Health issues: unhealthy eating habits; lack of exercise
When Jessica Battle graduated high school at 225 lbs., she had a slew of unhealthy eating habits. “I honestly would eat a king size candy bar every single day for a two year period of my life,” she reveals. “Looking back, that was just what was normal for me, snacking all the time.
The Delaware-based paralegal had reached 280 lbs by the time she was 20; it wasn’t until her father had heart surgery when she was 25 that she decided to take charge of her health.
She began eating smaller portion sizes and started an Instagram account to help hold herself accountable. She sticks to eating mostly vegetables, fruits and protein, and counts the amount of protein, fats and carbohydrates she eats every day. She also does weight training workout DVDs at home and exercises 4-5 times a week.
“Make gradual changes,” she said. “Instead of eating an entire frozen pizza, I ate one slice of frozen pizza. For me, I knew that jumping right into eating only vegetables, fruit and lean proteins wasn’t going to work.”