Becoming Who I Am Today

By: Jared Valencia 

I was always the big kid growing up, never realizing that the shape of my body was the reason why people wouldn’t talk to me or why people would make fun of me. From elementary to my junior year of high school I thought this was how my life was going to be, getting made fun of because of my appearance and my weight. I was that one kid in P.E who couldn’t even do one push up, I was always in the back when we would run. It wasn’t until mid way through my junior year when I took a good look in the mirror and I knew I had to change for the greater good. Not only was I getting tired of being made fun of, but the doctor told me I had to do something about my weight because I was at the brink of getting diabetes. 

My family has a bad background of diabetes and many health problems and If I didn’t do anything soon I would be one of them. Again I kept looking at myself in the mirror and I knew I had to make a change for myself. Luckily at the time I was working at a place that has an indoor gym, basketball court, and swimming pool. Everyday after school and after work I would stay in the gym working out until midnight, and then repeat the same process the next day.

My highest recorded weight at the start of my weight loss journey was 270 lbs. I was so unhappy and ashamed of the way I looked. Going into this journey I knew I couldn’t let anything hold me back, if I wanted to change I had to work hard for it and not give up. A few weeks in I didn’t notice any change at all and I thought to myself “Is this even going to work? I feel like giving up”.

I was so close to giving up because it was really hard for me to stay consistent with the workouts and the meal plans. I knew it was all about keeping a positive mindset and attitude if I didn’t want to quit. And whenever I thought about giving up I kept reminding myself about this quote I heard, “ Run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must, JUST NEVER GIVE UP.” 

A few months in I noticed many changes, I felt lighter on my feet and overall I was becoming more and more happy about myself. I slowly started to love myself. My clothes started to fit me bigger and I had to give away all of my clothes since they didn’t fit me anymore. As the months went by my weight started to drop, right now My current weight is 190 lbs. I lost a total of 80 lbs. When people ask me, How did you do it? How did you lose so much weight? I tell them, Respect your body, your body is the only one you’ll ever get, love yourself and your body because it’s the only place you have to live in.

I'm very proud of myself and how far I've come in this journey, even though I still have a long way to go, I never plan on giving up. And for the people out there who are close to giving up or quitting, just remember this “ when you feel like quitting think about why you started”.