By Dana Hallahan

My weight loss journey began October 2003. I was inspired one night while watching a TV program which was addressing the issue of lifestyle changes and it was then that I decided to change my life. I realized that I could put my energy into changing my life rather than continuing to feel like a failure. The next day I bought a day planner and stayed up till 5am mapping out my goals. Part of the process required me to get very real with myself, which included stepping on the scale. I knew I had put on weight during my second pregnancy, but I hadn’t stepped on a scale since then, which was in 1998. I knew I was overweight, but I had no idea how overweight I was.

That walk through the locker room was extremely difficult. I told myself that I could do it and that no matter what the scale said, I would never again weigh that much. I literally had to give myself a pep talk in order to get on the scale. To my amazement and shock I weighed 225 pounds! I had no idea my weight was that high.

I chose not to announce to anyone in my life that I was on a journey to lose weight. I didn’t want people watching me and waiting for me to fail, so I kept very quiet. However, I did seek out some support online and began attending weekly meetings with other women who were trying to lose weight.

At that time my boys were 4 and 7 and it was right before the holidays. By the time January rolled around, I had lost about 10 pounds and had ordered a pair of size 18 Gap jeans online. I still kept my success quiet, still not wanting to be watched. The changes I had made in my life were beginning to feel a little easier -- no eating in front of the TV or computer, eating five times a day, drinking a half gallon of water every day, walking on the treadmill 20 minutes about 2 times per week. However, even more importantly, the internal dialogue that had become so entrenched in me began to loosen its grip. I was working very hard at reprogramming that dialogue, those things I said to myself that no one else could hear -- those unkind words that I would never say to someone else but yet said them to myself constantly each day. I began to be kinder in the things I said to myself, particularly about my body. Essentially, I became my own cheerleader, pushing myself to move forward each day, learning to be kind to myself, to nurture myself, and to keep making positive changes.

Six months after my journey began, in April 2004, I had lost about 20 pounds (2 sizes). I was able to wear a size 16! Then a crisis occurred – my husband filed for divorce and I suddenly found myself a single mother after 13 years of marriage. I knew that I would not give up what I had begun despite the tremendous stress that I was under. I borrowed my sister’s treadmill and set it up in my living room and that’s where I did my workouts.

I had to move out of the house very shortly after the divorce was filed. My best friend helped me fix up my mom’s basement so my boys and I could move in. I had tremendous support and although the stress level was pretty high, with all of the physical activity going on, I dropped another 20 pounds over the summer. I continued to eat at least five times per day throughout all of this, watching the clock to make sure I didn’t miss a meal!

My weight-loss journey continued and by October 2004, a year after it had begun, I was wearing a size 8 jeans! By Christmas I was in a 6, and by February I realized that I wasn’t going down sizes any longer! All in all, I lost about 80 pounds, going from a size 22 pants to a size 6. This process took almost twice as much time as I had planned but I was maintaining weight loss, sticking to my new eating habits and feeling really good about myself.

People in my life started telling me I should be a personal trainer, which shocked me since my perception of a trainer was someone who had always been fit. After several people suggested that I be a trainer, I finally started to listen! I’m happy to say that I am now a certified personal trainer and am excited to be in a position to help others on their journey to wellness. I truly have a passion for encouraging people to live a fit and healthy life!