Hi. My name is April. I’m 27 years old and I’ve always been obese.  I grew up in a family that did not have an active lifestyle which unfortunately carried over into my adult life. For the most part I had been sedentary; especially during college!  

In our society that is obsessed with looks, being overweight is sometimes just an issue of appearance. Not to me. To me being overweight means many health problems and a lower quality of life. I was diagnosed with Syndrome X when I was 24 years old. That syndrome is basically just a nice way of saying you have diabetes, high blood pressure and other stuff because you are fat.  I have tried diets, pills, exercise and I just couldn’t seem to stick with it.  I quit because I got discouraged because I didn’t know how to eat right because I was not brought up to be health conscious. We ate big meals and sugary sweets. I had no idea what I was doing.  I was also lazy, not wanting to think ahead of time to prepare meals (although I do love to cook). There were a lot of days when every meal I ate would be from a fast-food restaurant.  It was out of control.  I was out of control!  My highest weight was almost 360 lbs!

I’ve started working out with these two amazing trainers and have seen great results already. I’m keeping a log of what I eat which really helps me to not get too far off track. I’m so excited to see the new me. 

Enough about my weight, here are some random facts about me:

• I have an Associates Degree of Applied Science in Criminal Justice from West Virginia State University. 
• I’ve worked for the Commonwealth Attorney’s Office for 3 ½ years; it’s a pretty interesting and sometimes heartbreaking job.  
• I like cats. 
• I grew up in a town that’s name used to be Hell Town. (It’s now Front Royal)  
• I am sort of addicted to certain reality TV shows. 
• When I feel creative, I like to paint.  
• I enjoy the smell of fresh cut grass. 
• My ipod is my new best friend, it helps me focus and tune out the world when I’m walking.  
• I used to want to be a whale trainer when I “grew up”.  
• I like yard sales and bluegrass music.