Natalie is from Puerto Rico; she was born there. She lived there until she was 17. Post that; she went to a college in Florida, United States. After spending four years there, she came back to Puerto Rico.
She describes the people in Puerto Rico to be pleased people. They are big-time food-lovers and love to gorge on mouth-watering dishes and celebrate small things. The food that they consume is mainly fried and not necessarily the healthiest.
Natalie was no different. She was exposed to all kinds of delectable food, which she took a liking to. She soon realized that she was more prominent than other girls her age. She remembers herself being chubby when she was eleven years old. However, she didn’t think of that to be too alarming.
Natalie – A Breath-taking Transformation
Eventually, Natalie’s mother took her to a nutritionist because she was concerned about her weight. A year later, Natalie was introduced to her first diet to follow, and after following it for a few weeks, it caused her to faint at her school due to the lack of calories she was consuming. She was 12 years old when this happened. This incident had taken her aback parents, and they took a step back. Natalie didn’t blame her mother since she knew that her mother had done it for her good.
Natalie was on the receiving end of bullying in school. One particular boy harassed and tortured her until 17 when she finally graduated high school. It was so aggressive and brutal that Natalie started becoming psychologically and emotionally affected. She started overeating and venting out her feelings by eating more. It went on for some time until Natalie started trying out different methods to reduce weight.
In 2005 due to her weight and other medical concerns, she was first presented with the option of gastric bypass surgery by her doctor. However, her parents weren’t keen on getting Natalie under the knife. Natalie was distraught and frustrated. At first glance, she wanted to have surgery and felt as if it was the only choice. However, once she started understanding the procedure, she realized that it was worthwhile to keep trying to lose the weight “on her own.” Soon, life took over, and Natalie became busy with her life and career.
Fast forward to 2016, she was living in New York City and weighed almost 300 pounds. When Natalie’s mom took a step ahead and told her that she would support Natalie if she chose to undergo surgery. Natalie appreciated that, but she knew that she had to take some steps independently. So, she kept trying to lose weight, but nothing quite worked. A year later, she told her mother that she was mentally getting ready for surgery. But to be prepared for the surgery, she needed to research it.
She sat down and looked up all the related information. She started reading and understanding whether surgery would be worthwhile and how it would impact her life and habits. Everything she read led her to examples of losing weight with the surgery and eventually gaining it all back. This thought terrified her. After a lot of thought, in June 2018, Natalie got her surgery done. Natalie lost close to 70 pounds due to the procedure.
Her goal was to be under 200 pounds, but she knew that to achieve her goal and have it last, she needed to change her relationship with food, eat better, and feel better. She started changing how she ate. She became mindful of her water consumption, food consumption, and her mental health. She started watching her weight regularly and improving her lifestyle. She started working outgoing to the gym and exercising.
In January 2019, she finally started doing yoga, something she always wanted to try, all by herself in her living room, watching YouTube tutorials. And after two months, she gathered the confidence to walk into a Yoga Studio and enroll herself in her first live class. Natalie never looked back. She fell in love with yoga and became addicted to it. She started practicing yoga daily in January 2019.
It has been almost two years since she practiced yoga, and she is absolutely in love with it. She has also joined fit boxing classes, dance classes, and other activities. She mixes her activities. She tries to do a little bit of everything, including yoga, dance, weights, or walking.
Working out has become a significant part of her daily lifestyle, and she tries her best to push her limits every day. If she doesn’t work out every single day, she feels like something is missing. She says that working out is the best medicine there is for the human body!
Natalie now weighs approximately 180 pounds due to her active lifestyle and mindful eating. She believes that surgery is not a way out and never will be a way out. It’s a tool, and that’s about it. She does eat meat, but she limits her consumption of meat. She does consume eggs this day but tries her best to eat as vegan and organic as possible.
She doesn’t drink alcohol regularly, but sometimes she doesn’t hesitate to have a drink or two when she’s out. The secret to her success is that she doesn’t have a hard NO to anything in her diet. She is just mindful of what she eats and how much she eats.
Natalie says she has reached her goal weight and is happy with the way she feels now. She doesn’t mind losing weight any further because she keeps her body healthy and active through regular workouts.
She spreads awareness about weight loss on her Instagram because she has struggled a lot with her weight and dealt with all kinds of judgmental and conservative people. She remembers being a binge eater, not having control over her diet. All her friends were thin and pretty, but no one made her feel awkward. Each one of her friends was highly supportive. But she couldn’t confide in them regarding her issues because she was sure they wouldn’t understand where binging came from.
Natalie has been the kind of person who helps out others. She has always been the mentor and advisor in her group. She always looks out for everybody. It is the exact reason why she became open to sharing her weight loss experience with people and guiding others who approached her.
Many of her followers on Instagram follow her to learn about her lifestyle and weight loss journey. She loves to help people out. That is something that truly fulfills her. She has many people coming to her and asking her about her surgery, tips, and advice. Two girls even got the confidence to get under the knife after talking to Natalie, and they are in the process of changing their lives.
Natalie’s goal is to inspire people, have a positive body image, and, of course, build a healthy lifestyle. She thinks that with the right mindset, one can win over any toxic thing: weight loss, drug addiction, an abusive relationship, and so on.
On a parting note, Natalie says, “I don’t like living life with regrets. I like trying things, and guess what? Every time I’ve tried, it’s come to my realization that I can do it. So, can anybody else. I’m no special. I’m just ordinary, so if I can do it, anybody can do it.”
“And I am very vocal about the surgery because there’s a massive misinterpretation with weight loss surgery, and people think that if you have surgery, it is the easy way out and also they think that you’ll get it done and that’s it. And that is not true. However, people shouldn’t feel bad for taking advantage of tools and surgery is a tool, and it is a success story because you know that if you have surgery, you’re going to lose weight.
However, losing weight and keeping it off are two different things. You have to be very mindful and careful of what you’re doing. Be aware that it will take these two huge things: sacrifice and determination. You cannot be doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. It just doesn’t work that way.”
“It’s up to you how you pass your time. It’s up to you if you want to stay in bed and feel sorry, and not move or get up and surround yourself with a good support group and decide that you are going to go for this.”
“I’m just here to show the world that it is possible, even when I thought it was completely out of my league. And it’s never too late. You can be 20, you can be 30, you can be 40, you can be 50, you can be 60, and hell, you can be 70 and 80. Just go for it. Why not just do it?”
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