THE EXAMPLE OF MY MOTHER

Hello friends! My name is Erica Walker. I am the daughter of Jessica. As I have seen my mom develop her blog and come up with post ideas, I kept thinking about what I have learned through her journey.

My entire life my mom has been overweight. I watched her struggle through weight loss for many years. She tried countless exercise programs, and diet plans, but each time she fell back into her old, unhealthy habits. When she told me that she had the goal of losing 100 pounds I was supportive of her and hoped that this time she would be able to do it. When she told me that she wasn't going to be eating chocolate or any sugar for a whole month, I was shocked! I never thought that my mom would give up sugar.

During that month I was astounded to see her change as much as she did. Although for the first few weeks she was pretty grumpy, I saw a change not only in her body, but in her demeanor. She looked happier. As she was losing weight and fulfilling her goal, she became more confident in herself, and she became a better person. Granted she was an amazing person before she lost weight, but after she lost 100 pounds, she had more energy to help herself and those around her. When she had reached her goal, I prayed that she would be able to sustain the healthy habits that she had created. Fortunately, she has been able to. Not because she's a health addict, but because she changed her mindset and she was able to realize that her old habits were not good for her mentally.

Sometimes in life we fail, and then we give up. But my mother has taught me that no matter how difficult the task, no matter how daunting it seems, as long as we have the right mindset and if we keep trying no matter what, we will be able to achieve that task. The biggest thing I have learned from this experience is that we first have to help ourselves before we can help others. A dear friend once explained it like this. When you are on an airplane, if an emergency happens, you are instructed to first put on your oxygen mask before helping those around you. Her example has been inspirational to me and has helped me through many tough times. She is extremely passionate about helping others and I hope that she can help you as much as she has helped me.