Life long Westerville resident, Deidra Smith, has a real life weight loss success story and wants to share her experience. After the up and down roller coaster of losing weight and reaching an all-time high, it was time to take control of her life!
Before
It was this picture that made me decide it was time to change my life!...
After
And this picture that gave me back the confidence I had lost!
Deidra's Story
Born and raised in Westerville, my family was always very active, and my Dad always stressed exercise and keeping fit. I was a dancer, cheerleader, runner and softball player. I have belonged to many, many gyms over the years. They did serve their purpose; but only for short periods of time. In 2001, my life started a series of negative changes. Over time, I stopped working out, life's stress and family crisis' took over and the weight started piling on! Before I knew it I weighed 215 lbs! I lost some weight on my own, but I knew I needed more help and the larger gyms just weren't giving me the comfort level I needed. I sought the help of a high school classmate who owned a fitness studio. I started taking sessions, gradually moved into working with a personal trainer, then adding sometimes 2 or 3 sessions per day to my workout plan. My personal trainer encouraged me to enroll in their Personal Trainer Academy to become a personal trainer and train out of their studio. I became a NETA (National Exercise Trainers Association) Certified Personal Trainer. April 2010 was also the TRUE beginning of my weight loss journey. I have lost over 57lbs, went from a size 16 to a size 8 and opened my own studio. In March 2015 I reached another personal best. I've lost a total of 67lbs and dropped 6% body fat.