Anonymous

Weight loss was never something my 20-year-old self could ever imagine or even want to imagine. Life seemed good. I was working. My family was healthy. I had a social life. The future seemed bright and so far off. I was living in the here and now and relished it. When I turned 28, I noticed subtle changes with my body. Nothing major just different. Eating whatever late at night upset my tummy more. Bottomless drinking would reap hellish consequences a mere 3 hours after consumption. And my weight — well, it fluctuated during that time. Fad diets that worked in my teens and early twenties wouldn’t work as well. My dress size went from a 10 to a 12, but I kept eating and drinking whatever without much thought.

Fast forward to my early 30’s. By age 31, my weight jumped to a 14. I became winded easily and soon sickly. Not in a chronic way, but sicker than I’ve ever been with sinus infections and colds, including a few bouts of the flu. I also started having panic attacks pretty regularly. I was pretty healthy up until then. Later on, I experienced several heavy losses. My weight ballooned to a size 18-20. My health began to deteriorate even more. Panic attacks became crippling and embarrassing. For example, I would fall all the time. Anywhere. I’d fall at work. I’d fall on the street. I remember one fall. It was so embarrassing. I fell at McPherson Square Metro Station. Paramedics were called and I was rushed to the hospital. Took many tests that were quite familiar. If you have frequent panic attacks and don’t know what they are, you assume it’s your heart. And, when you tell paramedics, ER doctors, and your personal internist that you think you’re having a heart attack, you take many, many tests only to be declared free of any heart events and sent home with a whopping bill. After many such trips to the ER, my internist suggested I see a therapist soon because “it’s all in your head!” LOL Frequent falling, I later found out, was a sign of major depression, which I was diagnosed with at 38.

When I came to Fit Like Me Divas, my spirit was low and what I thought at the time broken. I had no energy and ate just as much if not more of the same foods that I use to eat at 20. And I suffered much more consequences than at 28, I didn’t have nor did I need to see a plan for losing weight but Nevie did and continues to be to this day that voice, that beacon who pushes and inspires me to be in the best health that I can possibly be, physically and mentally. With the introduction to AdvoCare, the thoughts of changing my eating habits forever weren’t just pipe dreams but within actual sight. I wanted to completely change the way that I thought about food. It’s one of the keys to maintaining weight loss, I feel. The potato bread I use to crave? Stays at the store. Wolfing down an entire bag of Doritos when stressed became a word or two in my journal. Late night noshing became a thing of the past. While on AdvoCare, I went from weighing 216 to 178 and I’m not finished yet. My goal is to weigh 150. It’s doable. And it’s time. I recommend AdvoCare to anyone who is serious about their weight loss journey and maintenance. If I can do it, anyone and everyone can do it! You just need to start the ignition. The key to your body is within all of us. I believe in God and know He doesn’t make mistakes. I’m not broken after all.