Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Women Winning Wednesday

"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

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