Meet the woman who decided to turn her life around by shedding more than 38kg in just a year, after the threat of diabetes began to overshadow her life.
Lorena Assis, from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, was raised in a family that didn’t care much about their health or doing physical activities – which led her to pick up a really unhealthy lifestyle.
Her way of life became worse throughout her teenage years and she reached her peak weight of 114kg.
“Since my childhood, with bad eating habits and without having great incentives to exercise, the situation got worse over the years,” says Lorena.
As the years went by, the 23-year-old’s health started deteriorating, making it difficult for her to walk for longer than five minutes without her legs tiring. Lorena then began experiencing diabetic symptoms such as excessive hunger and fatigue.
“It all became worse in my teens and when I lived on my own. I felt extremely bad and dissatisfied with myself.
“My self-esteem was very low. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I felt very disappointed and wept,” she says.
After deciding that she had enough of her toxic lifestyle, she turned over a new leaf and went from doing no exercise at all to working out at least five times a week. The blonde beauty’s weight dropped to an astonishing 76kg and now only consumes 1,000 calories a day.
“Weight loss didn’t change my life, it has brought me life. Before my weight loss journey, I only existed but I didn’t know what the word life really meant,” says the 23-year-old.
Lorena admits she was scared of the changes her body were undergoing but appreciates the love and support she received from her friends and family.
“The beginning will always be difficult. Every change scares us since we are accustomed to self-indulgence.
“Always think to yourself that today you are closer than yesterday and so on. Your sacrifice, in the end, will be worth it,” she says.
Source: Magazine Features