Today’s featured weight loss before and after photos: My Sigma Gamma Rho soror Tinesha lost 110 pounds. In the beginning, she had lap band weight reduction surgery. She worked on how her emotions and mental state affect her eating and learned to eat healthy. She no longer suffers from high blood pressure, sleep apnea or asthma.
I wanted to submit my before/after pic of my weight loss journey but I’ve hit the craziest plateau and I’m kind of down on myself. I’ve lost so far 90 pounds (110 total before the injury) but I’ve broken my ankle and gained some weight back. My goal is to lose the remaining 60 pounds and celebrate. This site has been an inspiration and I would like to motivate others as well.
We live in a world where we are conditioned to believe in the overnight sensation. For some time, I bought into it and I occasionally found myself wanting things to happen so quickly, particularly with my weight loss. However, I learned in this process that the race is not for the swift, but the one who endures. What I had intended to be something quick and easy, turned out to be more than that for me. As a result, I wouldn’t change this experience for the world because I’ve learned so much about myself in this process.
For those who are overwhelmed by the time it takes to lose weight, I wrote this for you, with the hopes that you not give up your dream and your journey. I realize it didn’t take 8 months to put my weight on, so chances are in my case it may take me longer for it to come off. Just as long as it comes off!!
On March of 2010, I undergone a Lap Band Procedure for weight loss. At the time I weighed 340 pounds. Not only did I suffer from asthma, but I lived with chronic back pain, high blood pressure and obstructive sleep apnea. It was my Sleep Specialist who suggested I do the Lap Band procedure, citing that it would be as helpful to me as insulin to a diabetic. And, for the first 6 months it was.
I lost a lot of weight the first 6 months, through banding and walking an hour and a half 4 days a week. It all went well, but I really wanted to learn how to eat without the restriction of the band. So in September, 2010 I received my third and last band fill and decided to work on proper eating and exercise on my own.
As a result, I discovered that weight loss is a three fold journey of healing the mind, body and spirit. It is one thing to lose the weight rapidly and look good, but I discovered for me that if you still have negative feelings or trauma from your past, you might emotionally eat your weight back on. I realized that much of my struggle with weight was not due to poor eating habits and a lack of discipline, but was due to personal pain and overcoming stumbling blocks in my life that I used food to numb and bring empty pleasure. Eating was the one thing I had control over when everything else was out of control. I never dealt with matters that concerned me until I took this journey.
As a result, I see a therapist regularly and view my life in terms of it being a journey and not a destination to lose weight. I’m in a plateau now that I have been for quite some time. I know it is associated with the emotional aspect of this process, plus, I’ve recently broken my ankle and have been immobile for 2 months.
I recognize for my success, my mind, body and spirit must be in balance. The upswing to all of this is that I am far from 340 pounds. Even if I have not made goal, I’ve gone far and still moving forward. Furthermore, I am patient and active in the process.
My total weight loss in my journey was 110 pounds, with my lowest weight being 230 pounds. I am currently maintaining a 90 pound weight loss as I work to regain strength in my ankle and get into the regular routine of positive energy, healthy eating and regular exercise. I will not be down about the weight that crept on, for it is a reflection of my journey. This process is never over and it makes me stronger and more aware of myself as a woman every day. I feel better now than I did in my 20s. I do more now than I did in my 20s and I know with 40 creeping down the street and around the corner the best for me is yet to come. I no longer suffer with High Blood Pressure, Sleep Apnea or Asthma. I no longer have back pain. With every day I challenge myself mentally and emotionally to overcome personal traumas and stumbling blocks. And for this I feel I am a winner, even if I haven’t made goal. I am a winner because I’ve made the steps to being a wholly healed woman. Not just a smaller chick, nor a pretty chick. But a whole and healed woman. And to me that is beauty beyond measure.
I am thankful for this site in allowing me to share my story, as it serves as a reminder to me of how far I’ve come and the opportunities I have to make the best of my life right now.