Sometimes in life, it only takes one wrong turn to get you to the right place. If a stranger had approached me when I was 17 years old and told me that when I was 31, I would have lost over 100 pounds and been able to keep it off for almost a decade, I would have been speechless. If that stranger also told that younger version of myself that I would be a nationally certified personal trainer, have my own fitness business, speak publicly to hundreds of people about my weight loss journey, and now, on top of all that, I’d be writing a book on how I did it all, I would have thought you were talking about the wrong person. I did not see this future for myself when I was younger, but I do believe everything happens for a reason.

In elementary and high school, I was not going in a healthy direction, either physically or mentally. At my highest weight, I was 227 pounds and was (and still am) only five feet tall. When I was a young girl, I was “body shamed” by male and female peers at school and camp. This means my weight and body appearance were made fun of and I was bullied. This only got worse as I got older and bigger. Throughout my school years, I was far from a star athlete or even an ultra-smart student. I was very average scholastically and socially and mentally, I was in a very dark place. 

I dealt with severe mental health issues throughout my childhood and teen years, including clinical depression and general anxiety. I was admitted to the hospital multiple times in high school for mental health-related problems. It got so bad that in grade 11, I hit rock bottom and even questioned my life. It was a day I will never forget. 

I remember it like it was yesterday. I was in grade 11 geography class sitting with my friends, laughing and joking around, when my teacher approached me, scolding me for talking and not doing the work assigned. She said something insignificant to me that I don’t remember. The next thing I remember is I stood up with such confidence, like a different person had taken over my body, and told her to f**k off. 

The teacher kicked me out of class. That was so unlike me. I was not that kind of student, but I was not myself that day. I was embarrassed and ashamed almost immediately. After getting kicked out of the class, I left the school to run home. I was mortified at what I had done and did not know what else to do. I texted my best friend, saying, “This is the last time you will hear from me. Goodbye.”

The next thing I remember, I was sitting in the corner of my childhood bedroom, curled into a ball, extremely emotional,   unhappy, and not thinking clearly. Then I remember a quick,  forceful knock at my bedroom door, where I barricaded myself in with a large, heavy wood dresser. It was the police and my mom. I remember hearing the cries from my mom on the other side of the door, pleading with me not to do anything and let them in. Later, I found out my friend I had texted told the principal. He then called the police out of concern for my safety. 

I will never forget the emotion and sadness in my mom’s voice that day on the other side of my childhood bedroom door. “Don’t do this. Let us come in. I love you.” 

I realized, at that moment, that many people still cared about me and I was not ready to give up on my life. Going back and remembering those rough moments in my past proves how far I have come on my journey. I went from being that unhappy,    unhealthy teenage girl crying and questioning her own life to,  today, being a confident, strong woman who inspires and motivates others to believe in themselves every single day.

From a young age, I never felt like I belonged in most social situations, and I always thought I looked different than my peers. On top of that, like the cherry on top, I was a picky eater from a very young age. As a 90s kid, I took Homer Simpson from The Simpsons too literally when he started singing the jingle, “You don’t win friends with salad, You don’t win friends with salad.” Well, I never won or made friends with salad. I have nothing personal against salads, and I know some people love salads and enjoy them regularly, but for me, they were never something I wanted as part of my diet. It took me many years to even eat any vegetables regularly. Now, after all these years and many small healthy lifestyle changes, I regularly enjoy my daily servings of vegetables. It just took me a while.

 With age, I did not grow out of the typical toddler pickiness. It was not until I started my fitness and weight loss journey that I started being more open to the variety of food I consumed. From a very young age, I showed selective eating habits regarding the texture and colours of particular foods. My pediatrician was concerned about my weight when he saw a significant jump in my body weight at age two. I was also predisposed to weight issues in my family genetics on both sides of my family. From then on, my weight was something I dealt with, and it did not get easier until almost twenty years later.

Growing up in the 90s, all of my favourite female pop stars like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore, were thin, beautiful girls who were supposed to be role models for young girls like me. The issue was that I never saw myself in them or any other female pop stars at the time. I now know the importance of representation in the media. Thankfully, the body positivity movement in pop culture is much better nowadays with game-changers like Demi Lovato, Lizzo, Meg The Stallion, and Meghan Trainor. However, there is still much room for growth in the image we display for the young kids who look up to these pop stars, influencers, and famous people. 

For the first two decades of my life, I did not know how to love myself or appreciate and respect my body. When you are bullied, and body shamed from such a young age, it is not easy growing up knowing you look different from your peers or the celebrity role models you admire. In some sense, I am so happy that I am not growing up in the current era of social media. It is only getting worse for young girls and boys to see unrealistic/filtered photos and videos of influencers and filtered pictures/videos daily across their social media feeds. These young kids, unfortunately, learn to aspire and look up to images and videos that are not even real, which I find very sad. 

When I was in my teens in high school, I was considered morbidly obese or obese ll. My BMI (body mass index) was over 40 at my unhealthiest and heaviest point. I had many chronic health problems being considered obese. I had gastric problems, joint pains/injuries, mental health issues, and lived a very unhealthy lifestyle. This was only getting worse with age. Girls and boys got more judgemental, and I was breaking down fast.  Something needed to be done, or I hate to say it, but I probably would not have seen my 30th birthday.

The tricky thing about changing your lifestyle and going through a significant healthy weight loss journey is that nobody but you can do the hard work that has to be done to get lasting results. It took a lot of hard work, a journey of ups and downs, learning to love myself, and a roller coaster of emotions. As it turned out…I celebrated my 30th birthday in style in Las Vegas, feeling confident and beautiful, looking forward to what the future holds for me next. My journey was not just about a number going down on a scale. It was about teaching myself to be incredibly independent, strong, and grateful for the life I have worked hard to be here for. 

I am thankful to be able to share my story and inspire and motivate others to transform their lives for the better as well. One of the questions I get asked all the time about my weight loss journey is what my turning point was. It took me 22 years to reach my turning point, but the answer was a solo trip to Los Angeles, California, in May 2014. I know it sounds cliché, but it's true. It was exactly what I needed. Looking back, I still don’t know precisely what clicked, but the day after I returned, I joined a community centre gym, and the rest is history.

Since I started my weight loss journey in 2014, I have lost over 100 pounds and have been able to keep it off for almost a decade. I did not use quick fixes or go on a highly restrictive diet. I dug deep, dealt with the real issues, and learned to love myself inside and out. This book details how I lost weight by adopting a healthy lifestyle and how you, too, can lose weight and feel great without eating a salad. My main goal in sharing my story is to inspire and motivate others to embrace small healthy changes in their lives so they can live healthier and happier. This book and this journey are not just about losing weight without eating a  salad, but what you learn about yourself along the way. So grab a pad of paper and a pen and take notes. Even if it is a motivational quote, write it down, and it may motivate you to make healthier changes in your life.

When you break down any weight loss journey into the simplest terms, weight loss and adopting a healthy lifestyle are not complicated. Technically, simple weight loss comes down to calories in versus calories out. You cannot outrun a bad diet. Adopting a healthy lifestyle is a lifelong journey. Every day you have an opportunity to better yourself and live your best life. It should be manageable and it should not feel like a chore. It is essential to take a big deep breath in, relax, and take small steps forward each day. If you are lucky enough to have a positive mindset and are open to change, you are going in the right direction. If I can do it, so can you. 

Stay strong and believe in yourself. You’ve got this!

***I want to emphasize that I am not a doctor or therapist. Before starting any exercise or weight loss journey, you should consult your doctor first. ***

“Believe in yourself. 

Even if you do not, 

pretend that you do and, at some point, you will.”

Venus Williams