By Liana Jacob
MEET the devoted woman who shed more than five-stone in just over a year-and-a-half after struggling to find clothes to fit her.
Teacher, Camila Coelho Nery (29) from Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil, had a difficult childhood after her parents’ separation saw her be taken in by her grandmother.
This sense of abandonment lead her to neglect her body and saw her indulge in fast food, consuming more than 5,000 calories a day. At her heaviest, Camila weighed 14st 5Ibs and was a UK size 20.
One year, Camila went shopping for shorts but couldn’t find any to fit her which spurred her on to lose weight. Camila consumed as little as 1,400 calories a day and then she decided to build up her muscles started to consume 1,900 calories a day. She is now a slender 9st 4Ibs and a UK size six.
“I believe I neglected myself. It seems like I closed my eyes and forgot to take care of myself. I made many excuses about my weight,” Camila said.
“I did not face reality; in my thinking, everyone was guilty for me being obese, except me. I thought I was rubbish. I had no clothes that fit.
“I was also in poor health and I often woke up during the night with a shortness of breath. I liked myself, but I suffered from my fat body.
“I was going to travel in the New Year. I needed to by shorts and since my country is pretty hot, most girls wear shorts at parties.
“I went to a clothing shop and I went to the dressing room to try on the clothes but no clothes fit me. I cried a lot. It was a horrible feeling, but inside, I knew I needed to change.
“I lost weight messing up my relationship with food. I started exercising quite often and tried to balance my mindset. I began to understand that food is just food and that eating it will not solve my problems.
“After I lost weight, my life changed dramatically, because going through this process made me a stronger woman. Today I feel capable of fulfilling any dream I desire.
“I am much more confident and I truly love myself; I know I can do anything I want. I completely changed my diet, but I did not stop eating food.
“Daily, I would eat healthy food but once a week I get a treat. As for the physical activity, I compromised. I started working out practically every day.”
Despite furthering herself and her health, Camila wasn’t entirely encouraged by members of her family for wanting to achieve this goal.
However, she has received very positive comments of support from her followers on social media.
“I think the comments from some family members were bad. Many people started to criticise me because I was very focused on my goal,” she said.
“But most people praise me. Many people say they want to be like me and want to have my focus. A lot of people do not even believe that I got over it without any surgery.
“Those who want to lose weight need to know what the reasons are that led them to gain the weight in the first place.
“Seek to understand the reasons; don’t make any excuses and face reality. Understand that the food does not solve the problem.
“I would also say that the secret of diet is organisation; you have to buy healthy food, take them wherever you go and create an exercise routine. Believe that it is possible and do the best you can for yourself and no one else.”
For more information visit: https://www.instagram.com/camiscardoso7/
