I have struggled with my weight since elementary. My weight t started to become a concern for me when I entered the 7th grade. The word “Fat” was becoming the most prominent insult next to “Ugly” at school. I was generally a quiet person, but I had a temper. My most violent act was when I got suspended in the 7th grade for pushing a student and busting his lip. I didn’t mean to push him (the student was intentionally blocking the doorway), but the incident made the students bully me more.
After the 7th grade , I was placed in an alternative school, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and was prescribed medication. Excessive hunger was one of the main side effects and to this day people believe it played a role in my obesity. The medication did make me hungry, but I made the choice to overeat on junk food. My weight gain became out of control when I was around the age of fifteen weighing 315 lbs. When I was thirteen I had reached 190 lbs. My doctor at the time was also a concern because she thought I had heart problems. I was depressed which led me to overeat and skip school because students bullied me. I was depressed because at the age of fifteen, most girls had a boyfriend or had boys interested in them. I knew guys didn’t take interest in me because I was fat and considered ugly.
My weight wasn’t my only issue. I was scared for my future. I miss most of the school year while I was in high school and my GPA was below a 1.0. My mom wanted to believe that I had a bright future, but she gave up quietly. The reasons for my frequent absence was due to my hospitalizations for bipolar and the fact that I didn’t have the energy to get out of bed in the morning. My mom and I came up with multiple ideas for me to finish high school. We thought online school, GED, or an out of state therapeutic boarding school.
My social worker at the time didn’t approve because she thought I wasn’t smart enough. I wanted to go to college like the rest of my family, but nobody thought I was smart or worthy. One time when my mother and I drove past a university, I asked her if I would ever get accepted there. She didn’t respond but I already knew her answer and it broke my heart.
I began to change during the fall of 2010. It started off slow, but I was beginning to go to school. One day while I was in school, I befriended a counselor who would change my life for the better. She paid for a gym membership because at this time I was a little over 400lbs. My weight loss began slowly, but I was happy. This counselor enrolled me in a credit recovery program, so I could graduate in 2012. After my high school graduation, I attended community college and I was losing weight rapidly. I had to walk from building to get to class and I went to the gym every day. I was close to 200lbs.
After I finished community college and enrolled in a university, I began to lose weight the unhealthy way. I stuck to a mono diet (Ritz crackers) and I was losing a lot of weight. My family was impressed, but they did not know the story behind the weight loss until the summer of 2015. My mom was scared for my health and desperately tried to make me eat other foods. I wasn’t scared at the time until I returned to school in the fall of 2015. I became ill and put in the hospital. I promised myself that I would start losing weight the healthy way.
Today I am a college graduate and currently on my way to graduate school for social work. My weight loss journey is over with and I am at a healthy weight. The great part about my story is that although people were sure that I would be a failure, I proved them wrong and I continue to prove them wrong. I told myself that my adult life will be way better than my childhood and so far it is. I have encouraged many people to lose weight while I was losing weight and today, my older sister is beginning to lose weight. I hope that I can continue to inspire others. If I can do it, anyone can. And by the way, I was accepted into the university my mom thought I would never get into. (smile)!
Guest writer
Jalesa is a volunteer at a veteran hospital. She graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Sociology and currently on her way to graduate school for social work. Jalesa had ben writing since the 5th grade and hopes to release her first novel by the end of 2018, when she’s not writing or volunteering, Jalesa enjoys playing video games, watching crime TV shows, and listening to music.
Follow her blog: