"No experience is wasted... everything in life is to grow you up" - Oprah Winfrey
Today I am happy to share the story of my friend and fit-sister Christina. If you all read my blogpost yesterday, you know that she and I are joining the fight against obesity by inspiring others to become A Healthier We! Christina's story will definitely inspire people to change because her story is truly one of triumph over trials, success over setbacks, and purpose over pain!
I sent her some questions (some very personal since I know her) and hope that when you read her story it pushes you to let go of your past and push forward with hope and determination to your future!
Christina, first tell everyone a little about yourself and let how long you've struggled with your weight.
I’m a 37 year old mother with two children, a 2 year old son
and a 7 year old daughter. I worked in an office environment for 15 years and
was only mobile when I wanted to be. Now that I look back on my life, I
struggled with my weight for about 30 years. I was extremely thin until around
the 4th grade and by the time I reached high school I’m pretty sure I
was in a woman’s size 14/16! Between the ages of 13 – 21, my home life was
unstable, I lived from place to place – a friend’s house, father’s house, mother’s
house, pretty much where ever I could get a good night’s sleep. Needless to
say, I did not learn proper eating habits, proportions, nutrition etc. One
thing I do remember is my mother making us stay at the dinner table until all
the food was gone, even if we were not hungry.
You have been an open book to many people about your unhealthy lifestyle in the past. Tell everyone about your ups and downs with weight-loss/weight-gain and other unhealthy habits.
I usually stayed in the weight
range of 170-180 pounds. At the age of 21, I secured a job which resulted in my
first apartment. I remember living next store to a convenience store (right
next door!) and at this age, I had a strong marijuana “habit”. Money, a drug
that triggers hunger and a convenience store filled with all of a stoners
dreams resulted in a weight gain of about 50 pounds in less than a year. I
didn’t even see the pounds packing on! I remember buying clothes out of Lane
Bryant, sizes 18-20 and that’s when I realized something was wrong and I needed
an immediate fix. At this time, there was a weight loss pill on the market some
of you might remember – Metabolife. I started taking the pills and lost about
60 pounds as quickly as I gained them. I lost it so fast people thought I was on
hard drugs or was sick! Metabolife took away the hunger but that’s all it did,
I was still eating junk, just a very small portion of it. Metabolife was taken
off the market so once again I was on my own. I slowly started gaining the
weight back because nothing had changed, still eating unhealthy, no exercise
and still smoking. Of course, there was no other result but to gain about 30
pounds. Once again, I didn’t see it coming. I remember the day I weighed in, I
cried when I saw 204 pounds.
My next phase was the Atkins
diet. This was the dream diet; eat all the bacon you want and still lose weight?! I
was on the diet for about 3-4 months and lost about 40 pounds so I felt good, I
was right back where I started. Now, the Atkins did teach me to eat more
vegetables but that was about it. I still didn’t know anything about good carbs
vs. bad, portions, etc. I’m pretty sure you know where this is going, I went
back to my normal routine and got pregnant! LOL! Yes, I was pregnant with my
first child the end of 2005 and weighed 177 pounds. This was a great pregnancy,
I only gained around 30 pounds and it literally all disappeared after I had
her. I remember weighing in at 168
pounds (lowest ever) and I felt so good!
The next few years I stayed
around my same weight range, but I had some help, I was using Phentermine and
another prescription (can’t remember the name) off and on. I would dabble every
now and then on Atkins, South Beach, detoxing, whatever quick fixes I needed. Then in 2011, I was pregnant with my second child. This pregnancy was not like
the first, I started at 177 and the day I went into labor, I weighed 242
pounds. Yes, I gained 65 pounds. Unlike the first pregnancy, the weight did not
magically disappear. When I went for my six week check-up, I weighed 228
pounds. I would like to say that I have a very high self-esteem but at this
time, I was so unhappy with myself, I was literally disgusted. I knew I had to
make a change and one for the long run, not a quick fix.
Christina pictured with her daughter during her pregnancy
How did you make sure this was going to be a healthy lifestyle change this time around?
First, I stopped smoking
marijuana, if I could stop during both of my pregnancies, why couldn’t I stop
on my own? I did but only with the help of God. I prayed and begged him to take
the taste out of my mouth and he did, I no longer had the urge to smoke. Then I
wanted a jump start on my weight loss (I am very impatient and I was so
unhappy). I did the HCG diet for 45 days
and lost about 40 pounds. Once again, I was back at my “normal” weight but this
wasn’t good enough, I wanted more. I wanted to feel better, eat better, to be
an example for my kids. I spent hours and hours reading nutritionist blogs,
studies and recipes; anything that I could in order to learn about living a
healthier life. I knew I had to start immediately when my HCG
diet was complete. After all of my research, I thought my best option was
Weight Watchers. I have to say, Weight Watchers was fabulous for me, I loved
the point system, recipes and everything that came with it. Finally, I was
learning how to eat healthy. I stayed on the WW program for about 6 months and
decided to cancel my monthly subscription because I was comfortable with
knowing what and how to eat. I am proud to say that from February 2012 –
September 2013, I lost 84 pounds and have kept the pounds off.
I am proud to be where I am in my
life, I love my lifestyle change especially the way it has affected my family. However, there was one
area I was reluctant to start and that was exercise. Losing the weight is great
but not being toned is an issue, I say I am “skinny-fat” ;-). I started to work
out following Jillian Michaels weight loss tapes from May 2013-September 2013
with my sister in weight loss & life Alzadia (yeah that's me lol). Once I began exercising,
it helped with accelerating my weight loss and changing my muscle to fat. But
word of advice, start exercising when you start your weight loss journey
because changing skin/flab to muscle is HARD!!!
Reluctant to exercise, now she runs at least 15 miles a week!
I refer to you as the Fearless Food Chic because you are known for your good cooking & passion about food!
Yes, I am the self-proclaimed know it all when it comes to eating healthy and I look forward to sharing all my tips, tricks and recipes with all of you at https://www.facebook.com/HealthierWe!
Thank you sis for sharing your story!! For more info about Christina and her mouth watering recipes like the page using the link above!
Christina making us lunch during one of our planning sessions!
Seasoned with Grace,
QueenZadia
