Your Biggest Loser
Honored. Humbled. A little apprehensive. I’ve been selected as the guest lecturer for Clark College’s Biggest Loser Challenge.
Honored for a number of reasons. Humbled because the little fat girls’ story does matter. Apprehensive because I’m not on my A-game right now. My diet is questionable so I feel icky and I haven’t been working out so I feel sluggish!
So, what is it that I will say to motivate them? Resonate with them? What tricks will I pull from my bag?
As always, I’ll just be honest. There’s nothing to hide. Nothing to be ashamed of. For goodness sakes, I’m battling obesity. This isn’t about me losing a few pounds that I gained after I got married or had kids. For as long as I can remember I’ve been overweight. So I can’t expect that the weight and all of the bad habits disappear overnight. I know how to be obese. It’s all I’ve ever been. The healthy, fit thing is new. It takes work. Constant work.
Again, I say, I can’t wave a magic wand and make it disappear. Is that a cop out? No. It’s the raw truth. The truth that no one wants to hear. Instead, they want to hear that they can make the weight go away in ten weeks: By following this plan, by eating this pre-packaged food, by eliminating fruits and grains out of their diet, by slipping this under their tongue. No one wants to hear the real gritty truth: It will take a conscious change to their diet combined with mindful eating, regular exercise, HARD WORK, and staying with it even if they slip up some.
Here’s some of what I’ll say:
“I’ve been asked by your trainers and professors to speak to you today because I have a story to tell that the textbooks can’t. I have a story to tell that will resonate with you as you begin your journey to health and fitness. I am your real life Biggest Loser. I’ve been there, done that — am doing that. That’s why most of you can relate to me. I’m not a Biggest Loser contestant on TV being worked by a staff of personal trainers and fed by personal chefs. I’m not an airbrushed Weight Watchers celebrity spokesperson. I’m not a health professional who has all the book smarts, but none of the real gritty insight of battling obesity and life at the same time. I’m your real example. I’m your Biggest Loser.”
So, yup I’m not at the top of my game right now. But, such as life. No need in hanging my head and shying away from my calling. My calling to tell my story of weight loss and self-discovery. I say this often, there’s plenty of other folks who have recorded large amounts of weight, but not everyone has the voice to tell the story, the passion to tell the story. I was given that voice and am filled with that passion. I’m your real life example. And, I’ll keep sharing my story in hopes to motivate others. In hopes to drive home the point — diet, exercise, hard work, dedication, commitment, and a never give up attitude is the route to successfully become healthy and fit. I got this!
I’ll end the lecture like this, “170 pounds gone forever. I’m proof you can do anything you set your mind to.”
Chrisetta Mosley
I am a product – and now a survivor – of childhood obesity. As a child, my family always told me that my extra weight was merely baby fat and I’d eventually grow out of it. I never did. Instead, my childhood is filled with memories of not being able to ride a bike, flattening its training wheels from being over the recommended weight, and avoiding P.E. classes by any means necessary. For years, I wore my fatness like a wounded soldier wears a Purple Heart - with pride. I owned the look. I dressed it up. I worked the room. There wasn't a skinny girl who intimidated me. I made sure my hair was laid just right. Nails polished. Outfits coordinated to the tee. Accessories to compliment every outfit. But everyone has a breaking point, and mine came in the spring of 2004 when I tipped the scale at nearly 400 pounds 388 to be exact. I was MISERABLE trapped inside of that body. I no longer wore my Purple Heart with pride. Rather, I was ashamed and frightened. Ashamed that I had allowed food to become my everything – frightened I would die because of it. Drastic times called for drastic measures... Today, I’m bound and determined to live a better, healthier, active lifestyle. I realize I’m no longer a passenger in my life, I’m the driver. I’m overcoming my inhibitions and I’m slowly but surely saying farewell to my old childhood nemesis, obesity. For once and for all, Farewell Fatso!