Pamela was miserable and couldn’t fully enjoy life with her children.
Hear her breaking point, how she dropped over 150 lbs, and how she’s helping others do the same.
“I needed to do this, not just for me, but for my children.”
Weight Gain Background and Contributing Factors
Pamela had always been somewhat overweight.
“It’s so hard… I’ve been obese and overweight since I was a very small child.”
She shares that approximately 12 years ago, she weighed approximately 240 pounds. (109 kg) Then, three consecutive pregnancies added to her frame.
“I never knew a way out. I just didn’t.”
Pamela reached a peak weight of approximately 320-330 pounds. (145-150 kg)
How Being Overweight Impacted Pamela’s Life
Pamela had low back pain all the time, and had difficulty climbing the stairs in her own home.
She describes some occasions where she had to ask her eldest daughter to carry the youngest child, because she was afraid her knees would give out and they would both tumble down the stairs.
She had skin issues, pain in her feet, sciatica, and more.
Pamela shares a story about how miserable she felt on a family trip to a theme park. She could hardly stand on her own feet after the first day, when there were still two more days in the trip.
“I couldn’t stand… I was so miserable because I couldn’t participate with my kids. I had to be over on the bench, sitting down, because I literally couldn’t stand any longer.”
Pamela avoided cameras at all costs. She admits that the only old photos she has are ones her mother took (by surprise) and photos from the day that Pamela decided she’d had enough.*
“The one thing that really got me ready was, I was at my absolute heaviest… it was the misery that drove me to want to change.”
The Turning Point
The breaking point for Pamela happened at a local race that she attended with her family. While walking up an incline and over a pedestrian bridge to the event, she had an episode of hardly being able to breathe.
She had to stop and catch her breath – on the way to the event and again on the way back – in front of her scared and waiting children.
“I needed to do this, not just for me, but for my children.”
Starting The Weight Loss Journey
Pamela shares that she began her journey in a way similar to past diet attempts. However, she stepped up her efforts after watched a documentary by Joe Cross, “Fat Sick & Nearly Dead.” After watching that, she sprung into action. (Watch this documentary at Amazon / iTunes / Netflix / MovieSite )
She began researching juicing and raw food. While a fully raw or juice-based diet ultimately wasn’t for her – something she discovered a week in – she didn’t give up. She decided to try another approach.
After examining what she was eating, Pamela realized that one of her biggest sources of calories was ice cream. She found a brand of ice cream that came in 100-calorie servings, and this became the first of many food-swaps to come.
The next step was to begin tracking calories of everything she ate. Seeing and learning the numbers led to some significant discoveries about her dietary habits.
Staying Motivated
Pamela shares how she didn’t know at first how well she was doing, and whether any real changes were taking place. It wasn’t until she took an updated photo of herself and compared it to the first “getting-started”* photo that she realized how much progress she had made.
“I was blown away. I could tell, just by looking at those two photos, how much weight I’d already lost just from making these few changes… if it wasn’t for those photos, I would have completely given up.”
Pamela opens up about how difficult it’s been to accept the change in herself, mentally:
“It’s so hard, when you have spent your entire life one way, and you’ve been obese or overweight… mentally, it’s a real struggle. Some days I look at myself in the mirror, and I still see that fat person looking back at me.”
Another challenge Pamela faced was a plateau early in her journey. Through research and experimentation, she discovered she had been eating too few calories. She then slowly increased her caloric intake, week by week, and saw the weight fall off.
What Pamela Learned About Food, Exercise, and Herself
It was a major breakthrough for Pamela to learn what emotional eating was, and how it had affected her. She shares that she sees this in many other people’s habits as well.
“As far as my personality… after this transformation, I look back, and I feel like I was living in a fog before.”
Pamela’s Advice For Your Journey
- You can do this. It takes hard work and dedication.
- You deserve to be happy.
- Set the example for your children. Show them the importance of loving your self, and taking care of your health.
- Use a crock pot in your kitchen for easy cooking.
- Use a food scale! [ TipsOfTheScale recommends this scale ]
Resources Discussed In This Podcast
- Polar – heart rate monitors
- MyFitnessPal – online calorie tracking
On Pamela’s Workout Playlist
- David Guetta [ Amazon / iTunes ]
- Pit Bull [ Amazon / iTunes ]
- Work B***h by Britney Spears [ Amazon / iTunes ]
Contacting Pamela
Pamela invites you to visit her social profiles, say Hello, and reach out for help!
- Website: EmbraceTheJourneyNow.com
- Facebook: EmbraceTheJourney1
- Email: EmbraceTheJourneyNow [at] gmail [dot] com
You must be logged in to view comments.