Inspiration: Mirna Valerio, long-distance runner

Great inspiration! I love her attitude and her example.

Here's her blog, called (wait for it...) -- "Fat Girl Running."

Inspiration: Almetria lost 177 pounds and bucked the family trend toward diabetes

From an article in Huffington Post, she describes her life before:

"I struggled with weight my entire life and tried every diet known to man. The scales would go up and down, until finally they kept going up...."

"Self-hatred and depression plagued me, and I often wondered how I could do this to myself. I was my worse critic and my worst enemy. It was at that moment in my life that I realized I was an emotional eater. Happy, sad, angry or indifferent -– no matter how I felt, I turned to food as my comfort. I knew I wanted to make a change."

Her decision point:

"In 2009, I got devastating news. The D word: Diabetes. My grandmother, her sister, as well as her mother, had had it, too. I knew it was hereditary, but I thought I was invincible... [thought] I could dodge the bullet -- but I didn’t. 

"I started my weight-loss and fitness journey in 2010. I weighed 342 pounds and wore a size 32. ..."

She shares that it was very tough at first, especially because she was alone. But not really alone:

"Oftentimes, health is the first thing to fall on the back burner and I was tired of putting me further and further down my list of things to do. This weight-loss journey was one of the loneliest periods in my life. I cried often and couldn’t find any accountability partners to take this walk with me. I was in it to win it alone, with the grace of God. I remembered listening to Bishop Walker of Mt. Zion out of Nashville on many of my daily walks. His sermons really helped get me through most days, when I felt like giving up.

"I stepped up my prayer life and pulled away from people who were negative and emotionally draining. I surrounded myself with positive affirmations, because every day isn't going to be a good day, but each day is another opportunity to get it right. Life has its derailments, but it's up to us to get back on track and trust the engineer."

Practical things that helped:

"I decided to do research on my own on how to eat and live a healthier life.... I learned how to balance my meals and used portion control. I meal prepped and planned. My palate had changed -- I was eating things I said I never would and now I enjoy preparing new dishes and creating my own recipes. Walking 2 to 3 miles a day turned into going to Zumba... and eventually, running. 

She didn't just address the physical side of things, though:

"I figured out what my trigger points were when I wanted to emotionally eat, and used exercise and other positive activities to fill the void or combat the emotion. I become more sociable and learned how to handle stress better. "

Her life now:

"I am fit and finally free to do all the things that I knew life had to offer me. I've lost the physical and emotional weight that has been like an albatross around my neck for years. I'm helping others learn how to become fit.... I'm not merely existing anymore. I am living my life like it's golden and I am worth it."

(Psst... You can too!)

Inspiration: Naomi Teeter

I just discovered Naomi Teeter's blog and her inspiring story. She weighed 300 pounds when she decided to change her life. Now she weighs under 180 and is a life coach for others!

Here are some of her "Before and After" pics:

I love that she's not ultra-skinny -- just a healthy weight and shape for her, that still includes some curves! I also love that she doesn't emphasize it being all about looks or fashion, but more about having freedom to live a life that you love.

She says, "I weighed around 275-300 pounds between the ages of 20-25. ...I also suffered with painful acid reflux that kept me awake at night, water on both of my knees, painful joints, extremely dry skin, acne, and always running out of breath. I tried to lose weight many times. I would succeed at dropping 20-40 pounds, but then gain it all right back after giving up on myself again. It wasn’t until the age of 26 that I hit another fork in the road and made the firm decision that I needed to get the weight off for good. There were many times that... it felt like it was impossible, but I kept doing it and didn’t give up on myself this time. Over a year’s time, I liberated an astonishing 150 pounds from my body. Over the course of 5 1/2 years, I’ve maintained a stable 125 pound weight loss."

Hope this inspires you to start where you are -- today!

Dear Diet Soda: You're not helping - What research has to say about artificially sweetened beverages

Excerpts from a report published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism 2013

Artificial sweeteners produce the counterintuitive effect of inducing metabolic derangements

Susan E. Swithers -- Department of Psychological Sciences and Ingestive Behavior Research Center, Purdue University, 703 Third Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

ASB = artificially sweetened beverage
SSB = sugar sweetened beverage

Weight gain & body fat percentage

The San Antonio Heart Study documented weight change in men and women over a 7–8-year period. That study reported that, among participants who were normal weight or overweight at the beginning of the study, risk of weight gain and obesity were significantly greater in those consuming ASB compared with those who did not.
In a study of two adolescent groups, ASB use was associated with increased body fat percentage at 2-year follow-up.

Metabolic syndrome (pre-diabetes)

A number of studies have reported greater risk of metabolic syndrome for consumers of ASB. Estimates of the increase range from 17% to over 100%, with the magnitude of the risk also depending on which other risk factors were taken into consideration. In studies that also examined the risk of metabolic syndrome with SSB consumption, the increased risk was often similar for SSB and ASB.

Type 2 diabetes

In the European E3N study and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, risk for Type 2 diabetes more than doubled for participants in the top 25% of ASB consumption compared with non-consumers. SSB consumption was also associated with increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Hypertension and cardiovascular disease

In the Nurses Health Study, risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) was significantly elevated in women who consumed more than two ASB or SSB per day. Similarly, in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, risk of CHD was significantly elevated by ASB and SSB.
Three different studies found a significantly elevated risk for hypertension in women who consumed at least one ASB daily -- at a level similar to that of SSB use.
Results from the Northern Manhattan Study indicated that daily ASB consumption was associated with significantly increased risk of vascular events, at a magnitude similar to daily SSB consumption.

Concluding remarks

Recent data from humans and rodent models have provided little support for ASB in promoting weight loss or preventing negative health outcomes such as Type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular events. Instead, a number of studies suggest people who regularly consume ASB are at increased risk compared with those that do not consume ASB; with the magnitude of the increased risks similar to those associated with SSB.

Source: http://download.cell.com/images/edimages/Trends/EndoMetabolism/tem_888.pdf

Read more about why your diet pop may be making you fat.