Rose lost 110 pounds

Today’s featured weight loss before and after story:  Rose lost 110 pounds and is now a Certified Personal Trainer.  Rose was featured as a weight loss superstar on April 23, 2012 on the Today Show discussing Joy Bauer’s Joy Fit Club Cookbook.

Hello Black Women Losing Weight.com,  My name is Rose Sporty Diva Coates, 45, from Tacoma, WA and would like to share my 110 lb. weight loss success story with you:

When I was a teenager, my weight fluctuated between 180-190 pounds while I alternated between starving myself and binging.  As a child I was always thin but I would overeat and not gain any weight and I ate just because-whether I was sad, happy, angry, stressed or bored.  By the time I was 20, I was married and had a daughter and my weight soared to 300 pounds during my pregnancy and remained there until March 2002.  After I had my daughter, I began exercising regularly- little did I know that my passion for fitness would begin even though I couldn’t get my emotional/compulsive eating under control.  Exercise became a form of therapy and I immediately started to feel better.

I tried dieting excessively and used diet pills off and on for countless years.  Nothing worked.  I would lose weight, get comfortable and revert back to my old eating habits and essentially the weight would come back again, virtually overnight.  I could not understand what was happening to me.  I was not able to make the connection that I was eating excessively and I was completely “oblivious” that I was dealing with life by stuffing myself with food.

I eventually  ended up going to counseling and the therapist helped me to identify the reasons that I was overweight and eating excessively but I still refused to do anything about my weight.  I continued to exercise but chose to remain clueless about my eating because it was easier for me to continue living with the way things were rather than to make an effort to change my life circumstances. I was overweight, depressed and gave up every time life pushed me.  I stopped dreaming and had no guts.  I felt that if I tried to do all the right things in life (be a good person, mother, wife, friend, employee etc.), I’d be safe and have a lot of friends who’d really like me and a family that loved me.  The truth is, I let life beat me into submission.  Deep down inside I was terrified of taking risks.  I really wanted to be successful with losing weight and keeping it off, but my fear of failing was greater than the joy of succeeding.

I didn’t go after it because I wanted a safe and perfect life.  Anger, resentment, sadness, depression, disgust, and self-hatred are what I felt instead of the “joy” of a perfect life.  A light bulb went off in my head in March 2002 and I got tired of being sick and tired. I realized that I had been lying to my daughter about self care and pursuing goals.  I truly expected her to do everything she wanted to and to accomplish her goals, but I wasn’t being a positive role model for her.  I immediately tossed out my scale and did some soul searching about the reasons that led to my uncontrollable eating.  I didn’t change what I was eating, but I cut back on the amount of food that I was eating and eventually scaled back on dining out and lost 100 pounds in 18 months.

I initially started running to torch the calories and lose weight but it turned out to be so much more.  I  run several marathons a year and running has built my confidence, self-esteem and discipline.   And running in races has changed my life in a magical way-I discovered a part of me that I didn’t know existed!

In 2006, I became an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer and in 2007 established Sporty Diva to reach folks with my personal story and to help motivate people to pursue a healthier and active lifestyle.   I promote health and wellness thru a variety of channels with a philanthropic/pay it forward mission – Ladies Night Out; Walk- Run Events;  Workshops; Personal Training; Motivational Speaking and Boot Camps. I am completely on fire for running/fitness, because even though we are each on our own journey and responsible for our own health and well-being, we are all in this life together.  With fitness, we have the power to change our lives and the lives of others.

Thank you,
Rose Coates
Rose@sportydiva.com
www.sportydiva.com