Transformation of the Day: Precious lost 60 pounds. Depression, pre-diabetes and depression could not stop her. By focusing on faith, fitness and healthy eating habits, she has transformed her body and regained her health. Check out her journey.
Before I lost the weight, I was depressed and pre-diabetic. I had high blood pressure and a mental breakdown. Today, this smile represents the healing power of God and what he can do in your life if you let him.
My motivation to lose the weight was to live to see my kids grow into adults and my hubby not have to raise our kids by himself. Two things that inspired me not to give up were;
1) Exercise was a way for me to relieve frustration, anger, hurt, depression in a positive way and not hurt others as I was dealing with my mental pain and hurt
2) God gave me another chance to take better care of my mind and body.
When I got serious about losing the weight, I changed my eating habits from eating whatever I wanted to writing down everything I ate. Even when I ate a whole bag of cookies in one setting or over a couple of days, I wrote it down. I had to be real with myself and identify my eating patterns and triggers. I had to find out if I was eating because I was truly hungry or if I was eating because food brought me comfort.
I stopped eating a lot of carbs, starches (enriched white foods i.e. breads, pasta, rice, french fries, etc), and junk foods (sweets, soda, chips, cookies, pizza). I backed off of fried foods as well. I opted for baked, broiled, or crockpot cooked meats. I started eating more vegetables and a limited amount of fruit (strawberries and blue berries). I went to the farmer’s market and started trying different veggies, from tasting them raw to cooking them. This was the best thing I could have done for me and my family. I exposed them to new veggies we didn’t eat previously.
I had to get my blood sugar under control. I started the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting. It’s a lifestyle for me now. Eating this way works for me and I feel so much better.
When I started working out, I exercised 2 to 3 days a week. I did cardio or some sort of physical activity (power walking) to build up my endurance and stamina. Then, I gradually moved to working out 3 to 5 days a week. I changed my exercises to more cardio and weight training. I hired a personal fitness trainer whom I met with one day a week. That was all I could afford at the time. I kept hitting plateaus with my weight so I upped the ante and went to working out 6 to 7 days a week. I didn’t make any excuses for myself. I took my dog out running on the weekends then I would come back home and do another 15 to 30 minutes of exercise in my basement. I have a little mini gym (dumbbells, Bosu, jump rope, workout videos). Some days, I would work out twice a day. Just depending on what I had going on (family, business, etc) and how my body was holding up. If I worked my lower body really hard, I would give my lower body a rest and work upper body. No matter what the weather was doing outside, I worked out. I stopped worrying about what my hair looked like. I found protective styles that suited my new lifestyle.
Before I got serious about working out, I weighed 215 pounds. My current weight is 155 pounds and my height is 5’ 5’’.
I started my weight loss journey in 2012. I got really serious about my transformation in October 2016. I want to say my transformation took 2 years.
The biggest lesson I learned during my transformation is not to solve my problem alone. No man is an island. Everybody needs somebody. It’s important to build a support system with people you trust and who care about your well-being.
My advice for others losing weight is you have to develop a mental attitude that losing this weight is what you want and you will get results. There is no other option. You have to pay attention to your body and how it reacts to foods after you eat them. Listen to your body. Your body will tell you what is good and not good for it.
My desire is to be an inspiration and motivation for my sisters around the world and help them transform physically, spiritually and naturally.
Instagram: @hairhealthhappiness
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