The blessing we will receive now is the inspiring  story of  one of the most inspiring person I know, my friend,  the sexy gal behind Traveliztera and Mshypersinger, the Youtube sensation, Steph.

What is the greatest problem that you encountered?

Since you asked me to talk about weightloss, I guess I’ll use that instead.  I had a hard time losing weight back then. I would lose, but then I would gain more than the original weight lost. I’ve been overweight since I was 10 years old. I used to be really thin, but gradeschool came and peer pressure of eating fastfood with friends finally became part of my life. I ENJOYED FASTFOOD. I didn’t really care about my weight, because I wasn’t a teenager yet. Haha. Then teenage years came and I started to diet and dance to lose weight. I somehow lost weight during my highschool years, but upon graduating, I gained them all back again. It was a cycle. Even during college, I would lose then be very heavy after some time. I reached the heaviest weight after my college graduation–150lbs. I won’t say my height, but that was too much for my height.  So, I finally decided to do something about it in 2009– just after finishing my studies.

What do you have in mind having this kind of problem? Is there a time that you think of giving up?

I did not quit. I became MORE MOTIVATED. I knew that I can win the fight. I wanted to prove to myself that I can reach my goals if I am dedicated enough. I wanted to change my lifestyle for good. I wasn’t just concerned with how I looked like that time–I was concerned with the direction of my health. I was only in the 5th grade, but my blood pressure was 150/90. RIGHT!? I just had to do something.

So how did you surpass this problem?

 I made my goals clear, and planned my actions. I started to read about workouts and proper nutrition. Of course, I wanted a jumpstart for motivation, so I joined a gym and asked for a trainer. It’s different when you have a trainer at first, because you get to know the basics and you get enough support. In the process, you learn a lot, and it prepares you for the long-term matters. The trainer became a close friend of mine, and she supported me all throughout. Having a support system can really make you more successful. I had my family and friends who kept on pushing me, and it is because of them that I did not quit. I did not want to disappoint them. After 3 months of gym time, I continued my weightloss process by applying everything that I have learned. I made my own diet and workout plans, and I was able to take control of myself. Although it took me 6 months to really shed off the weight, it was all worth it. If you want something permanent, you have to go through a process that may take some time, but it’s all worth it because you’re in the journey of changing some of your habits and choices that keep on blocking you from your goal.

What or who inspired you to pursue?

The support from my family and friends became the biggest inspiration of all. You get the push and you also do not want to quit and disappoint them because they’re with you in this fight. It’s actually important to let people know what you’re doing, because you get the support plus the motivation to not let them down. It has been one of my strategies to tell a lot of people that I was undergoing a weightloss journey. By telling them this, backing out was definitely not an option. I also started to blog about my weightloss progress to inspire other people, and the comments and support that I was getting inspired me more. It was a two-way inspiration mode. The trust they gave me in getting through the journey made me pursue for greater success. I also wanted to prove to them that if

I can make it, they too can make it. Support and discipline… They are indeed important.

What did you felt after you succeed in overcoming this problem?

Fulfilling. It’s a good feeling to prove to myself that I can really do it. The best feeling, however, is knowing that I inspired many people (including you as you have mentioned ) The reminder of my success is the Women’s Health article that I got featured in. It’s like an award to me for being able to finally reach the goal I have always wanted. Also, it is good to feel that I have better strength and stamina, and my blood pressure is normal now. With all these, I want to pass on the inspiration to those who are fighting for their goals and dreams.

Can you share to us any life lesson that you have learned?

If you look at the principles I used in losing weight, they already are life’s principles. If you want to get something right away and you did all the shortcuts, expect a short-term satisfaction and it will all be gone as fast as how you got them. However, if you want something that you want to keep for a long time, it will take time to get it, but it’s all going to be worth it. When you’re working so hard for something, it is definitely worthy. In terms of weightloss, if you take in diet pills, you learn to depend on it. You do lose weight so fast, but once you stop using the pills, you gain back all the weight again. Why is that so? Because you just depended on these short-term solutions and you did not learn to modify the other things (like your diet or your exercise), so after the pills were gone, you’re back to your usual self–even heavier. When you do the long-term solution of diet and exercise, you incorporate them into your life effortlessly. It’s hard at first, but everything becomes effortless for the rest of your life. It’s much better compared to being effortless at first because you’re dependent on the short-term stuff, then you become worse in the end because you learned nothing the hard way

the new and sexy steph

Thank you steph for sharing this to us. This will be a gift to us. May you continue inspiring more and more people. Godbless  you