Caution. When You Engage Your Passion, You Might Get What You Want.
For those of you who know me, this next statement will come as a shock and surprise.
I AM SPEECHLESS!
I know. I know. It's beyond belief. While I am a pretty big mush from time to time, there are no words to describe how incredibley moved I was by a recent testimonial by one woman that chose to engage in the Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge that I have been promoting. I know that most people are looking to me and saying, "whatever" with regards to why this is so different from any other weight loss plan.
I caution anyone reading this to beware. I feel very strongly that will you indeed be moved. That goes without saying. The part that may overtake you, is the overwhelming urge to join us. This woman took faith in hand, and faced a fear that is in many people's hearts. The inspiring part is that she made a dramatic move for herself.
Ivette Maymi
My Body By Vi "Why"...
5’10”, 138 lbs., lean, fit, and full of energy…that was me not so long ago. So what happened? How did I, who was used to walking hours on end in the hot sun and not break a sweat and then walking the fashion runways when I modeled, end up barely being able to catch my breath after going up a flight of stairs?!
Life. That’s what happened. Unexpected twists, turns and circumstances, as is the same for many of us. I never in a million years imagined struggling with my weight, yet here I was at 188 lbs. doing just that!
Not soon after I got married in 2005, I suffered a terrible miscarriage that left me depressed, angry, seeking comfort through food and thick around the middle. I wish I could say I snapped out of it quickly, but this lifestyle and depression followed me for about 4 years or so. See, women who have been through this experience can tell you that even though your baby is gone, your body is still shaped and functioning long after as if there were a child present. The recovery is a brutal one. Well, in late 2008, I grew more and more frustrated with my appearance. I had gone from a size 8 to a size 12 in jeans and couldn’t wear any shirts or blouses under an XL. I felt the only modeling I would do at this point would be plus sized modeling. I began to give up. I had made up my mind that 2009 was going to be different. That when the New Year rang in, so would my diet! Well, a month into it I was in a bad car accident where I was rear-ended while stopped at a light. I was rushed to the hospital and later found I had suffered a double herniation in my neck and back….that’s where the gym exited and physical therapy entered. As life would have it, my husband and I were blessed with the knowledge that we would be parents again (though we couldn’t understand God’s timing)! Being in physical therapy was hard enough without adding the pregnancy to it…but I smiled anyway because after our loss, we were given a son!
Caleb was born October 2009 and I grew to a whopping 205 lbs. by the end of my pregnancy…oh but wait! There’s more! See, Caleb was a HUGE baby…I had to have an emergency C-section after 20 hours of labor because the umbilical cord was wrapped around his little neck. After a 5-day hospital stay for the both of us, I returned home knowing that after the accident, the pregnancy and the C-section, working out and losing weight (because I was breast feeding) would not be likely. Fast forward 6 months and tack on to all of this an emergency gallbladder surgery…yep! I was DONE!!!!!
So now with my son 16 months old, I got to that place where I said ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! There HAS to be something out there, someone who can help me! I could feel the anxiety and the depression mounting. I grew weary of going places and having people ask me how far along I was, and why I had chosen to have a baby so soon after my son!! Those comments through me into a tailspin! My fear was that my 13 year old daughter would see my unhappiness with the way I looked and mimic those feelings about her own body. I needed to be smarter than that….
(Enter Rick Herbst)…
This challenge was presented by someone I had grown to respect and admire and who had already given me over the past year some really solid advice. Emmy winner or not, this man was a dependable source, I felt. I struggled with doing this challenge for all the obvious reasons…didn’t want to spend money (when really I was actually saving money!), and I didn’t want to reach the end of it and be disappointed as I had been by all of these other diets I had tried in the past.
I am at Day 17 of my challenge. I lost 6 lbs. the first week alone, and now I’m at a 10 lb. loss in under 3 weeks! To me, this is unreal! It is beyond incredible! The other day, I noticed my size 12 jeans were sagging….I grabbed in desperation a pair of size 10 skinny jeans that had been collecting dust in my drawer and BEHOLD!!!! They fit!!!!!!!! That’s right….2 jeans sizes down and that’s all I needed to realize that this Challenge was for me! The energy I have is through the roof! The peace of mind I experience daily as I go through my regimen is beyond anything I have ever experienced! I thank God this Challenge crossed my path. I thank God he made a way when I felt there was none.
I am doing this! I am going to be the vibrant and sexy woman I was before circumstances took over! I am going to show others that a healthy lifestyle is as close to them as saying “YES, I WILL!”
So do it! Join me! The only thing you have to lose is weight.
Ivette's link is http://mrsmaymi.bodybyvi.com/
