Angela lost 120 pounds

Update Dec 2015: Congratulations to Angela for being chosen as one of the featured stories for People Magazine’s Half Their Size Issue. She is the 5th BWLW Sista to be featured. Here is the video of her on Good Morning America this week.

May 2015 – Weight Loss Transformation of the Day: Angela lost 120 pounds. She was motivated by survival, not just wanting to lose weight. Since childhood, she’s faced a life-threatening autoimmune disease, liver failure and in later years Cirrhosis.  She was helped by naturopathic medicine and natural healing methods.  Now she is sharing her love and light with the world and I think her story is one of the best we’ve featured.

My journey is not just a story on weight loss but of survival. I was a child with a life-threatening autoimmune disease. My liver was failing due to my body attacking itself. I wasn’t expected to live past the age of 10 years old. The doctors told me that if I lived past the age of 10, I would not live past the age of 20. I was even the recipient of a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation. I was on and off steroids for years which produced weight gain, swelling, and a host of unpleasant side effects. After years of trusting western allopathic medicine, my condition progressed to Cirrhosis in 2010. In 2011, I decided it was time to take control of my life and do more than just survive. I began researching natural remedies, watching popular health & wellness food youtubers, shopping more mindfully, and I got a gym membership complete with a trainer. I also began practicing yoga.

in 2014, I enlisted the guidance of a naturopathic doctor and that took my health journey to a greater level. I am over-the-moon about my new doctor. I cut out meat, dairy, unsprouted grains, white rice, and ate lots of veggies and fruit. I juiced lots of vegetables and blended much of them. In 2014, I learned how important portioning and reducing sugar—even fruit sugar—can be for your diet and that knowledge has benefited me greatly. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I still have my cravings and I LOVE dried cherries with unsalted potato chips. I just make better choices and swap out commercial for healthier options.

I am also a huge proponent for prayer and meditation. Anxiety, impatience, and the need to instantly gratify our desires makes us less prone to be still and patiently learn lessons and grow as beings. We tend to follow fad diets and gimmicks that promise instant results with no surety of sustainability or longevity. But when you are still, prayerful, and calm, you can begin to take your health challenges day by day and your mental and spiritual strength will develop ensuring that your commitment will be a lifestyle versus a season.

I will be celebrating my 35th birthday on May 19th, 2015. It’s been a 24 year journey and I am so blessed to be a walking miracle everyday.

MY STATS:

Starting Weight: Tough to pinpoint since my journey has been over the course of 24 years since childhood. Its been up and down. Highest weight as an adult, 245lbs.
Current Weight: 125 pounds
Height: 5’4″

ADVICE: My advice to women seeking to lose weight and have better health would be:

1. Explore Your Options. – I trusted my allopathic physicians but they don’t know everything. You were charged by God to take care of your body. Do whatever you have to do—within the safety and ease of your body—to survive.

2. Open your mind to:

• New flavors
• New Recipes
• New ways of doing things and practicing fitness
• New ways of calming your mind and praying

3. Connect:

• With yourself on a higher plane of thought.
• With God and the universe
• With others who can provide support
• With those starting out on this journey because when you have a wingman, accountability is ensured.

4. Smile and Be Happy – Your body loves to be happy and happy people are always going to seek happiness for their bodies and spirits. Find what makes you abundantly and spiritually happy.

MY CIRCLE:
Instagram: @angelalmontanez
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCitrusLife
Twitter: twitter.com/AngelaLMontanez
Blog: http://thecitruslife.tumblr.com
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYpLjLfX4kqSQfcMbFhdHSw/videos

This next video is from earlier in her journey…posted one year ago…