Faith & Fitness: How I Lost 100 Pounds, Naturally!

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I started my weight loss journey in late summer of 2014. I remember attending Essence Fest that year and being so uncomfortable and miserable with all of the touristy walking. When I got back home to Chicago, I decided that something needed to change. I was, generally, in a very negative place.

I set out on a journey of holistic fitness. I wanted to change anything about myself, that I didn’t like or that I found myself “whining” about. The 3 areas I decided needed targeting were: my weight, my teeth, and my attitude. I started to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus to target my attitude.

I was negative toward myself, and our relationships with ourselves eventually spill over into all of our relationships. I started seeing a therapist, as I identify with being a highly sensitive person. I invested in fixing my teeth. And I started walking home from work. I lived in the west loop area and worked in the loop. The walk home was about 4 miles. With that change, I also decided to give up sugary drinks and commit to eating something green with every meal. Which was a huge change for me, as I had never been a vegetable eater!

I lost 20 lbs, quickly. So I decided to add in bike riding for half of that walk. I joined a gym and added more cardio machines to my day. I took up a spin class. The weight was falling off. Between

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(function (window, document, $) { var sticky = new Waypoint.Sticky({ element: document.getElementById( ‘playerWrapper’ ) }) })(window, document, jQuery);

I started my weight loss journey in late summer of 2014. I remember attending Essence Fest that year and being so uncomfortable and miserable with all of the touristy walking. When I got back home to Chicago, I decided that something needed to change. I was, generally, in a very negative place.

I set out on a journey of holistic fitness. I wanted to change anything about myself, that I didn’t like or that I found myself “whining” about. The 3 areas I decided needed targeting were: my weight, my teeth, and my attitude. I started to grow deeper in my relationship with Jesus to target my attitude.

I was negative toward myself, and our relationships with ourselves eventually spill over into all of our relationships. I started seeing a therapist, as I identify with being a highly sensitive person. I invested in fixing my teeth. And I started walking home from work. I lived in the west loop area and worked in the loop. The walk home was about 4 miles. With that change, I also decided to give up sugary drinks and commit to eating something green with every meal. Which was a huge change for me, as I had never been a vegetable eater!

I lost 20 lbs, quickly. So I decided to add in bike riding for half of that walk. I joined a gym and added more cardio machines to my day. I took up a spin class. The weight was falling off. Between