Every day is a journey for someone who’s living with obesity. At my highest, I was 400 pounds, and I’m 4’11”! It really dawned on me that I had issues with my weight when I was around 13, 14 years old. I would hide in the closet to eat because I didn’t want people to see me eating. I tried not to eat a lot, but I still was gaining weight. People would ask me, “How do you fit in a chair?” or “How do you find clothes?” or “How do you go to bathroom?” And I just had to laugh with people. I started making jokes about myself because it was easier for me to do that. It took power away from people; that’s how I felt. I think there is not a diet out there that I have not done. Not knowing what to do to lose the weight was one of the hardest things. Culturally, in my family, when they put food on the table, you have to eat it all. If I don’t, then it’s an insult. My mom was overweight. My father, he had been overweight all his life. He had multiple medical conditions, and I saw how hard it was for him. My doctors kept saying, “Your family history is high blood pressure, you know, diabetes, heart condition. So, if you don’t watch what you eat and you continue to do this, you’re gonna have this.” I started getting sick as I got older. First, it was high blood pressure. Then it was the prediabetes. Then it was my, you know, my limbs, they’re hurting. I had issues walking because I would wobble. I would literally have to grab the banister and pull myself because I couldn’t go up the stairs. In 2022, my father had a heart attack, and he passed away. When we lost him, that’s when I said, “No, I have to make a change.” I decided that I really needed some medical help to do this, because all these years I was doing it on my own and it wasn’t working. I was fortunate that I found a doctor that was very good, very understanding, not judgy. Obesity is a medical condition that should be treated. This is something that will be with me forever, that I have to go and check on every day. Since losing weight, my high blood pressure has improved. My sugar has improved as well. I’m still concerned about heart disease. Whenever I go to the doctor, he’s like, “Your heart is good,” because, you know, I have that fear. In my weight-loss journey now, I never thought I would be here. I’ve reached a goal that I didn’t even think I was gonna reach. I think having the support of your family, you know, a good team of people working with you, I think that’s the key. But everyone’s body is different. Make sure you find the right plan for you. 

I’ve always been active. I was a walker, I’d kickbox, always worked out. I started running in my late 20s, early 30s. I ran half marathons, women’s 10K. But I was about 270 pounds. For such a long time, I wasn’t able to make a significant reduction in my weight. My diet was not good. When it comes to food, you know, I didn’t know what moderation was. I had no idea. I knew that if I wanted it and I wanted to eat it, I was gonna have it. I was good at making accommodations for being overweight and kind of trying to hide that I was uncomfortable with being overweight. One thing that was a big challenge for me in my early 20s is traveling on small planes and having to ask for a seatbelt extender. I would always, you know, try to be very quiet about that and, you know, make sure nobody else heard me when I asked the flight attendant. I didn’t know how much living with obesity could lead to cardiovascular disease. In 2011, I had a heart attack at 34 years old. My son—he was about 7 months old. I was getting him ready for daycare, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, I didn’t feel good. I started feeling nauseous. I couldn’t catch my breath. It was as if someone stepped on my chest at that moment, and I said, “I cannot breathe. Something’s wrong.” After I had the heart attack, I made so many changes in my life, in terms of my health and fitness and definitely in terms of my weight. I had lost over 150 pounds in 2020. But in 2021, I had a second heart attack. My health care professionals—they said had I been where I was, you know, 2 years before, I wouldn’t have made it. I realized obesity was a disease when I started working with a weight-management doctor. She actually said, “You know, you have a disease.” When she defined it for me in that way, it helped me to accept it. I felt like it wasn’t my fault. In our family, we are big foodies, but we’ve made a lot of changes. I always tell my son, “You eat until you’re satisfied. You don’t have to finish it all.” My husband’s very supportive as well, and has done a lot to change his diet and increase his own physical activity. I’ve had a lot of small victories since I’ve lost weight. Being able to cross my legs is something I’ve never been able to do when I was overweight, severely overweight. Being comfortable sitting in my seat on an airplane. I want people who are living with obesity to know that this is not about willpower. There are many different reasons why someone might be diagnosed with obesity. It’s okay to ask for help. There are tools and resources available for individuals living with obesity. Find out what works best for you. 

When I went to the doctor and I learned that obesity was a disease and I couldn't believe it. I thought that having obesity was my fault. When I heard that the hormones played a big part of our appetite, the way our body just reacts and and hold onto weight, that was a big game changer for me. I think people need to change their views around obesity knowing that it is a disease. What I was suggest others to ask of their health care provider, first of all be honest with yourself. Knowing that you're struggling, you have to let them know, I'm struggling with this, what can I do? It's a journey. I have to make that journey work for me tomorrow and keep going and going until I'm able to just be okay with who I am. And I think that's what it is, having confidence in who I am and what I do. The advice I would give to someone who's struggling with their weight even to this day is to advocate for yourself. There's a big chest of tools that you can choose from and choose one that's best for you.

For as long as I can remember, I have always been hungry. Weight has been an issue for me all of my life. I didn't look for jobs because I was sure I was gonna be judged based on my weight, and I just put myself out of the running before I got rejected by somebody else. I went to a medical conference in 2016 and for the first time, I learned that obesity was actually a disease. I had never heard that before. It was a huge relief for me to learn that this wasn't something that I had to handle on my own, and that if it became a problem for me again, that there were other options available for me that could help me to manage it. I think that any change that you make that allows you to become more active and more fit is gonna be positive. And being healthy doesn't necessarily mean that you have to look a certain way. It's really just about making the changes that are gonna allow you to live the kind of life that you wanna live. This is a personal decision, and you're going to have to make it on your own, but you need to be educated and know that this is something that you can take control of, and that it is a disease and it's not your fault.