00:00I was definitely the largest kid in elementary school.
00:03I was the largest kid when I went to high school.
00:05I was definitely addicted to food.
00:07I would sneak away and eat an entire bag of bagels in my car.
00:12I fell down the stairs carrying our baby.
00:15That's when I knew I had to change.
00:16I used to be over 271 pounds.
00:20And I've lost 134 pounds.
00:23I was always the heaviest child in the classroom.
00:32By the time I graduated high school, I was already over 200 pounds.
00:37I was raised by two awesome coach parents
00:40who always encouraged me to be very active and physically fit,
00:44but they didn't know nutrition.
00:46I would eat whatever I wanted.
00:48I would find myself sitting on the floor
00:50binging on Twinkies and cupcakes and cookies.
00:54I hated water.
00:56Dinner was something from a fast food drive-thru window.
00:59There was no fruits, no vegetables.
01:01In fact, I didn't even like hamburgers because it had vegetables on it.
01:06I missed a lot of opportunities because people judged my work ethic
01:11based on what I looked like on the outside.
01:14People that didn't want to be friends with me because of the way I looked.
01:18I definitely felt left out at times.
01:22At our wedding, I was shy.
01:24I was quiet.
01:25I was nervous.
01:26I didn't like the way I looked in my dress.
01:29I was over 100 pounds heavier than him.
01:32Whenever I was at my heaviest,
01:34it was just after the birth of our second son, Axton.
01:38And during that pregnancy, I had gained over 90 pounds.
01:43And I developed gestational diabetes.
01:45And I'll never forget that day whenever I was walking down the stairs
01:49and my vision completely went black.
01:52When I fell down the stairs with the baby,
01:55it made me really realize that losing this weight
01:59isn't about looking a certain way or weighing a certain magic number.
02:03It's really life or death.
02:05That's when I found out that I had type 2 diabetes
02:08and I was having diabetic episodes.
02:11That day, I had a lot of remorse.
02:14I had a lot of regrets.
02:16With my journey, Derek and I actually grew closer.
02:22Hey, you want to make a smoothie?
02:23Yeah.
02:24Well, we both get to make our own.
02:25I know you like vanilla, and I'm going to do chocolate.
02:28So I'm going to be using the vegan protein,
02:31and I'm going to add in some spinach in mine.
02:33What do you want in yours?
02:35Yeah, definitely some apple and strawberries.
02:37Okay, apples and strawberries.
02:40Nothing worked until I changed my nutrition.
02:43Not diets, not fasting, not starving myself,
02:47not exercising myself to death with a personal trainer.
02:50Nothing worked.
02:51It just felt like we were stuck,
02:53and that's when you suggested I should go back to school.
02:56I was definitely hurt.
02:58I was sad to see you upset and so upset and so broken.
03:03You were at a low place.
03:05I'm big on education and reading and studying.
03:08Get the knowledge, get the wisdom in a sense
03:10to learn how to transform your body
03:14through nutrition and health and wellness.
03:17You definitely empowered me to take action.
03:19I actually went back to school and became a master nutritionist.
03:22Going to school for nutrition transformed my whole life.
03:26I used to think you had to starve yourself
03:28when in fact you actually need to eat more real foods.
03:32I used to think that you had to work yourself to the bone.
03:36You had to kill yourself in the gym
03:38when actually just 30 to 45 minutes a day is enough,
03:42and it can be fun.
03:43It can be things like bike riding or, you know,
03:46dancing or Zumba or kickboxing.
03:48It can be fun.
03:53I love exercising because it helps me feel better.
03:56It lets me bond with my family.
03:58I used to be over 271 pounds,
04:01and I've lost 134 pounds.
04:04It transformed my life,
04:05and that's why I wanted to be able to have my whole family
04:09get involved.
04:10It's amazing to see them in here training with me,
04:12working out with me, lifting weights,
04:14and just really improving their lives.
04:21We are out here by the pool every single day.
04:24Wearing a two-piece is a combination
04:26of being very exhilarating and also nervous
04:30because, again, I've had three children,
04:33lost 134 pounds.
04:38There was a time before I lost the weight
04:40that I would literally cringe
04:42if we were invited to a pool party
04:44or my husband said, let's go to the beach
04:46or going on vacation,
04:48and now I feel like our vacations
04:50and our fun outings are so much more enjoyable for me
04:54because I can actually participate
04:56and I can actually join in on the fun.
04:59I started out my journey as a size 24W,
05:02and today I wear a size 4.
05:05To get to this point where I'm at today,
05:07it's taken me 10 years.
05:09I would never change it.
05:10I would do it again in a heartbeat.
05:12I would do it again tomorrow.
05:14This life is a gift,
05:16and that if I truly appreciate this life,
05:19I'll take care of myself.
05:20I'll take care of my life.
05:22I'll take care of my body,
05:23and I'll learn to love myself.
05:25I'll take care of my life.
05:26I'll take care of my body,
05:27and I'll learn to love myself,
05:28and loving myself means treating myself good.
Comments