 |
| Photo Borrowed from emergingcenter.wordpress.com |
Growing up with an extra body size has never been easy for me. Some people find me cute, hug-gable while others find me unattractive--ugly. I have been battling with this since I started schooling, I got teased, offended and even insulted. If only words could kill, I may be dead now, those unpleasant and mean words coming from different people are so painful that could almost tear me apart. When I was a child, there were many times that I felt isolated because nobody liked me to be their playmate and at that early age of mine I already experienced how to be dumped and rejected.
Adolescent stage was the hardest part for me. I started to realize that my body was not normal but instead of correcting it, for some unknown reasons I did not. Boys and girls in the campus were getting prettier, sexier and more appealing but sad to say I remained fat, unattractive--ugly. As I remained to be fat, people around me also did not change the way they were treating me; insensitive, mean, evil!
As what teenagers normally feel and do, I had crushes, took chances, I fell in love, courted and many more but I did it all with hesitations, doubts and insecurities. I was once loved and taken but with just a blink of an eye she was gone. She fell in love with another man who's the total opposite of me. I blamed myself for what happened, If only I looked good, she would have stayed with me and I would have been happy.
When I went to college, I took up nursing as what my Father wanted, but what they didn't know was I almost got rejected by the College of Nursing's Dean Emeritus to enroll the course because of my extra sized body (I was 275 lbs that time). She gave me permission to enroll but with one condition, and guess what? I have to lose weight by the next semester. Good thing was, our ways didn't cross the following semester.
I focused all my attention in my studies without thinking of the pains I had. I was trying to build a new life, a new me, who's a lot stronger and a lot wiser. I tried to appear as a jolly and pain free person to every people I met and knew in our University. I didn't tell them about my painful experiences, about my dark past. I didn't want them to pity me, all I wanted is to be happy and enjoy life.
My college life was not perfect as what I wanted it to be, there were still people who teased me, I got busted twice but what I did was to make friends with them and it made my life a lot easier. It was like playing in their games and winning it.
Losing weight while studying didn't ever came in my mind, but due to stress and lack of sleep I lost some pounds which made me glad. I thought it would be consistent but when my body learned to adjust, my weight started to increase again. The reason may be was coping stress by over eating and over sleeping whenever there's time.
I finished my nursing course in the year 2010 and passed the Nurse Licensure Examination in the same year and worked as a Nurse Trainee the following year.
It was then when I started to realize that I'm in a profession that has something to do big with health; being healthy, being fit. It was a big slap in my face giving health teachings to my patients, encouraging them to engage in a healthy lifestyle but I, myself is not even doing all those things. Not following what I'm teaching is a huge damage to my credibility as a health advocate. I always believed that if you want to be a good leader, you must be a good follower first and foremost.
When I ended my contract as a Nurse Trainee, I really wanted to get a job and get paid. I applied in several companies, tried my luck in other fields but there are just things that are not really meant for us. It was a bit disappointing but as most people say, when doors are closed, God opens a window.
Right there and then, I already knew what God has planned for me, He wanted me to become an epitome of health. In some point, I was glad I didn't get at least one of those jobs, it was like God has given me a sign, a direction to where I should be heading and without any doubts I took the chance.
 |
| Photo Borrowed from teamrich.wordpress.com |
In order to make things easier for me and to stay away from so many temptations (food, liquors, etc.), I decided to go to Manila. God is so good that he gave me a very supportive siblings, a father, and a mother. It was like He didn't just prepare me alone for this journey, He also included my family.
Strict diet, exercise, self-discipline, and motivation; these are the things I need to do and I need to have. At first, I felt like I am being punished and tortured not being able to eat what I like plus the 2 hours in the gym was sick! Gladly those negative thoughts were replaced with concentration, determination and fun.
I started with an alarming and awakening weight of 280 lbs or 127 kg. Having that weight made me feel so bothered. That was my biggest weight ever in my entire life. I took things seriously from then on, I eliminated rice, pork, soda, red meat from my meals, I also did modifications in my diet from time to time. On the other aspect, my gym trainer also did modifications in my daily routine exercises and boxing drills from time to time just to reach our goal which is to lose weight.
 |
| Photo Borrowed from thehealthculture.com |
Everything we did was successful, I was losing weight every week and in just a span of one month, I lost 40 lbs or 18 kg. I didn't even expect that I would lose that much of weight in just one month and it made me feel so happy and proud. My sacrifices finally paid off and everything was worth it.
Now, I am about to end my second month in the gym and surprisingly, I am still losing weight. I can already see changes in my body, I got my neck back, my collar bones are starting to show up, and my tummy is already smaller and thinner compared to what I got before. Even my old clothes are already big for me to wear.
Going into the process of losing weight is really hard, but being able to see the changes it will bring to you is very satisfying. With the results I got now, it didn't only changed my physical being, but it is also changing me as a whole person; I gained self confidence and trust, it made me more happier and I can say that I am loving myself a lot more now.
God is really wonderful in His plans for us. We might failed in our personal plans but the only reason is that God's plan is better than ours. All we need to do is to surrender everything to Him and let God rule our lives.
Everything I am experiencing right now is because of His great plans for me. I know this is just the beginning, but I will be forever thankful to Him and to His instruments (my family and friends) for helping me change for the better.
To all obese like me, it is never too late.
Let's start changing our lives!
Let's be fit!
Let's be healthy!
