After losing more than 50 kilograms, 12WBT Member Shayna took time to reflect on her amazing journey, with some help from old friends.
On the weekend, my husband and I visited some friends. The last time we saw them, I was 30kg heavier, so I was an excitable combination of giddy and nervous. I wondered if it would be noticeable. To my delight they were so beautiful. They were interested. They exercised with me and asked lots of questions, which really helped me to step back and be proud of my journey so far.
I’ve been overweight for as long as I can remember. The huggable, chubby, ‘big girl’. In primary school, I was in the girl guides. We rode in a small plane and I had to sit in front with the pilot because I was too heavy to sit in the back with my friends. When I was 16, an elderly man stopped me at the grocery store and said, “If you weren’t so big, you’d have the prettiest face”. I remember attending a high school swimming carnival. A boy came to tell me his friend liked me. The group was laughing before I’d had a chance to say anything. I didn’t go again.
It hurt, but I shrugged it off because that was my reality.
It’s not anymore and I’m proud of that.
The friends we visited over the weekend are next level fit. I love them, but I also admire and look up to them. Before we left to head home, they said something which made me cry. They said that when children are overweight it’s not their fault. They live with the wrong eating habits and don’t really know why they’re overweight. When those kids become obese adults they don’t even know why or how to fix it and then the majority of them will spend their entire adult lives obese.
They told me that I had broken that cycle all by myself and that they respect fit people because they work hard, but that they respect me and are proud of my achievements more than anyone else they’ve ever met because of what I’ve had to overcome to get where I am. They said that I inspire them…and that I’m an amazing, beautiful woman.
Then I fell apart.
By no means am I blaming anyone for where I ended up. At 153 kg, I was more than aware of my unhealthy lifestyle…but it was habit. It was what I knew. Now I know different. I’m changing those habits. And one day, I will be able to show my own children what it feels like to be happy and healthy.
Have you had a similar experience since you lost weight and transformed your habits? Share your story below!
