It took me a long time to feel fabulous.
As a very young girl I was chubby and miserable. Other kids constantly made fun of me and that made me feel horrible all of the time.
In my teens, things got worse as my weight began to escalate and my life took a turn for the worse, with depression and a sense of hopelessness.
By the time I was sixteen I wasn’t very sweet, tipping the scales at a whopping 300 pounds. To cope with this depression and anxiety, I stuffed all my feelings down with pizza and pasta. But somehow I guess there was that part of me that wanted to live, get healthy and change my life.
Around age 25, I experienced a “spiritual awakening” that led me down the road to recovery. I found the courage and determination to change my life, and to become the fit and fabulous woman that I am today. I started to make small changes beginning with exercise and I guess you could say the rest is history, however there were so many times that I wanted to give up. It was a fierce struggle to resist giving up and reverting to old self-defeating habits. However, through soul-searching, determination and self-motivation, I persisted and kept my eyes on the goal of getting fit and healthy.
Exercise and learning how to eat correctly helped me to begin this journey; however my mind was my biggest weapon in my fight to conquer “morbid obesity”. I taught myself some mental skills including meditation, positive imagery and self-talk. I tested myself over and over again. Two steps forward, one step back.
As I began to feel better, the struggle within me eased. I went from a size 24 down to a size 12. Boy, do those low rise jeans feel great! I studied nutrition and adopted a healthy diet. Exercise was tough at first, but I stayed committed, as I was determined to realize my dream to change my life for the better.
Once a working-class waitress from South Philadelphia I decided to go to college in my 30’s. I received a Bachelor’s degree and then a Master’s degree in Sport/Exercise Physiology from Temple University. Boy was I proud!
I look back with sadness at the young, depressed, abused girl who stayed home and ate all day. With the help of great professionals, I mustered the courage to confront my past and all of these years later I look and feel better than ever. You could say I have driven away the demons of my past and moved on.
Today I am a Motivational Speaker and the CEO OF SHAPELYGIRL FITNESS; a company dedicated to plus size women. I am truly living my life passionately. I advise, motivate and train women of all shapes and sizes and I love it! When I inspire my clients to go beyond their limits and take the chance to change, I am rewarded tenfold. I see myself reflected in each of my clients. I want all women to understand that a healthy lifestyle will make them more vibrant, enrich their self esteem and rid them of their distorted body images. I assure them that they do not have to be a size 2 to feel great about themselves.
I created the SHAPELYGIRL FITNESS WORKOUT to not only teach large, plus size and shapely women how to get fit but they also learn how to embrace themselves wherever they are in life’s journey...always searching to get better. My students are all different shapes and sizes but I want them to know how important their lives are to me but more importantly to themselves. I encourage al of them to take one day at a time and be patient with themselves. I want them incorporate good eating habits also, but more importantly when they fall or feel discouraged to start all over again. While they become stronger and fitter, we all have a blast.
I look and feel better today than ever before. Now I know how to take terrific care of myself physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. My world is a wonderful place with friends and family whom I love dearly and who send it back to me in spades. This is what feeling fabulous means to me.
