Yakila lost 77 pounds

Weight Loss Story of the Day: Yakila lost 77 pounds. Although she had a happy life with a great husband and children, she felt that she wasn’t able to live as fully as she could have since her weight had doubled. She realized that she had supportive people around her who could help her reach goals.  Here is what she shared with us about her journey…

I’m honored to share with you my story. To be honest with you I looked at all your questions and I thought of a million ways to write this story. Everyone tells you how they were depressed, lonely, working too much… I mean the list goes on!  I always got the comments “oh you’re cute for a big girl” or “you have a pretty face…” but it never bothered me. I was happy!! Happy with my life, blessed with 2 amazing kids, a very handsome husband (even my friends were surprised I got him) and I was living nice! I love to eat!! My family is the type that we get down in the kitchen and we waste nothing! Holidays, birthdays, you name it we were eating! So, why change!? I’m happy right? Have everything I could ever ask for right? So why even bother?

Well, I’ll tell you what changed. I started looking at the people around me. My kids would ask me to race them or to push them on the swing, but I was cheering them on from the bench! The bench! Husband started having that lingering look… And not at me! When he met me I was a size 16! I was plus size, but at 5’7″ I filled it out nicely. When I noticed him look at another woman, I also noticed I was a size 30! I literally doubled in size! He always tells me he loves me no matter what, but it still wasn’t fair for him. I was happy, but my family wasn’t. I took that picture in the mirror smiling, but I was far from happy at that moment. I couldn’t believe I let myself lose control. Yes happy, but super unhealthy! I was at my biggest at 367 pounds!! I cried when I seen that number. What was I thinking?

I called a friend of mine that became a personal trainer after high school. He told me it was okay! He said “Change starts when you make it happen.” So I started making it happen. Five days a week, I was in the gym. Met friends here and there to go walk or jog. I have two real friends in this world and they are always supportive. One is a chef and she helps me portion my food and gives me tips on how to eat if I go out. I eat a lot of fruit and veggies, whole wheat, fish and chicken. I learned its 80% of what you eat and how much. I liked to finish things until the bag was empty! Now I buy everything already portioned like salads and 100 calorie brownie bites. I drink lots of water and no soda. If I eat out I ask them how it’s cooked and modify to my liking. I still eat! Just not as much and often as I use toI learned that weight loss is 80% about what you eat and how much. In the past, I liked to finish things until the bag was empty. Now, I buy everything already portioned, like salads and 100 calorie brownie bites. If I eat out I ask them how it’s cooked and ask if they can modify to my liking. I still eat, just not as much and often as I use to. All this support around me and I never noticed once!!

I started all this in October of 2014 weighing in at 367 pounds. I’ve been weighing myself on the same scale throughout and now I’m at 77 pounds gone!! No wraps, videos or trainers. All cardio and tips from Instagram. LoL!! My grandfather even started a garden and we have fresh cucumbers and squash coming in nicely.

Like I said… All these resources and never knew it. Wanting change isn’t always just about you. Yes you should want to do it for you, but people are depending on you every day to be healthy! Your kids, your spouse, even your dog! My advice to people that need help just getting to the gym: Stop thinking about it! I did it all the time! I did all the actions of going to the gym in my mind, but was still in the bed! Now, I open my eyes and I spring up! I go splash water on my face and I move around! Once I’m up, I’m up!! That was the hard part right there! I know this may seem all over the place, but it’s a true story. I’m as happy as I was on October of last year, I just feel better now