Weightloss Story from @seeceeshrink
My name is Ashley C., and I am 25 years old. I have been overweight all of my life. I first realized that I was “fat” at about 7 years old when I was brutally teased by my elementary classmates. I struggled with my weight all through grade school. I remember weighing in at over 160 lbs by 5th grade during a routine annual physical. I started ditching class during future physicals in order to avoid the embarrassment I felt the first time. I was teased at school, and got no break when I came home either. My mother was verbally abusive, calling me names and laughing with her friends about my weight by the time i was 12, and yet she provided all of the terrible frozen foods, and HFCS laden juices that helped to create this problem, and even modeled these bad habits in her own diet.
I had terrible asthma, but I remember several attacks where I tried to act like I was fine and beg my mom not to take me to the ER, secretly because I just didn’t want her to learn of my current weight when my vitals were taken. I literally would have rather died! Boys were evil, and paid me little to no attention, some girls were even mean and catty in school. I was such a free spirit though. I pushed through, became active in middle high school through drill and dance team and created a bit of false confidence that helped me to survive. Nevertheless, I weighed between 250 – 270lbs in high school. I learned a bit about weight loss from my supportive aunt, took some of her advice on exercise and diet, and managed to lose roughly 40 lbs by my Senior Prom. Then I became addicted to yo-yo dieting. I’d lose weight for an occasion, i.e. prom, an upcoming birthday, event or trip by using every unhealthy trick or false ad promise there was. 20-30 lbs lost here and there by starving myself, different diet pills, “the hollywood diet” miracle flush drinks, the celeb fave “lemonade diet”, amongst many other schemes that always worked for a sec but only for me to ultimately balloon back up past my initial start weight.
Soon, I gave up completely and before I knew it, I had gained about 90 lbs since senior year (my lowest weight) weighing in at 311 lbs. I prayed and asked God for a sign. I began to try to eat healthier and cook for myself more often. I started to work out. I ordered Shaun T’s Home Workout DVD collection, and got to work. I tried and failed to stick with the program a couple of times. But one sweet day, God answered my prayer so literally I couldn’t believe it. I received the guidance I had desperately been seeking. One day I was riding the bus and missed my stop, I noticed an interesting looking bookstore and had time on my hands so i decided to check it out. I walk in and find that there was a whole section of random books for only $1. I browsed and flipped and finally come across this book called “The Perfect 10 Diet” by Dr. Michael Aziz.
I learned how to balance my hormones by fueling my body with all of the right foods, and how to avoid the foods that terrorize our health and make it impossible for our bodies to function properly. With this knowledge i started cooking more to be able to control the ingredients and serving sizes that I intook. I used the MyFitness Pal and Pacer app to record my meals and analyze my caloric intake, exercise and progress. I hopped back on the band wagon with my Shaun T’s workouts and have Completed a total of 5 Full 10-Week Rounds thus far, and added Zumba, Aerobics, Pole Classes, Hiking, Weightlifting, and a few 5Ks along the way to keep everything fresh and fun for motivation to keep going.
I weigh in once a week and take progress pics every month or two to asses my progress and remain on top of my game. One of the best things about Weightloss and getting closer to my goals are the countless non scale victories. I remember a time where I couldn’t bend over to tie my shoes or climb a short flight of stairs without being completely out of breath. I could barely fit in my home bathtub, and had to stand up to bathe. I would chafe until I began to bleed from my thighs rubbing together. I remember going out with my friends, and in the middle of the party, running to the bathroom and locking myself in the stall to cry my eyes out because of how terrible and unattractive I felt in comparison to my friends. I had to take about 40-50 pictures, just to get one “decent” one to post on social media. Dealing with all of the wrong types of abusive and disrespectful guys, just to get that false sense of “Love” that I desperately seeked from everyone else since I had so little for myself.
Back then I could never imagine myself running 5K’s for fun, dancing for 2 hours straight dripping in sweat, being able to Cross my Legs, feel truly beautiful amongst all of my friends, demanding respect from anyone I choose to allow in my life. Those things amongst too many others to mention, make me immensely proud of the woman I have grown to be. I have fallen in love with myself, and there is no better feeling. I’m still treading along my journey, and isn’t always easy, but I’m determined because now I know that I’m worth the fight. I pray that I can be an inspiration to someone with a similar background who needs to know that it is Possible! – through Faith, Hardwork & Perserverance. You are Beautiful & You Are Worth It! Decide. Commit. Succeed!
