Losing weight isn’t easy for most people, and sometimes, the hardest part is just getting started.
When you are overweight, you are tired and have low self-esteem, and that can make it hard to leave the house to go to the gym or take a walk.
One young woman knows this all too well, but she recently decided that she was going to make some changes.
Sandi was going to get healthy and happy. She has managed to lose over 240 pounds. She shared her story online, saying:
“I used to be the girl that didn’t leave her house because I hated how much weight I had gained. I was embarrassed. It hurt to walk, clothes didn’t fit me, always in doctor offices, and the list goes on. When I step on the scale and saw I was over 400 pounds I knew I needed to change or I was going to die.”
At her heaviest, Sandi weighed 420 pounds.
She was unable to walk and rarely left her house. She was tired and lonely. She also struggled with ovary syndrome, thyroid disease, depression, and anxiety. She knew she needed to get healthy. She started counting calories and taking short walks each day.
It was a slow start, but it was a good one.
She said:
“Sometimes you have to fall down in order to get back up. I spent so much time struggling with fad diets to lose weight. Everyone always asks me what motivated me to actually wanted to lose weight. And I guess a lot of things played into me wanting to get this weight off. I was embarrassed to leave my house because of my weight, I could barely walk anymore, my health had just gone downhill, and the list goes on. When I started my weight-loss journey I knew this time things were going to be different this time I wasn’t going to give up. I didn’t care how many times that I was going to fall down I was going to stand back up and keep going.”
Her doctor saw that she was trying to lose weight and felt that gastric sleeve surgery was a good option.
She was still going to have to work hard to lose more weight and keep the weight off. She was ready for the challenge. She said:
“If I could tell you about anything about weight loss it’s 80% diet and 20% working out. You can’t outrun a bad diet. Since day one of my weight-loss journey, I have started tracking all my calorie intake and working out daily.”
Sandi started to do meal prep and went to the gym every day.
She also started to care more about how she looked and started to dress in nice clothing. She explained:
When I was at my highest weight I lived in sweatshirts. No matter if it was summer or winter. It could be 100 degrees outside and I would still be in a sweatshirt. I was so uncomfortable with my body. When I started my weight loss journey and lost my first 30 pounds I started taking more photos of myself. I never took a good look at what I looked like because I hated seeing myself in mirrors.”
Learning to love herself isn’t easy.
She has to work on it every day, and there are still times that she struggles with the way her body looks. Still, she is trying to build up her self-esteem and is focused on staying healthy. She explained:
“Self-love is really hard to have. I still struggle with it. I’m down over 200 pounds and still finding things I wish I could change about myself. But one thing I can tell you is I’m happy I started my weight loss journey. I’m more happy and comfortable now…At the end of the day I love my body, loose skin, and all. I’m actually living life instead of watching others live theirs. Losing weight is hard but not giving up is harder.”
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