Trying to lose weight?
Author, educator and life advocate Liana Sims is living proof that it can be done.
“I remember being made fun of for being the fat kid in school as early as third grade,” said Sims who recently published her first book, Monday Never Comes. “From the third grade until the age of 20, I pretty much bore the shame of the external results of my addiction to food. But one day I decided I wanted more from life. I wanted to change the trajectory of my life. I was afraid of being obese forever and the implications of that obesity. Obesity was both an internal and external prison, and I wanted freedom more than anything else in the world. After an encounter with God on a mountain one day, I decided to pursue that which seemed impossible to me, and over the course of four years, that one courageous decision resulted in losing 180 pounds naturally.”
Losing the weight has been a journey.
“When I first started losing weight, I wasn’t transparent. I was not showing it on Facebook and other various social media outlets. However, halfway through my journey I became discouraged… Out of my discouragement I realized I needed to do something new and fresh to help me to continue forward. Initially, I did not share for the goal of inspiring others. It was actually a form of accountability for myself. So I started checking in weekly, sharing my goals and how I went about handling my week. From my transparency, others started communicating with me and sharing their struggles as well. What began as a source of accountability turned into an opportunity to inspire.”
She now uses her platform to continue to inspire others, not only to lose weight, but to pursue their dreams.
“I encourage people to start small and make progressive changes. For example, when I began my weight-loss journey, the first decision I made was to stop drinking soda and juice and to drink water only,” she said. “As I mastered one area of my life, I added. I began walking more, and taking the stairs instead of the escalator and the elevator. When you start small and grow progressively, you are more likely to have a sustainable lifestyle because you are learning yourself along the way. Many times people engage the ‘quick fix’ overnight diets, but they are not lasting, and they have not learned how to create a new routine of life for themselves that is realistic. Climb the mountain one step at a time.”
To learn more about Liana Sims, visit her website or follow her on Instagram@WatchQueenLose, Facebook, Twitter (@WatchQueenLose) or Snapchat (@WatchQueenLose).
