Who: Layal Semaan
Occupation: Teacher
Age: 26
City: Toronto
Total weight lost: 78 pounds and counting.
What was your weight like growing up as a kid?
I always carried a few extra pounds around. I was never the athletic type.
When and how did the weight gain start?
I guess the better question would be, when did my weight become a problem. I would say that I really started to care or take notice in my weight when I was 14 right around when high school started.
Did you try any diets at that point?
I was a teenager, and cared a lot about my body image and did everything under the sun to try and get some results.
The Final Straw:
After yo-yoing between healthy weights and not so healthy weights, I decided that after I had finished university that there were no more excuses for me. I couldn’t say that I didn’t have time to work out anymore because of a huge presentation, an exam or all the other overbearing parts that come along with being a student.
Do you have any anecdotes or stories when you knew you had to change your life around?
A few years ago, a picture was taken of me and my friends before going out. I never saw that there was a problem with my weight. I mean sure I had trouble fitting into clothes, I never worked out, but I felt good, I was confident and I was so comfortable with who I was. Until I really looked at the picture. I finally decided that it was probably a good time to make a change.
Story continues below.
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