Weight Loss Success Story of the Day: Demeterous lost 22 pounds recently, but she shared her 2 year weight loss journey with us. It’s a great example of getting the victory over challenging circumstances, like thyroid disease and serious injuries. Check out her inspirational story.
My story is one of a woman who is determined to defeat the effects of thyroid disease. After many years of defeating diabetes, I found myself “at risk”. I decided to get active by running 4-6 miles a day. I successfully lost weight & maintained a size 6. However, a car accident in April 2012 left me with broken bones and in a wheelchair for 9 weeks. I gained over 30 pounds during that time. The doctors told me that I would never be able to run again, and if so no more than a few steps, which was devastating. I started working out through many other methods such as bike riding and Zumba, however the weight was slowly increasing. I was later diagnosed with thyroid disease in April 2013, which explained why the weight was not moving and slowly increasing. Again, I was told that according to my test results that I shouldn’t have strength to get out of bed, I should be over 300 pounds and that weight loss was impossible. Well, I refused to accept that future and although I have had my medication changed 6 times in one year, I am determined to get back to pre injury weight, this time with muscle definition and by sculpting my body through INTENSE weight training. I DO run and I am LOSING weight. Yes, it is true that it is harder for me to lose weight because of a NON-WORKING thyroid but I am determined to beat the odds.
I am still on my weight loss journey. I have been on many diets and challenges, but they yielded no results. I did no beef and pork. I also did 60 days of reducing my caloric intake to 1600 calories a day. However, none of these adjustments yielded any lasting results because of an inactive thyroid. I would workout doing tons of cardio but my weight was still slowly increasing. After 6 different changes in my medication and being told that it was next to impossible for me to lose weight I decided that I refused to continue to gain and I would lose weight despite what the doctor said. I begin to watch my caloric intake, increase my water intake, reduce my cardio time from running 4-6 miles a day to only running 2 miles. I also implemented a weight training routine to build muscle mass and definition, losing inches versus focusing on the number on the scale. I have to work so much harder than the average person trying to lose 5 pounds but my determination is a strong, if not stronger. I have lost 22 pounds since my accident and still have another 15-20 pounds to lose. I try so hard not to focus on weight but on my inches. I take my measurements every week to every two weeks and monitor my progress that way because it is a better “gaging” range for me. I am determined to prove that we can defeat thyroid disease and all of the mental and physical effects that it has on our body as women. We do not have to be unhealthy, overweight, depressed or feel as if we have no hope. If it is anything I can tell anyone and that is if you can control your “thought life” and the things that you tell yourself and think about your life situation, then all things are possible for them that believe! If we only believe, then we will get up and achieve.
Follow me as I am determined to prove #exerciseoverpills and I am #defeatingthyroiddisease through #faithandfitness
Instagram: @demeterouslashay
Facebook: www.facebook.com/demeterouslashay
Daily appointments with the scale, mobile apps for tracking your progress and wall charts for exercise don’t receive a second look from some people. To others, it is like coming face to face with your worst nightmare. People dealing with weight issues don’t always need daily reminders of how deeply we fall into the “red zone” in terms of pounds.
Starting out on November 26,2012 when I woke up and joined Lifetime Fitness my life has not been the same since. I walked into Lifetime weighing a hefty 260 pounds, the largest I had ever been in my life. I started off going to the gyms twice a day as well as training with a personal trainer so that I could get my technique right on how to lift. They also told me what I needed to do to get this weight off of body. I had just gotten out of a abusive relationship and over the past two years. I had gained over a hundred plus pounds and something had to change. I came to Lifetime once before and I knew I wanted to come back but I was in a financial bind and that was not in my budget. Once my financial situation turned around I knew I had no more excuses. I love to dance and so I did every chance I got. Every Saturday morning and Sunday afternoon I took all Dance Jams and Zumba classes I could do. I am a chef so food was not the problem but proper eating was. We often think to lose weight we must starve ourselves but contrary to popular beliefs you must eat a clean proper diet in order to lose weight. By Feb of 2013, I could see my hard work paying off. I was almost out of the 200’s and those around me could see me melting away as well. When the seasons changed, I joined Bootcamp and lost more. I did a 90 day challenge in spring/summer of 2013 and I believe I placed in the transformation section of the competition. I tried my hardest but I never gave up. In December of 2013, I have decided to get into bodybuilding. I lost over half my bodyweight and I knew that from a lifetime of my weight being up and down that this was now a lifestyle change, It has been the best change I have ever made. I am now at 16% body fat and I don’t care about what the scale says. It’s about how I look and feel. My ultimate goal is to train others and utilize my cooking skills as well as my found knowledge of body transformation and lifestyle changes to help others being out there inner healthy person. I am now known as Mia Blaze of Blaze Athletics – “Blazing a trail to a new beginning”. Follow me of Instagram at 
