I have been overweight my whole life. But in 2010 I reached my heaviest weight of 243kg. I was a size 38 (but only because that’s the biggest size clothing I could obtain at the time). It was at that time I decided to have weight loss surgery and I opted to have lap band. On the day of my Surgery, I was 204kg. Around 12 months later in 2011 I got down to 165kg but when my lap band slipped, and I required more surgery, I never quite got back into it and ended up back at 211kg and I sat like this for around 6 years before one day I woke up and decided it was time for a change. This was back in October 2017. I quit eating refined sugars, started working out and started to care for my body. And you could say the rest is history. Whilst I still have my lap-band, it’s not functioning. I need to have another lot of surgery as my port has flipped. I am in no hurry to do it. I am loving the feeling I have at the moment - control over something I have never had before. Control over the way I respond to my emotions (I just used to eat), exercise and the food I put into my body.
Of course, when I say it like that it sounds easy! It has been far from that. In that time I have had to overcome so many obstacles. But I’ve done it and I haven’t looked back. I have been in the right mindset ever since. And whilst I can’t tell you what flicked my switch, I can tell you that I’ve been consistent ever since. I have not given up. I have not turned back and I don’t plan on it.
Before I had my lap band, I started blogging. I used to write in it several times a week but as time evolved, blogging is out and Instagram and Facebook are in! So I have neglected my blog in lieu of sharing my journey on social media (I will get back to my blog very, very soon).
I share everything about my weight loss journey – the good, the bad, the highs and lows. I want people to know that it is possible and show people that it can be done. I want to stop the stigma associated with being overweight. Apparently, everyone who is overweight overeats and doesn’t move. This is not true at all. It’s also widely believed that all overweight people are lazy and don’t have good reasons for being the way they are. This isn’t true either. I also take a stand against bullying and anti-social behavior. I should be able to walk down the street without someone shouting at me reminding me I’m fat. Everyone has a right to catch a plane without fearing someone is going to take a photo of them and send it into the media claiming they were taking up two seats. People who are bigger are just that – people. We have just as much right to exist as anyone else does.
After a lot of thought, I decided to write a program about what I had learnt. I get asked several times a day how I’m doing it so I began writing down what I was doing each day and taking note of how I kept pushing through. It’s as close as I’ll ever get to bottling my motivation and determination. How do I know it works? Because I’m doing it. And whilst I still have a long way to go, I am living it and know how hard it can be. And I’m not perfect – I have never claimed to be. But I’m determined to continue doing what I’m doing and help motivate and inspire others to do the same. It can be done.
