Alpha Fueled – From Obese to Dietitian
Heyyyyy and welcome to my uncensored, always honest, and sometimes sassy blog! My name is Alicia. I am a registered dietitian (so like that’s cool..right? lol) I specialize in weight loss and healthy lifestyle habits. I am a tad bit passionate about them too. Let me share my story and you’ll understand why.
If you have any idea who I am or what I look like, you’ll be shocked to know that at one point I was 276 lbs. Not crazy to some but I am 5’2” when my hair is having a good day and has the right amount of fluff 😛 My BMI (Body Mass Index) was 50.5! So to put that in perspective, that’s equivalent to about 332 lbs on someone who is 5’8”. 🫣
I had been “bigger” basically my whole life. Most of my family was “big boned” so no biggie … until I found myself in my early to mid twenties on all sorts of medications. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, and metformin to treat my insulin resistance to name a few. And don’t even get me started on ALL the supplements I was taking because someone, somewhere online, said one time, it would cure whatever ailment I was experiencing at that time. (Please don’t do that.. I was desperate and I now know better)
Let me also mention, I am a badass PCOS warrior. (where’s my CYSTERS at?!) For those of you that don’t know what PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) is – it’s an endocrine disorder causing whacky hormone imbalances and a whole host of consequential health complications (both physical and mental.) Oftentimes, making it difficult to lose and/or maintain a healthy weight. (Note: I said difficult…NOT IMPOSSIBLE!!! I am living proof of this.)
As a child, I remember my dad really struggling with his weight and constantly trying a new fad diet for a time, losing some weight, then falling off track. A constant vicious cycle that I eventually found myself in as well. I remember attempting the Atkins diet with him when I was about 11 years old. (To be clear…I was NEVER forced to go on a diet. I was just a kid who wanted to do something cool with their dad. He is also a huge influence with my love of weight lifting)
Like a lot of families, food was also the way my parents and grandparents expressed “love.” Whether it was family dinners where more food than what was necessary and so many desserts were prepared. Or used as a reward for helping with chores, getting good grades, behaving appropriately etc. Let’s be real, ice cream and candy is quite effective in getting a kid to do what you want. 🤷
Now, I am NOT placing blame on my childhood for my fucked up “relationship” with food or being severely obese. I was merely a product of the environment I was raised in. They didn’t know any better. They were doing the best they could with what information they had at the time.
My 20’s were just a continuation of my childhood, because I, too, didn’t know any better. I tried weight watchers (more times than I’d care to admit to), keto, low carb, different exercise programs such as Jillian Miachel’s Body Revolution, 21 day fix and every other beachbody program out there. (NOT a diss to those programs, they are completely fine if you enjoy those type of work outs)
I was referred several times by my primary to see a dietitian. Every time, insurance was a barrier because they wouldn’t cover any of the visit because I wasn’t “sick” enough. Now, if I had developed diabetes or any other comorbidity they’d cover it. (Reactive not proactive.. Gotta love insurance red tape.) Do you know how expensive it is to see a dietitian without any insurance?!… At 26 years old, desperate to change my life, physically and career wise, I said fuck it. I’m just going to become a dietitian and teach myself what I need to know. Because even though I had already taught myself a lot about nutrition, I still didn’t have the answer to losing weight.
And so, I began school. I couldn’t afford not to work during this time so I became a master at sticking to a very strict routine. Working sometimes 40+ hours a week and attending classes full-time. My weight continued to rise with the added stress of school and less and less time for self-care. In 2019, my weight was at an all time high, and after having been referred to a surgical weight loss program twice, I decided bariatric surgery was my last resort. I had tried so many things and got nowhere. The final being a weightloss medication that only gave me panic attacks. I’ll share more about my experience with bariatric surgery in another blog, but I will say the only regret I have is that I waited so long to do it because it quite literally saved my life.
SURGERY WAS NOT A MAGIC PILL. Surgery was and still is a tool added to all the other hard work I still had and continue to do. Weight loss is not easy, but it is simple. Stick around for future blogs and I’ll show you the ways.
My journey was not for the faint of heart. But it did teach me a lot. It taught me that I AM a badass. It taught me that I CAN do hard things.
And now, I’m here to help you take action. Let’s make progress, one habit at a time.
Xoxo,
Alicia
