The Day I Decided to Change My Life

This picture was taken the day I decided something had to change.

I was 438 pounds, sitting there talking to my brother and sister about what I would want done at my funeral. I was experiencing severe sciatic pain. I was pre-diabetic, had high blood pressure, was dealing with a congested fatty liver and fibroids, and honestly, I felt like my body was breaking down.

Everything hurt. I was barely making it, and at that point, I didn’t know what my future looked like. I didn’t know if I could keep living the way I was living.

What I didn’t know was that while I was having that conversation, my brother took this picture of me.I found out later that he took it because I was sitting there talking about dying, and he thought this could possibly be the last picture he had of me.

I wasn’t posing for a before picture. I didn’t even know the picture was being taken.

I just knew I didn’t want my story to end there.

Learning How to Take Care of Me

After that day, I joined Weight Watchers. It was one of the first tools that helped me understand portions and become more aware of how much I was eating. Eventually, I transitioned to using a calorie-counting app, and that became the tool I used throughout the rest of my weight-loss journey.

I also started working out. Somewhere along the way, something that began as me desperately trying to get my own life back became something I wanted to share with other people.

I shared my journey publicly on Instagram and Facebook. I became a personal trainer. Later, I became a life coach and began helping other people work toward their own health and life goals.

At the time, my social media name was Getting My Life Back Now, and that’s exactly what I felt like I was doing. I also created a support group called Taking Our Lives Back Now, where women could encourage and support one another while working toward becoming healthier.

For years, I maintained much of the progress I had made.

Where Juicing Came In

Juicing was part of my life during those years, but I want to be truthful about my story: I wasn’t consistently juicing when I initially started losing weight.

My first juicer was a Jack LaLanne juicer that came from my mom. Funny enough, that juicer had probably been in our household since I was a teenager, and I didn’t pay much attention to it back then.

Eventually, my mom gave it to me. I started making fresh juice, and by 2013, juicing had become a more consistent part of my life.

And I never really stopped.

The Journey Didn’t End With the “After” Picture

My journey hasn’t been a straight line.

I maintained my weight loss for many years, but around 2020 and 2021, I experienced postpartum depression and began gaining weight again. After everything I had accomplished, I eventually found myself in a place where I needed to focus on my health again.

And that’s part of my story too.

I don’t want to tell only the successful parts. I want to tell the truth about the journey, including having to begin again.

Today, I’m continuing my journey toward becoming healthier, taking care of my body, and working toward the health goals that are important to me.

For a long time, my message was Getting My Life Back Now.

Maybe that’s still part of my message.

Because I’ve learned that sometimes taking your life back isn’t something you do once.

Sometimes you have to choose yourself again.

And That’s Part of Why Tamara’s Twist Exists

Tamara’s Twist didn’t come from me waking up one morning and deciding I wanted to sell juice.

There are years behind it. There is a 438-pound woman behind it who was sitting in a room talking about her funeral. There is a woman who decided she wanted to live differently.

There is weight lost, weight regained, lessons learned, gardens grown, juice made, setbacks, victories, and a whole lot of starting again.

I’m still on the journey. And this time, I’m inviting you along with me.

Fresh. Simple. Intentional.

Tamara’s Twist