Sarang lost 196 pounds

Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Sarang lost 196 pounds.  This amazing mom of 5 was dealing with Graves Disease, Hypothyroidism and Sleep Apnea when she decided to change her life.  She has not only transformed herself, but she’s also helping others to reach their weight loss and fitness goals.  Check out her awesome story…

My name is Sarang and I was asked by one of my close friends to submit my story. I’m a mother of 5 and I realized very quickly that I needed to regain control of my life when I was diagnosed with Graves Disease and then Hypothyroidism. That was nine years ago and that news was combined with having sleep apnea. I found myself sleeping with a Cpap machine every night because I would just stop breathing in my sleep. The exhaustion from the apnea and the effects of hypothyroidism combined were almost too much for me to handle on a daily basis. I couldn’t remember what it was like to have a normal day where I didn’t feel tired, sluggish or depressed. I was not eating healthy at all nor was I really working out. I gained weight at a steady pace between pregnancies and watched it happen. I was told that I could potentially come off of the Cpap machine if I lost weight however I knew that the thyroid disease would be a life long impairment, but one I am now glad to say I have successfully overcome. I knew back then that in order to prolong my life for the sake of my children that I needed to really put my foot down and turn all of my good intentions for myself into definite actions. On a lighter note, another motivating force was my then three year old that could out sprint me.

I have a group of close sisters from my Islamic community that were monumental with getting me to join the gym. We would all hold each other accountable for fulfilling our daily workout regiments and we would all go to the gym TOGETHER and do group exercise classes and create weight loss challenges just amongst our small group. I will forever be grateful to these sisters for being there for me at this critical time.

Four years ago, I was down from 400+ to 380 pounds. I had lost weight up to this point by doing workouts by myself in my living room with Taebo Basic and Walk Away the Pounds DVDs. These were great workouts for me when I was at my heaviest because they weren’t so hard on my bad knees. I’d also learned to change my eating habits with the Weight Watchers program. At the local gym that I was a member of, I found a workout program that I came to love and still do to this day…ZUMBA. I loved it so much that I became a PLUS SIZE instructor at 341 lbs! With my certification I started teaching private classes in my home garage and when we outgrew that space I found myself teaching zumba at the ZROOM in Arlington Tx. I changed my eating habits and was introduced to the Herbalife program. With it I replaced two of my meals each day with a nutritional protein shake. I tend to go meatless most of the time and I snack in between meals and shakes. Water water water!! I get it all in. This change in my eating habits and the increase with my Zumba classes attributed to the bulk of my weight loss within the past two years.

It’s taken me about 4 good long hard years of consistently eating better and working out to get to where I am today. It starts with prayer first is what I always tell my ladies when they ask how I did it. Pray for the Patience and the strength. Once you have it in your MIND that you are going to SUCCEED…it’s downhill from there. Surround yourself by like minded people, my visual transformation took place in front of my friends that came out to workout with me in class. My ladies have watched me loose over a hundred pounds, and now I find myself in a position to give back to my ladies and testify to the struggle, excitement, success and achievements we have all now made thru-out this journey. My passion is to help my ladies by becoming comfortable with themselves and embracing the beauty of who they are as mothers, sisters, wives and daughters and encourage and empower each other as WOMEN. I’m 5’9″ and at my heaviest I was 425 pounds. I kept that number to myself for a very long time. I just weighed in at 229 pounds last night.

I have now joined forces with a two other awesome instructors and the BOMB DJ Selektress and formed a fitness group here in the DFW area called XP GyalZ (XperiAnce GyalZ) and we specialize in an Afrobeats-Caribbean form of dance workout. My love for reggae, dancehall and soca music goes back 20 plus years and I’ve combined my passions for the music and the workout into one. We have our Master classes at various popular reggae venues in the metro area like Heroes Grill in Dallas and Jamaica Gates in Arlington, so please come out and join us in a class if you are in the area! You can also find XP GyalZ on Facebook.  I’ve personally dedicated all of my routines to all my “Fluffy Gyalz” aka. my big mammas. I want you all to know that IT CAN BE DONE! Thanks for reading and I wish you all the success on your individual missions.