Jim Rohn once said "Your life does not get better by chance it gets better by CHANGE." As embarrassing as it will be to display my before and after pictures (I can't believe that I found the courage to show you guys the belly ones), today I decided to make my weight loss and fitness journey public with hopes of inspiring people; so that they too can be inspired with hopes of one day having at least one person say "because of you, I didn't give up!" Every day that you take a step towards eating healthier, exercising and/or staying active, you're one day closer to living healthier, longer and being fit. Those of you that know me know that I was always thin. I may have weighed 100-10 pounds if my hair was wet ... LOL! What bought me to knees was a year of tragedy; the loss of my unborn son Aiden Gabriel, my aunt Gigi, my pops Norman and then my Mother in law; that ballooned me from a size 2 to a size 12! I was in so much internal pain that no matter how much I ate, it was not enough - I was never full. I was having a relationship with food in a way that was destroying the person on the outside as much as on the inside. I desperately needed a divorce from this relationship with food but it was the only source of comfort (or so I thought). Till one day I found myself in the hospital being sedated so that my heart would not explode because my BP was so high ... it was an eye opener. I knew that none of my loved ones lost would be happy with what I was doing to myself. I had prayed for emotional peace, comfort and clarity so that I could gain control of me again. Finally, one day, I looked in the mirror and said "I know who I am but who are you?" I realized I needed to better myself and the only way was going to be by CHANGE! I then took on this endeavor and almost as a God sent, I went from a size 12 to a size 2 in a total of 120 days (see the picture). I'm not doing this to encourage you to be a size 2, I am doing this to encourage you to be the healthiest you that you can be at whatever size you want to be! So that we can win this war on obesity. The very obesity that has been a cultural norm for us. The one that stems as far back as I could remember... from words like "fatten that baby up!" "You are too skinny!" words that would later become the pathway for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and nameless other health conditions. I truly believe that because of this, today, we as people of color have so many weight issues. I recently read a stat that said 40% of Latinos in the US are considered OBESE! This must change. May my progress become your motivation and determination.
