Weight Loss Story of the Day: China lost 60 pounds. This creative diva wanted to put her best foot forward in terms of image and was tired of feeling living an unhealthy lifestyle. She found a great fitness coach and nutritionist who gave her the guidance and accountability she needed to thrive. Here is what she shared with us about her weight loss journey…
Starting weight: 245 pounds
Current weight: 184.4 pounds (height: 5’7″)
What was your motivation?
Hi, my name is China Chanel Chambers. My motivation to start my weight loss journey with Fitness on Fire’s Online TrainingProgram was my life and the need to live. Also my family, my music career, fashion and art career played a big part in me changing my lifestyle. I wanted to live and be healthy, but overall I was truly tired of being overweight. I wanted not only to feel good about myself I wanted to look good in clothes and feel confident and sexy again. I can truly say that I’m an all around artist and many individuals refer to me as a jack of all trades. In this world, you have an image to uphold and I want to be the best image of me that I can be.
I went through a downward spiral in my life to where all I wanted to do was go to work, come home, eat and watch TV. Doing nothing was what made me happy. For a long time, I didn’t even want to go out with friends and have a good time. I just wanted to stay in the house and once I was done eating I would go to sleep on a full stomach. That caused me to pack on the pounds. After a few years of living an unhealthy lifestyle, I finally decided that enough was enough and it was time for a change. I truly felt as if I was eating and sleeping my life away. Let’s not forget that I was also allowing the wonderful talents that God gave to me slip right threw my fingers. It was as if I had given up, so I had to remind myself that I had come too far to give up. Yes, the road was long traveled but it still doesn’t stop here. I told myself to stop crying and let’s get to it. I knew that what you work hard for in life you will always be able to reflect back on and truly appreciate it in the long run.
What inspired you to start your weight loss journey?
What inspired me to start my weight lose journey was a number of things as I said before, my family, my music career, fashion and art career. In my eyes and mind I needed to be able to look and dress the part but I couldn’t do it on my own. I always knew how to lose the weight but never knew how to tone and tighten. One day while surfing the internet, I started looking up weight lose journeys of individuals on YouTube who had success in reaching their weight loss goals. I came across a few women who were using an online program called Fitness on Fire. I watched the videos just to see what it was all about, saw their before and after photos and I was amazed. I said to myself there is absolutely no way that these videos are fake. This is real.
In most of the videos the women would have on their goal outfit that they couldn’t fit into and talk about how hard it was to stay on track. As I continued to watch the videos, I would see the same women try their goal outfits back on weeks or months later and they were actually able to fit into clothes they were not able to fit. You could see the amazing change in their bodies, plus they were happy. For me to be able to see an individual go from shy and closed off to open and glowing with happiness was priceless for me. I wanted that same glowing feeling for myself and this time around I wanted it to be done the right way. I told myself that if they can be successful at losing weight and reaching their goal then so can I.
I knew that it was not going to be easy and I knew that it was going to be challenging so I had to prepare myself mentally first and I did just that. I had already tried so many different things when it came down to losing weight but nothing gave me permanent results, so I had nothing to lose but the weight. Since I didn’t have anything to lose I didn’t even think twice about joining the program. I was sold by the videos, of real people with real results and real testimonies. I was ready to join and see my own great before and after results.
I did a lot of shopping before I even knew about Fitness on Fire. About all of my clothing was a size Medium to Large so technically none of it fit me. The only thing that did fit me was my shoes. This was done intentionally so that I would have no choice but to lose the weight and once the weight was all off, I would do a photo shoot to jump start my career. I know, high hopes and high dreams, right? I would always have people tell me, “China, you are fine just the way you are.” It was a nice thing for them to say but to me I didn’t look or feel fine, so I had to change that.
How did you change your eating habits?
My eating habits started changing when I made the decision to change my life. Even then, I was still eating the same foods, just smaller portions. I was still eating fried foods, cakes, cookies, pies, chips, pasta and more. Once I was introduced to the program, my eating habits changed drastically. I ate more baked foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables. I had five meals a day; breakfast, snack, lunch, snack and dinner. Honestly, I just followed exactly as my online nutritionist, @Nutritionistguru, the nutritionist for Fitness on Fire. I had never been the type to eat through out the day. I would eat one to two big meals a day and I thought it was okay but apparently it was the wrong thing to do. I cut out juices and sodas, then replaced them with freshly blended fruits and plenty of water with apple cider vinegar. I just followed exactly what my nutritionist said.
What did your workout routines look like?
At the time, I really didn’t have a workout routine. I would just do what I thought would work, which was a lot of walking and maybe a few sit-ups here and there. Once I joined Fitness on Fire, my routine went from walking to high intensity cardio workouts to burn plenty of fat and target my midsection. I also did weight training, endurance and strength training, following the plan designed by my fitness trainer to target my problem areas. I worked out 5-6 days a week.
How long did your transformation take?
My transformation took me about 8 to 9 months. I had consistent weight loss and I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been. My starting weight before the program was 245 pounds and I had lost 18 pounds on my own just from walking and cutting back on eating the same foods, but it wasn’t enough. I really wasn’t seeing the changes in my body. When I started with Fitness on Fire my weight was at 227 pounds and now my weight is 184.4 pounds, which is a total of 42.6 pounds lost while on the program. I’ve also lost 6 inches off my waist and a total of 30 inches overall.
What advice do you have for others who want to lose weight?
The best advice that I can give to others that are struggling with their weight is to prepare yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. Those three things go hand and hand with one another. You truly have to be ready for change and willing to put in the hard work. I know that everyone wants to lose weight fast and have overnight results, but that’s not possible. We didn’t gain it overnight so we can’t loss it overnight. It takes time. Find something that fits your needs and look at it as being a part of your everyday life, because it really is a lifestyle change. Have fun with the new you and your new found mentality. No matter what, don’t allow nothing and no one to come in-between you and your lifestyle change. Most importantly, enjoy the journey.
Get up and go to the gym, even if you don’t want to go. There may be days that you will be in tears because you feel that it takes too much work to lose the weight. Just know that once you’re in the gym, your feelings of not wanting to be there will go away. When the hour or two of being in the gym and working out hard is over you will say to yourself, “That wasn’t so bad after all. I will most defiantly be back tomorrow.” Once upon a time, I couldn’t wait for my work out to end. Now, if I miss a day out of the five days a week my life feels off track.
Always remember to stay strong and know that you can do anything that you put your mind to and see it threw to the end. Once the weight is off and you are toned and tightened, please continue to work out to keep your weight off and under control. The biggest mistake I made was going from 250 pounds to 173 pounds and then back to almost 250 pounds gain. Being that big, it was hard for me to breath and sleep. It is very important that you continue with your workouts to maintain your new body because gaining it all back can be catastrophic.
Why is this program working for you?
The Fitness on Fire program works best for me because not only am I losing the weight, I have learned what to eat and what not to eat. Now I know what works for my body, because I learned about Nutrition and Fitness. This would not be possible for me without the support and 24/7 guidance from my Fitness Coach Fire and my Nutritionist Nia. These two are the most important people in my life right now. They are truly heaven sent. That I can put all of my trust into two people that I have never seen in person says a lot about them. They really do care about what each individual wants out of the program and they see to it that your needs and wants are met. If you are not getting the results that you are looking for, it is because you are not putting in the work and you are not following their instructions. I WOULD TRULY BE LOST WITHOUT them and I am forever grateful for them. They truly do make a great team and I feel as if they are right next to me, looking over my shoulder every day. They are always there to pick up the phone when I need them to keep me grounded. Accountability is what I was missing in my life.
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