Today’s featured before and after comes from Lauren Forster Walls aka Vegan Radiance. She has lost pounds and transformed her health with a plant based vegan diet. I think her story is amazing and I’m happy to share it with you all. I really believe in a vegan and/or raw food diet and I’m in the process of going raw vegan myself.Here is her story:
Like so many, I’ve tried every weight loss plan that promised me I could lose pounds and inches…and quickly. I never was a huge junk food eater, but nevertheless, could never seem to get to a healthy weight after my last child was born in 1991. And now here I was in my latter 40’s and it was becoming about more than just my waistline, but my lifeline. I had already been prescribed high blood pressure medicine and lost a friend, my age, to a heart attack in June 2011, so I was desperate for an answer.
Memorial Day weekend 2011; my only goal was to grill some 1” thick steaks and relax, but the universe had other plans. I awoke and distinctly “heard” a voice say….”You need to stop eating meat.” I did not question it, but knew I would comply and seek guidance as to the next step. That night, after a meatless day, I searched my cable guide for any kind of food documentary that might offer some guidance. I found the movie, “Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead”. Little did I know that movie would change my entire life. The movie itself and Joe’s journey healing himself on a juice fast was inspiring and brought me to tears. I watched it twice before realizing there was a doctor in the movie, Dr. Fuhrman, giving Joe powerful information on nutritionally dense foods and the health connection. I did an internet search for Dr. Fuhrman and I tell you, it was like sun rays shot out of my computer when I found my way to what he calls NUTRITARIAN eating. I soon discovered he had a book, Eat to Live, which lays out a whole foods/plant based way of eating. I ordered it immediately, read it as fast as I could, went to Whole Foods on June 4, 2011—book in one hand, shopping cart in the other and the rest is history. I just followed exactly what he said in the book—Eat G-BOM*BS: Greens, Beans, Onions, Mushrooms*, Berries, and Seeds http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/gombbs.aspx
Everything he lays out in the book is true. The weight came off effortlessly with no exercise. The food is delicious and satisfying. My blood pressure began resolving and within 11 weeks eating a whole foods/plant based way my doctor “un-prescribed” me from ALL high blood pressure medication. By October, I had shed 30 lbs; something I’d never been able to do my entire adult life. All of my allergies resolved, I have no pms symptoms anymore, no headaches, no gastrointestinal distress, no stiff achiness—I can jog and jump and move effortlessly, my painful feet went away, I did not take an aspirin or any kind of cold/flu medication for over a year and I was full on good food. My mind is clear and focused. It’s an absolutely amazing way of eating. I love that one can get started without having to buy special foods, weigh, measure, count points, pay membership fees, buy chemicals to sprinkle on, etc…Dr. Fuhrman makes the information to get started abundantly/easily available to all. I highly encourage folks to buy the book as it goes into detail which really helped me succeed.
I have been following Eat to Live for 1 year and 3 months now and I still love it every day! The weight has stayed off and I’m looking forward to even higher levels of health and wellness as I continue with a whole foods/plant based lifestyle.
Online Community Member Kiluni Skye has transformed her health and her body and gone from 224 lbs to 179 pounds since June. She has posted a number of photos from her journey on blackwomenlosingweight.com.
She says, “I started my official weight loss journey on June 16, 2012 and at that time I weighed in at 224 pounds! I used my biggest fear “Insecurity” as my motivation for losing weight. For the most part of my life I was always small and never weighed no more than 140 lbs. But overtime and after having two kids, my weight began to stick to me and I simply ignored it. And before I knew it, I had reached 235 lbs within 2-3 years (2009-2012). Once looking at myself in the mirror became a nightmare, I decided that once and for all it was time for me to regain control of my life and my overall health. One day I went into my kitchen and had a meltdown; I cried and frantically threw everything out. And for once I felt a sense of “Power & Control” again! I was tired of people asking me what happened and if I was pregnant. At the beginning of May, 2012 I changed the way I ate & exercised 30 minutes a day and managed to go from 235 to 224 by the middle of June. On June 16, 2012 I officially joined a weight loss clinic and began my journey to become a “Refined Me” on June 17, 2012. And 91 days later, I’m now 179 lbs and happier than ever! Though my weight lost journey has just begun, I’ve lost a total of 56 lbs and I refuse to give up on my goal to reach 160 or less by February of next year.” Great job, Skye!!!!!
BWLW Facebook Member and Dating Blogger Kitty has gone from 186 down to 157.
She says, “If the BMI Mass Index was developed in a Caucasian context… and It is less accurate in non-white populations…why do doctors use this same index on minorities knowing that it is inaccurate? How can minorities fight the war on obesity if there is not even a scale to assess our body fat properly? …..Leading minorities to strive for something that wasn’t designed FOR US… because doing so would definitely be enough to cause discouragement..
So if your feeling down, simply because your doctor keep saying your overweight or obese..do your own research and make sure…my peak weight was 186 ..i am now 154 and technically i’m still considered “obese/overweight” It took 5 months to get where i am…i first learned healthy portions and nutrition before i started working out. I hate the gym so i made walking and daily goal and apart of my life style that i don’t notice it….anyway clearly I believe if I lose any more weight I will look hungry and have the lollipop head but bigger then that my bone structure is not built for weight of 120..it is what it is lol :)”
BWLW Facebook member Tina has lost 130 pounds!!! Show her some love for sharing her transformation story with us.
She says, “Due to being an intorvert and going through some things as a child, I became an emotional eater. Even though frailty is not a family trait, I was an overweight child, who became an obese teenager and adult. Throughout the years, I obsessed about losing weight, through logical and radical means. I, not intentionally, realized it’s about life changes. I let my body talk to me. My body lets me know it craves fruits and veggies, and not a lot of carbs. or soda I gave up fried foods, with the exception of boneless buffalo wings. lol. About 5 yrs ago, just by giving up bread and limiting fried foods, I lost 50lbs in a semester, going from a size 28 to 24. Since last July, I’ve lost maybe another 80lbs. I feel great!! I am still a work in progress, but I am so elated by the progress that has been made. To anyone that feels discouraged, start small. The small things add up over time. Even if you, in your eyes, backslide, no need to punish yourself. As long as you’re here breathing, you can always get back on track. I went from only being able to walk for 12 mins to be able to walk/jog for 2hrs. Keep pushing and keep smiling. Thank you BWLW for your site and testimonials. You are changing people’s lives.” Thank you, Tina for helping us to inspire others to release the weight!
She says, “I actually started making healthier food choices in Dec of 2011. In January I started working out. It is now August. I tell everyone it took me 9 mos to get rid of 50 LBS! Looking back, I wouldn’t have it any other way! Most days, I eat veggies, lean protein, fruit and drink lots of water.
I did pretty much what we have been told for years.. Incorporate some type of activity 5-6 times a week. (For me, it was workouts at home via dvd.) Also eat your veggies and fruit. I still eat all of the things that I used to except for McDonald’s french fries. However, don’t ask me about the fries at Chic Fila! lol I don’t follow a strict plan for eating. If I want it I will eat it. I just know if I do, put in extra hard work the next day at the gym. Breakfast might be a GREEN SMOOTHIE or oatmeal and fruit. Lunch is fast food, which can be a JR Hamburger from Wendy’s with ketchup and lettuce and tomato and a side salad or baked potato or a sub from subway. Dinner is lean protein (chicken -oven fried Bobby Dean recipe) and sweet potato and veggies!! Lots of water. Honestly, I can’t tell you when I have a soda! I think it would burn a whole in my chest, if I did!” Great job, Marci!For more great before and afters and to connect with other black women who are losing the weight, visitwww.blackwomenlosingweight.com
Here is her story:
