Living Anew

 

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After

Before Name Cristina Age 28 Height 5'9" Was 285.4 lbs  Lost 110 lbs*  Weight 175.4 lbs  As of 6/1/2010 *People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1-2 pounds per week. My main goal was to stop the gain and perhaps find a way to see small losses over time.

I grew up in the Hispanic culture with a mother from Cuba and a father from Venezuela. I was taught at an early age that even our babies were cuter the bigger they were. Food was love and it was disrespectful to turn down the delicacies created straight from the heart. As a child I was a competitive dancer, performing from a very young age and influenced by the constant scrutiny of my body and pressure to remain slim. This clash of ideas made my eating habits chaotic and unbalanced. I struggled for years, fluctuating and confused straddling the world of dance and normal childhood.

Rapid gain
As I matured and decided to leave the world of competitive dance, all of the activity that had kept me slender was gone. My parents divorced and I found my eating spiraling out of control. I used food as a crutch and relied on it in all of the wrong ways. The weight gain came on so quickly that my body was thrown into a severe hormonal imbalance. The fluctuating hormones made my hair fall out, my cholesterol skyrocket and my overall health to decline so rapidly that doctors were extremely concerned. Finally one day my doctor recommended that I undergo gastric bypass surgery to control the rapid gain. He cautioned that at the rate I was going I would kill myself. He warned about countless medical complication that would lay ahead on my horizon if I didn't take action against my weight gain.

Scared and confused I turned to a friend who recommended Weight Watchers. It was the only thing I had never tried so I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a shot. Promising myself I would try it for 90 days before throwing the towel, I joined Weight Watchers meetings and started following the POINTS® Weight-Loss System. Looking back I realize that what I did was take a chance on a program that would teach me to manage my emotions, eat in a healthy and balanced way and still allow me to enjoy the foods I love.

Steady loss
When I walked through the door of the meeting, I had been gaining weight for so long that I was not looking to set a numerical weight-loss goal for myself. My main goal was to stop the gain and perhaps find a way to see small losses over time. I was pleased to learn that Weight Watchers fully supported that thinking and helped me focus on a 10% weight loss goal to begin with. I thought that if I could even do that it would be a small miracle. As time went on and my confidence grew, I set additional 5-pound goals and took very small, measured steps to my ultimate goals.

Unbelievably, as the weight came off, my body returned to a normal balanced hormonal state. My cholesterol came down and my triglycerides returned to a healthy range. My hair began to grow back and I renewed my interest in dance and running. I once again felt like an athlete, but a healthy one.

Struggle no more
With time and the help of Weight Watchers, I have gained the tools necessary to manage the cultural food issues that remain a part of my life. I have learned that my family will always want to come together around the table because we truly love each other and enjoy each other’s company. The high-calorie, high-fat foods will always be a part of my life, but portion control and the tools provided to me by Weight Watchers to manage them allow me to enjoy all of my family events.

Today I am living a full life that I am certain I could never have had without this weight loss and self-discovery. Today I am an “expert” to all of my friends and they look to me for inspiration and support in their health and fitness goals. I am happy to say that I feel better than I ever have.