th, 2013. I had the vertical sleeve gastrectomy procedure, done by Dr. Scott Nguyen of Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, New York.

Right after surgery I had no other choice but to eat healthy and exercise. Since my stomach is much smaller, I had to eat smaller portion sizes. I also had to make sure that my food choices were sugar free and had no added salt. Along with saying no to my old habits, like eating late and having sweets very often, I developed a routine of going to the gym 4 days out of the week for 2 hours each day. I started with cardio, using the ellipitcal machine, treadmill and bicycles. After a while, I began weight training to develop muscle and tighten my body. All the while, I never did too much or overexerted myself, but I was able to develop a healthy, realistic routine.

My current weight is 179 pounds and I maintain it by attending the gym regularly and making healthy eating choices. My height is 5’9″. My weight loss journey took a total of 2 years.

The advice I have for others who are looking to lose weight is: Make up your mind once and for all that you want to do what is neccessary to live a long, healthy life. In order to change your life, you need to change your mind and keep everything that you’ve built about yourself protected. Live life in a way where everyday you grow and master the best version of yourself. Have faith.

Instagram: @anita.m.dean
Facebook Page: You Owe You

Sharing her story on the Rachel Ray Show.