SPOTLIGHT ON: Emerald Coach Jasyra Santiago

Have you ever heard the term ‘skinny fat‘? It is typically used in reference to someone who can look thin in clothes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are healthy. So many people assume those that are skinny fat are on the right track because they aren’t excessively overweight but you will see in Jasyra’s case how she discovered that she still felt awful, even though in clothes, she appeared fine.

120 Pounds of Skinny Fat

“My name is Jasyra Santiago and I am a 24-year-old Registered Nurse. My journey through weight loss was not easy, but with motivation, support and encouragement I have succeeded and I thank Beachbody and my fiancé for that. I was never a very heavy individual. My biggest was 120lbs, but I’m very short–5 feet, to be exact.  I was depressed all the time and cried myself to sleep. I was always tired. I faithfully took a nap on my days off and wasted my days away. I would look at myself and felt so disappointed that I let myself get to this point. My eating habits were horrible. I ate whatever satisfied my tummy. You name it-all fast food chains and restaurants. And of course, being Puerto Rican, our culture foods are not even close to being healthy.  I also made eating late a habit due to my 12 hour shifts at the hospital. I thought I had no choice but to eat dinner when I got home which was around 9:00pm. I would skip breakfast because I was never up for it or I just wasn’t hungry. I never realized I was doing my body damage by eating less. Who would of thought eating more would help you lose weight. Being a nurse I should of known better, but they always say nurses take care of everyone but themselves. On top of not eating or eating poorly, I had no motivation or energy to workout. My fiancé would try to get me to go to the gym with him, but I had no desire to go.

Poor Eating Habits, Anxiety, Depression, Medical Issues

Besides my horrible diet and crazy hours, I also suffered from generalized anxiety and scoliosis, which causes severe panic attacks and back pain. My depression and unhap-piness were causing me to have flares. My primary care doctor put me on medications for my anxiety, Paxil and Buspar. I was going to the Chiropractor and Physical Therapist 3-4 times a week for my back pain. I would waste my money on over the counter medications like Icy Hot, Bio Freeze and Bengay to control the muscle aches. On top of those issues, I was always sick. One year I had the flu, bronchitis, severe colds, and sinus infections that caused ringing in my ears and hearing loss. I could not take it anymore with all the sickness, pain and depression. I decided this was not the life for me.

Last Straw

What put me into my breaking point was when I was no longer “skinny fat”. I was having to buy bigger clothes and I was not too happy. I would ask my fiancé, “Do I look fat?” His response, “Lets go to the gym.” Meaning, I had let myself go. I actually thank him for being honest with me because I knew I needed a change. I was hearing a lot about this Insanity program through friends on Instagram. What motivated me to get started were the amazing results my friends were getting from Insanity. I then decided to commit. My fiancé supported me and decided to join me. I was amazed how fast my results came in. On day 15, I saw a huge difference in my pictures and that was when I became addicted to fitness and a healthy living. I have done Insanity, Asylum Vol 1, Hip Hop Abs, and Brazil Butt Lift. I drink Shakeology daily and I am now tackling the Ultimate Reset. My next plans are T25 and P90x. I no longer waste my days sleeping and I eat healthy, clean meals daily. I went from working out zero times a week to 5-6 times a week. I no longer use medications for my anxiety. My back pain has lessened and I only go to the chiropractor once a month for maintenance and alignment. I prepare all my meals for workdays and now eat every 2-3 hours because my stomach screams for food due to my fast metabolism that I have created from eating more. I have so much energy throughout my day. It has been an amazing journey for me. I now weigh 96 lbs and am skinny fat no more! My goal now is to build more muscle and, of course, get some abs. If someone would of told me a year ago that I WOULDN’T be eating McDonalds and I WOULD be working out just about everyday, I would of laughed in there face. I truly believe if you put your mind to it, you are capable of doing anything. I am a product of Team Beachbody and I am proud of it.” To connect with Jasyra on Facebook, click here.

P.S. Strong is the new skinny! Message me! You don’t have to go thru life feeling miserable and being skinny fat!