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Let’s start from the beginning. I was standing in the doctors office already hating myself. Looking at the piece of machinery that would define my self-worth. Step up on the scale. I look up at the doctor who I dreaded visiting as I knew with every appointment I would be told the same thing, to lose weight. I step up on the scale and close my eyes until I hear a beep. Opening my eyes, I see 125 lbs. I am thrilled; I didn't gain weight! I couldn't remember the last time I maintained my weight. Feeling extatic I turn around to see how proud my mom is. She was not proud. Her face was buried in her hands as she can't believe her daughter weighs 125 lbs. Something I should mention is that I was in second grade. 7 years old, weighting 125 lbs. Now, my mom is the strongest woman I know. She provided my sisters and I with a wonderful childhood and she is truly my best friend. She tried her best to provide my sisters and I healthy food. The issue was, she didn’t know what was healthy. She would order us chicken and broccoli from a Chinese restaurant and she truly thought that would assist in weight loss as it was veggies and protein. Needless to say being overweight made me the victim of a lot of bullying. The more I got bullied, the more I used food as a coping mechanism, which made me gain more weight and be bullied even more. It was a ruthless cycle. Fast forward to my freshman year f high school. I weighed almost 300 lbs, BMI was 42 kg/m^2. One day on the school bus, I experienced severe chest pains. I truly thought I was going to die, and was internally pissed that I was going to die on a bus next to people who would probably make fun of “the fat kid who died of a heat attack”. Thankfully, the chest pains subsided. However, that was enough to scare me into making some serious changes. It started off with me going back to basics. My diet consisted of fruits, vegetables, and proteins. I cut out almost all "junk" food, even foods that were marketed as healthy like the 100 calorie cookies, or reduced fat crackers. I also started going to the gym, although I had no idea what I was doing. I would walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes then go through almost every machine at Planet Fitness to teach myself how to use them. I probably did this about 5 days per week. Believe me, it sucked. Words cannot describe how discouraging it was to be completely winded after 20 minutes of walking on a 3 mph speed and 0 incline. Then, learning how to properly use the strength training machines when I am already red faced, sweaty, and surrounded by active thin regulars at the gym was an uphill battle. However, I pushed through. Every Saturday morning I would weigh myself. Every week the number would stay the same. I tried and I tried but nothing seemed to change. Then, at week 16 (yes you read that right, about 4 months into my journey), I weighed myself and lost 3 lbs. After that, the weight consistently dropped. I was losing anywhere from 5-10 lbs per month. When I hit the 50 lbs mark I was ecstatic! I couldn’t believe I had lost that much weight! But as soon as that excitement came, it left. Because after 50 lbs lost, I hit my first plateau. Part 2 Coming Soon!

What is "The After"? It is where you want to be. It is the moment when you can proudly post and declare "Look at me now"! Think of a before and after picture. The before is usually someone who isn't smiling; being obviously unhappy with their appearance. Maybe they have some extra weight on them, maybe they are not as toned as they would like to be. Now think of the after. A thin, toned, glowing depiction of someone who has truly earned the right to love themselves. That's the problem. Why is it that in order to smile and be proud of our progress we need to see a specific number on the scale or fit into that one pair of jeans we wore back in college? We are often fighting an uphill battle to be who we once were rather than celebrating who we have grown to be. Now, I am not saying that it is wrong to want to lose weight or to change our appearance. I myself have lost over 100 lbs naturally and gratefully help others on their own journey. What I am saying is that your after doesn't have to look like the stereotypical weight loss success story. Whether you are petite, midsize, or plus size you should be working towards the healthiest and happiest version of you. Your success should not be defined by the scale or by your pants size. You can be the after as you are.