Following the passing of her father, it became important for Dannielle to take steps towards making a positive lifestyle change to improve her own health. Read on to learn the steps she took over a 6 months period.
Hello my name is Dannielle and I am from Orlando, Florida. In 2016 I desired a significant change in my life following the passing of my father. After his death it was important to me to really take advantage of my time here on earth and lead a more positive, healthy lifestyle. I made it a point to work on my mindset and pursue the very things that challenged me.
What changes did you make?
I became more conscious of my daily physical activity and the foods I picked to consume. Parking further away from stores to get a longer walk in, or taking the stairs whenever possible increased my weekly cardio. I used dinner plates that were smaller to help manage portion sizes. My daily food intake included Slimfast shakes, protein bars, snacks, vegetables, and more fruits. Using Slimfast products definitely helped me along the way. I love the taste of their chocolate and vanilla shakes which essentially curved my appetite and reduced my caloric intake. Also, I found that consuming more water helped as a lot of times that I was “hungry” my body was just really screaming for water.
The results
My highest weight was around 213-211 pounds wearing a size 16. Currently, I am around 176 pounds wearing a size 10/12. My transformation took about 6 months and I am still in the process of losing another 20-30 pounds. The hardest part about my journey was appreciating the small wins. Often times I wanted to see a 3 to 5 pound loss over the course of a week. I would get frustrated and then turn to food for comfort which would counteract my progress. I had to learn to be grateful and applaud the small wins to get to the bigger wins.
Help a sista!
The most important thing I want to stress is that nothing comes overnight. By gradually changing your food options and daily habits you will begin to see incremental changes that will snowball into big accomplishments. I came to the realization that appreciation of every pound lost gets you further ahead.
Now when I get up in the morning from my bed I don’t feel like I have to “roll” off the mattress. I’m definitely more optimistic when I speak to people and I have a more positive, loving attitude.
What might we catch you doing on your days off?
On my days off I love going to festivals, the beach, sightseeing at old historical places, and just being more active outdoors.
For women looking to start their own lifestyle change I would say be patient with the process. Practice more self-love, be kind, be appreciative of every small win, and enjoy every step of the journey.
Follow Dannielle’s journey on Instagram Here @dannielletv
