00:00I would eat a lot of fast food. I would buy like mac and cheese, burgers, fries,
00:04chicken, and I would pretend I was ordering for a group of people. My lowest
00:10moment was the day that I went to Six Flags with my ex-boyfriend. We got to the
00:17front of the line and I could not fit on the ride. That was the moment I realized
00:21I needed to make a change.
00:26At my heaviest, I weighed 300 pounds. I've lost a hundred pounds. I still can't
00:32believe my body can do the things that it can now. I started gaining weight in
00:41elementary school and I continued to gain weight throughout middle school.
00:45When I reached high school, I developed bulimia and binge eating disorder. The
00:50way I would deal with my struggles and emotions was to eat food. I would drive
00:54to fast food restaurants and order like one of everything on the menu basically.
01:00I would act like I was on the phone ordering for a group of friends, but I
01:05was only ordering for myself. I used to eat mac and cheese, pizza, burgers, a ton
01:12of chicken, mashed potatoes. I would take it all home and eat it alone in secret.
01:19The day that I went to Six Flags with my ex-boyfriend, we waited for hours to get
01:27on a ride and I could not fit on the ride. A woman yelled with a megaphone,
01:32if you can't fit on the ride, you need to get off. It was the most embarrassing
01:37thing that's ever happened to me. I decided that I needed to make a change.
01:42My doctor asked me if I'd ever heard of weight loss surgery, so VSG. After
01:47researching and talking to different surgeons and people, I decided it was the
01:51right decision for me. There is a huge stigma surrounding weight loss surgery.
01:55People assume it doesn't take any effort on your part to lose weight, which is
02:00extremely inaccurate and untrue because maintaining is definitely the hardest
02:06part. I usually weigh out all of my foods because I like to stick to certain
02:11macros each day. I've started to do what's called reverse dieting to help me
02:15have more energy, build muscle, so I'm actually limiting my fat now and upping
02:21my carbs and protein. So for snacking, I'll do like hummus and carrots. I eat a
02:29lot more greens now, like salads. I'll make chicken salads or kale. Much more
02:37fruits and vegetables. My mental health is better. Physically, I'm feeling better.
02:50It's just overall amazing. I had very low confidence when I was at my heaviest. I
02:56missed out on so many social events, like making memories with my friends, all
03:03kinds of things because I didn't want to be seen. Everyone gets down and has
03:07bad days and you want comfort. I've learned to kind of channel that towards
03:13like, let me be productive, let's get something done. That's awesome. That's so
03:17awesome. Your confidence has really changed. This was the day of my surgery,
03:23right before my surgery. You look pretty happy then. It was the greatest decision
03:28I ever made to have surgery and start going to therapy. At my heaviest, I weighed
03:33300 pounds. I've lost a hundred pounds.
03:39I still can't believe my body can do the things that it can now. My mind is blown.
03:45When I get on the treadmill at the gym and I'm able to go like two miles or
03:51three miles without stopping. I do 30 minutes of cardio a day and I do
03:56strength training five or six days a week.
04:03I am much more comfortable with my body. I can fit in car seats. I can walk up the
04:09stairs without being out of breath. I no longer have to shop in specific
04:14sections of the store where they have almost no clothes. Weight loss journeys
04:19are ongoing, physically and mentally. I want to continue to motivate and inspire
04:24others and help others know that no situation is hopeless and you're never
04:30really stuck. You really do have what it takes to change your life and better
04:34your life. The only person standing in between you and achieving your goals is
04:38you.
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