A little more about DeAnna....

Hi everyone! It's DeAnna. Today I want to briefly tell you a little bit more about who am I and what my story entails.

Let's see...where do I start. I guess the beginning.

I grew up as the chubby kid. Of course as a kid I was teased from time to time about my weight but I never truly understood it all until I became a little older and I started hearing the insults from people close to me. Around the time I was in middle school, my mother started bringing up my weight frequently. This caused me to cry a lot and it put a serious strain on our relationship. As a kid I just wanted to make my mom happy but I felt like no matter how well I performed in school there was also something she didn't like. The main thing being my weight.

I tried to live my life as normal as possible but in the back of my mind I was very self-conscious and my esteem was low. Things continued on this way even into my being in college. After going through a shaky relationship that resulted in me being cheated on, my weight increased significantly. I reached my heaviest weight and was classified as "morbidly obese" by a doctor. I couldn't believe it! Morbidly obese??? That sounded horrible. However, I felt like there was nothing I could do to lose the weight. I just made it up in my mind that I would be heavy for the rest of my life.

I went on to Law School immediately after undergrad. Sometime in my last year I was having a conversation with two of my close friends and I guy I had a little crush on at school. My friends asked him what type of women he likes and he said "slim women." Such a simple comment cut deep. After that I knew it was time to get it together and to stop making excuses. Now I now it shouldn't take someone of the opposite sex to motivate a person to change but this coupled with the years of teasing was my "a ha" moment!

In my last semester of Law school I started on a 30-day fitness challenge on a game on my Nintendo Wii. From there I just kept going little by little. I slowly started assessing my eating habits and researching better eating practices. By the end of that summer I had dropped from a size 14 pant to a size 8/10. I was so happy. This was motivation in itself.

Now, here I am almost 4 years later and over 85 pounds lighter. This journey has not been easy but it has been well worth it. Not only have I gotten healthier, I have inspired and motivated so many others to start their own health and fitness journeys. Honestly, that is the probably the most rewarding part of all the hard work and years of dedication that I have put into this.

I am now in the process of launching my own personal training and fitness business and I couldn't be more excited. The countless number of emails and messages on social media (in addition to LOTS of prayer) have moved me to finally do this. I'll admit I was pretty hesitant but it is time to share my gift and experience with the world!!! At the end of the day, that's why God blessed us with our various gifts and stories, so that we may share them with others!!!

I hope this post has given you a little bit more about who I am. At the end of the day, I'm just a regular woman who has struggled with her own issues and is now learning to use them to help others. What's your story? And how will you use it to change the world??? That's what being a G.O.A.L.ie is all about!!! Email us at gogoalies14@gmail.com and let me know your story or if you have any questions or comments!

With love,

DeAnna