At her heaviest, Chasity Davis weighed 365 pounds at only 4″11″ tall. While she was pregnant with her third daughter at the time, she knew something had to change.
Her weight was making her even more exhausted and uncomfortable than any pregnant woman should feel, and she was miserable.
She told the TODAY show:
“I was piling on the weight. Just eating all the time. It was ridiculous. I was in a very terrible state, but I didn’t know that I was.”
‘Life is so much greater when you are healthier’: Mom loses 171 pounds walking every day https://t.co/rtTN7ES7p2 pic.twitter.com/heg6enuzDg
— NBCBLK (@NBCBLK) October 1, 2017
Even doing daily tasks was becoming hard for her at the young age of 34, and she was about to have a newborn to care for along with her two other children. But you may be surprised to know that her health signs were all ok up to that point – her blood pressure and cholesterol were normal and she showed no signs of pre-diabetes.
As many moms know, new health problems can pop up after giving birth, and that’s just what happened to Davis.
After taking little J’Nylah home from the hospital she started experiencing shallow breathing when she sat back or laid down. Luckily, instead of dismissing her symptoms, her doctors took it very seriously and immediately led her to the cardiac ward.
And it’s a good thing because women’s heart issues can often look much different from men’s.
When the doctors put the heart monitor on Davis they found her heart actually stopping.
“My heart had stopped for about three seconds,” she told TODAY. Obviously, her blood pressure had spiked as well.
To make matters worse, she was upset at not being able to see her baby daughter, and that was further affecting her blood pressure, but doctors warned her that she needed to concentrate on taking care of herself first. Her cardiologist told her: “In the cardiology world, three seconds is a long time. You only need one second to be out of here permanently.”
But she was allowed to see J’Nylah when the tests were done and that eased her blood pressure.
Davis underwent heart catheterization and gastric sleeve surgery, which helped her quickly lose 65 pounds, but she couldn’t stop there. Even at 300lbs, that was too much weight for her 4’11” frame to carry. So after her recovery, she made a choice to work hard to get fit.
She began by working out seven days a week, two times a day, and switching to a diet that included lots of lean protein, whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. It was a drastic change.
But as anyone who has tried to maintain a new fitness program after years of being sedentary, it was just too much.
Luckily, she soon learned about a non-profit fitness company called GirlTrek.
GirlTrek encourages black women and girls to develop healthy, sustainable walking habits and encourages women to form walking groups to keep them motivated.
Davis decided to give it a try and it was a great success.
Davis loves walking and the camaraderie it brings. She now walks about 5-6 miles a day! And, of course, she’s made many new friends along the road to fitness. Here she is after joining GirlTrek, but wait until you see her most recent photo!
After all the diet and exercise, Davis has now lost 242 pounds over the last 7 years, with 171 of that being from walking. Incredible!
Davis also shared some tips with those who are starting out on a fitness journey, including adding more water to your diet (instead of concentrating on just cutting things out), focusing on one small goal at a time, and incorporating more fruits, vegetables, lean protein, and whole grains into meals. Of course, she still has some fatty or sugary foods, but she limits them.
“Just because I lost weight doesn’t mean I never eat anything bad,” Davis said. “The difference now is that we have a home cooked meal every single day.”
Losing weight is hard and there are so many diet and exercise programs out there. Everyone’s body works differently and what might work well for one person could be a disaster for another. That’s why we love the simplicity of Davis’ approach. At the very least, one can’t help but get healthier from plenty of walking, water, and nutritious food.
“Life is so much greater when you are healthier,” she said. “I just feel great about myself. I handle situations different. I have learned so much.”
Take a look at Davis now!
What an accomplishment!
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