Who: Sandra Jean Mosaad
Occupation:Girlz Gone Fit owner
City: North York
Age: 34
By The Numbers: 205 pounds at my heaviest, 110 currently pounds, for a total weight loss of 95 pounds.
The Weight Gain: I was a skinny kid, a'bone-rack' actually, until the age of seven. I went from super skinny, to what doctors called borderline obese, all in less than a year.
There was a lot of arguing between my parents growing up at home. I also grew up in a very rural city where everyone, with the exception of my family, was white. I dealt with racism and hid from kids and verbal abuse on a daily basis. I ate my lunch in the bathroom stalls in order to avoid bullying. Eating kept me happy.
One day, after Halloween, I decided to eat the whole bag of treats. I couldn't stop throwing up. After it ceased, I thought, "I can really do this..." So, the compulsive eating began. I ate to fill emptiness, so I never became full.
Final Straw: My father was a diabetic, so when the doctor told him he'd better start exercising, he took it very seriously. I saw the benefits it had on his life, so I knew I could do it.
When I left a physically and verbally abusive relationship, I needed to put the energy and the emotion into something before I found myself in a downward spiral. I remember speaking to my ex within the first couple of months, and told him I wanted to teach fitness. He laughed at me with some unkind words. I used them as ammo!
The Plan of Attack: I became a pro at losing weight. Throughout my pre-teen to teen years, I lost and gained 50 to 60 pounds so many times I lost count.
In my last attempt, over 10 years ago, it took me 15 months to lose 65 lbs. I didn't have any upper-body strength. This was just diet and excessive cardio. I was the queen of cardio at my local gym, going for intense hours daily.
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