My Story

As a child I was always SMALL. When I was born I was 4 lbs. 13 oz. My mom said that I could literally fit into a shoes box.

Age 3

Even through my Elementary years, I was still tiny. My family would call me Skinny Minnie and Sweet Pea.

But all of that changed when I started my menstrual cycle in 6th grade. I started to gain weight and fast. See the difference below.

                                                                 
Middle School Years 6th & 8th Grade pictured (Not sure of size in 6th grade / 8th grade I was a size 10-12 pants/L tops)

                                            

At the age of 16, I started to slim down a bit because I had been a cheerleader getting some exercise. But working at Church's Chicken and Popeye's Chicken didn't help at all. I had access to Close to FREE food for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.

      10th Grade   (Size 13/14) Left
  11th Grade  (Size 13/14 L-1XL tops) Right

                   

12th Grade (Size 16/17 1XL tops)

Some of the other girls in school were in a size 6, 7, 8,9, 10

               
                       

Graduation Day 

(Size 16/17 pants/ 1X-2X tops)

After graduating high school at the age of 18, I found my LOVE. Jason was my boyfriend and we eventually moved in together. Jason had a daughter named Ja'Niya.

(I was a size 18 in this pic 2X tops)

At the age of 20, I was pregnant with our first child Jaleah and she was born in 2004. I gained weight and it seemed to never come off, plus, I didn't do any exercising to get it off. Then, I finally decided to go on a diet. I started the NutriSystem program. I lost 15 lbs off of the program, but couldn't keep up with the cost of the food as well as the sodium in the product. I was diagnosed with High Blood Pressure soon after Jaleah was born so, I really didn't need to eat those high in sodium, pre-packaged meals. So I stopped and went back to my bad eating habits. Health problems run in my family. I knew I had to either do something about it or I was going to start developing much bigger problems, but I still did nothing.

A few years after that Jason and I were married in 2006 and our family was complete.

                 

(Size 18/19 pants 3XL tops)

In 2008, my husband and I moved to Houston. I continued to get bigger, not losing weight and not exercising. My mom would tell me all the time that I needed to lose weight for my health, but it went one ear and out the other. In 2011, we wanted to have another baby so we tried and succeeded but instead of one God blessed us with TWO and TWO GIRLS at that. So now we have 4 GIRLS!!!!! The Lord sure does have a sense of humor. After the twins were born, I lost a few pounds, but not nearly enough to make an impact in my weight. At 225, I the largest I have ever been, while not pregnant. I was still unhealthy and still on Blood Pressure medication.
Jatiah & Janae

I had been a member of a group called Getting Sexy With Kendra (GSWK)on Facebook. I would scroll through everyone's stories and weight loss transformation pics, saying Wow, that's awesome.....and wishing I could do the same. But I was thinking, it's just SOOO hard. One day on GSWK, a lady posted a half naked picture of her on Facebook and she said that she was tired of looking the way she did and was going to do something about it. Her name was Nicole. I commented tell Nicole that I was so proud of her, she and I looked like twins (by the body) and that she made me want to do the same, but I was so ashamed of my body and didn't want anyone to see. She encouraged me to post my pic. The group leader Kendra, also encouraged me to post my pic. So, the next day, I posted my half naked, full body pic. After my husband took the pic, I thought, how could he be in love with me and I look like this.....I looked at that picture that day and couldn't take it anymore. I was disgusted with myself for letting myself get that way (the picture below). At 218 pounds, I knew I had to do something about this weight, the way I felt about myself and my health. My doctor told me that I was pre-diabetic and I know that I didn't want diabetes, so I wanted to do something about it. I prayed about it and asked the Lord to change my mind about the way I think about food.

(Size 18/19 - 20 pants / 3XL tops) 

So on 3/1/2014, I had my mind made up, but on 3/5/2014, I started making a change. Through eating correctly and working out I have lost to date 5/21/2014, 19 pounds.

 

 While I haven't met my goal yet I get closer each day. I have more energy, I'm not getting sick all the time and I just overall feel better. If I can do this so can you. Yeah, there were times it was hard and I wanted to quit. When it comes to something like this your biggest demon can be yourself. I will admit there were times that I needed someone to tell me to push through because I wanted to quit. But if you push through the tough times, I promise you will not regret it. So STOP saying you will start tomorrow and start TODAY!!!! Stop making excuses! Don't complain about not having time, you have to make time. I have 4 kids and I make time. It gets hard but you can do it! You don't have to exercise for hours. Heck you can walk up and down the steps in your house for 20 minutes. It's better than doing nothing. Don't be at risk for health problems when a lot of them can be avoided. Don't do it for a boyfriend/husband or girlfriend/wife. Do it for yourself, your health, your kids, etc. Think about your friends and family as well. Who knows maybe your transformation will help motivate them to do the same and improve their lives as well.

Thank you for taking out the time to listen to my story. Please share my blog and my story with others.

MY JOURNEY IS NOT OVER YET!!!!

 ~Jacenta S.