Dorothy lost 148 pounds

Transformation of the Day: Dorothy lost 148 pounds. Over the course of 15 years, she experienced significant weight gain. When her weight reached over 350 pounds, she put her faith in action. Prayer, surgery, healthy food and regular exercise was the perfect combination.

What was your motivation?
I wasn’t always overweight. Over the past 15 years, I began to gain more and more weight until I weighed almost 350 pounds in 2014. I tried all types of diets and would lose weight, but eventually gain it back plus more. I had been praying for years, asking God to bless me to lose the weight. I became motived and serious about losing weight when my doctor told me in 2014 that I had become borderline diabetic, but she would not put me on medication because they knew it was due to my weight gain.

Being the wife of a minister it is hard to do many things when you are morbid obese. I remember praying to the Lord, saying that if He would bless me to be able to get weight loss surgery then I would put in the work to keep the weight off. God did just that. I was blessed with a job that had an insurance policy that covered the cost of my weight loss surgery. On the day of Pre-Op at the hospital, I received a prophecy from a lady that I had never seen before and I have never seen her since. She told me that she had to do what God told her to do. She got up from her chair, laid her hands on me and began to pray for me. She told me that God said the Holy Ghost was going to do my surgery and that I wasn’t going to have any complications. I had the gastric sleeve procedure on May 8, 2015 and haven’t had any complications.

How did you change your eating habits?
I started eating smaller portions and reading the nutritional facts on the labels to see how many grams of carbs and sugar and how much sodium was in the foods I was considering. I don’t eat fast food. I rarely eat bread, fried foods and sweets. I love fruit and I make smoothies with kale, spinach and fresh fruit. I eat more dark green salads with grilled meats and veggie burgers (no bread). I am not going to tell you that I don’t have a candy bar or ice cream if I desire it, but I will tell you that I do not allow what I eat to control me. When I eat something like that, I eat in moderation and go right back to my routine, because the craving has been satisfied.

What did your workout routines look like?
I joined the gym two-weeks Post-Op and began walking around the inside track five days a week, until I was able to incorporate other exercises. Six months after surgery, I started using weights. At my one-year mark, I started taking water aerobics and joined a cardio-kickboxing class. I have been working out for two-years now and love it. I will continue to work out five days per week until I lose my last 15 pounds. Then, I will begin my maintenance program and work out three times per week.

Starting weight/current weight
My starting weight was 337 pounds and my current weight is 189 pounds. I am 5 feet, 6 ½ inches tall

How long did your transformation take?
I began my weight loss journey on May 8, 2015. It took me two years to reach this point.

What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
My advice to others who want to lose weight is to pray and ask God to help you. Your mindset must be right in order to be successful with weight loss. The surgery was only a jump start for me. I had to have my mind in the right place to accomplish what I have accomplished, with the help of God. I would not have been able to do this on my own. I continually pray and give God thanks daily for where He has brought me from and how He has blessed my mind.

You must be prepared for the high and low moments that will come on your journey but know that God is right there with you. Finally, you must do this for yourself and no one else, because it not about anyone else (only you). When you reach a plateau, change your routine and do something different to jump start your weight loss again. There will always be challenges, but you must remember that this is a journey and a lifestyle change that will make you better and not bitter.