April was a confident person in almost every aspect of her life – except when it came to her size and looks.
How did she drop 150 pounds, and what did she discover on the other side? Her story today!
“Your life is the result of the choices you make. If you don’t like your life, it’s time to start making some better choices.”
Weight Gain Background and Contributing Factors
April comes from a heavy family, and began gaining weight around the age of seven. Until now, she had been heavy all her life since then.
She tried crash diets in the past, even going several months with extremely little eating, only to gain back more then she had lost.
During these crash diets, April noticed that when she lost weight, the new male attention – which she didn’t want and wasn’t used to – made her very uncomfortable.
“I feel like weight gain was a defense mechanism. As I gained weight, the male attention would go away, and I would be treated like one of the guys, and I was a total tomboy.”
Upon reflecting on her past, April points to three factors that primarily drove her weight issues:
-
Not knowing how to eat better and healthier.
-
The discomfort with, and mental aspect of, being treated differently because of her size.
-
Not believing it was possible. April has PCOS and had been told – by doctors – that she couldn’t lose weight.
April reached a peak weight of 315 pounds. (143 kg)
How Being Overweight Impacted April’s Life
April is a confident person, and shares how she felt this internal confidence in almost every aspect of her life – except when it came to her size and looks.
“I didn’t date at all. I didn’t like how I looked, so I just couldn’t imagine another person liking how I looked… When I looked in a mirror, I thought, ‘I look heavy and I don’t like it, but I’m awesome.’ ”
April shares that the mental aspect of “being treated like a girl” was also a very difficult, but important, part of her journey.
The Turning Point
April watched the film “Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead” (also a game-changer for Episode 47’s Neil Martin) and was inspired to try juicing.
She was fascinated by juicing, and approached it like a crash diet, but failed the first day. Then the second day, and the next.
“I can’t make it one day! Just one single day… I was furious at myself, just livid at my lack of control.”
Starting The Weight Loss Journey
Angry at herself, April recommitted to a 30-day juice fast and lost 20 pounds (9 kg) in the following month, all while collecting vegan recipes from Pinterest. She enjoyed juicing, but felt it wasn’t for her in the long-term.
April then tried raw vegan food for 30 days, which felt more sustainable and enjoyable. She made the switch to vegan for the next six months and lost 50-60 more pounds (23-27 kg).
She shares that she’s made modifications to “pure” vegan principles to make it work for her lifestyle. She eats fish, occasionally still eats meat, and continues to see weight fall off.
In the first year, April had dropped 125 pounds (56.8 kg).
Mean Girls and New Discoveries
A surprising discovery about people around her has been how other women have responded. While most people have been encouraging and supportive – and April notes that “guys are so much nicer!” – she found that some women actually became meaner to her. April has not let it bother her.
Overall, April has had a very supportive environment, at work, with family, and with friends.
April no longer has to worry about fitting into a crowded train when commuting. She is no longer anxious in crowds because of fear that she’s taking up too much space.
She also shares that the pessimistic side of her personality has given way to a more optimistic, hopeful attitude that she is enjoying.
April’s Advice For Your Journey
-
Be hypercritical about your diet, and the foods you “cheat” with.
-
Dietary changes are far more important than exercise when starting from a high body weight.
-
The only thing stopping you is you. Whatever you think is standing in your way – give long, hard thought to how you can make your goal happen, because you can.
Resources Discussed In This Podcast
-
/VeganRecipes – forum for people’s favorite vegan recipes on Reddit
-
/LoseIt – weight loss support forum on Reddit
-
April’s Pinterest Board for vegan recipe ideas
-
Oh She Glows – vegan plant based recipe blog
-
Funeral For My Fat – exercise and motivation blog
On April’s Workout Playlist
-
Prodigy stations on Pandora
-
Lupe Fiasco stations on Pandora
Contacting April
Say Hello to April on Reddit!
You must be logged in to view comments.