 I was 275 pounds before I started my weight loss journey. I had went to a doctor appointment because I was starting to have health issues and now that I have my son that put things in a totally different perspective for me, I decided that I'm not gonna continue my life like that and that I was gonna be healthier for my son and fulfill my passion of actually joining the military. My brother and sister, they're also military and I look at them and I'm like, while they're doing something I really wanted to do. Some of the challenges that I had changing my eating habit, I think that's a majority of people issues, especially if you've been eating that way for a long time. Changing that was hard, but it was doable. I had to stick to what I wanted to do. I had to make myself accountable. I had to get up at four o'clock in the morning to go work out for an hour just to come home, hurry up, wash, get ready to go back out to go to work at seven o'clock. That's what I did for a full year. My husband has been such a huge support system for me, making sure that I'm going to work out during my weight loss journey, making sure that I'm eating right whenever I have those days where I'm just like, I don't feel like doing this anymore. I gave myself short goals along the way, things that were not food related, something I've never done before. Getting into a certain size over a certain time, and I felt like having short term goals was better for me because if I was to continue to look at the long term goal, I started to feel defeated. I felt like it was going to take too long. January, 2017 to February, 2018 is the timeframe it took for me to get to that goal and I'm here now in the military. The most important factor to help me achieve my goal was being happy. I wasn't before I started my weight loss journey. I just wasn't. And being happy became very important to me because the things that make me happy, I'm able to do. I would like to say to others about rising above challenges, you'll feel so good when you do it. You'll be so proud of yourself. Don't ever think that the muscles that you come across or the obstacles that you come across means that that goal is not something for you. A lot of times that's what's gonna make you better. Failure is okay. Not all the time, but it is okay to make you better. Always overcome those challenges and you're gonna feel so good when you get to your goal.