P.I.N.K. Diamonds Fitness GEM OCTOBER 2011 by Queen Diva 10-16-11

October 16, 2011

P.I.N.K. Diamonds Fitness GEM OCTOBER 2011 by Queen Diva 10-16-11

NATASHA COLEMAN

Plus Model, Beauty Queen, Wife, Mother and Career Woman

P.I.N.K. Diamonds Fitness GEM OCTOBER 2011

Blessings, P.I.N.K. Diamonds! I would like to introduce a new segment to the Diva's Diamonds Blog called P.I.N.K. Diamonds Fitness GEM-Godly Empowering Motivators! We just started a P.I.N.K. Diamonds Fitness Club on Facebook and we will spotlight a new "GEM" every month! Fitness comes in all shapes and sizes and we want to reflect that in our club! We have two Fitness Experts so far and they are Tony Wilson of Tony Wilson's Fitness Connection in Arlington, TX and ShapelyGirl Certified Plus Size Fitness Expert Debby Greene-Mack of Sharon, PA.

I will spotlight a new "GEM" who has lost weight and are shining resplendently their light of accomplishment and joy! The picture above shows the before and after status of Natasha Coleman. This month I chose a wonderful friend of mine I have been following on Facebook for about a year. She is a veteran Plus Size Beauty Queen, Aspiring Plus Model, Wife, Mother and successful Career woman who decided it was time to become more healthy for herself and her family.

Natasha Coleman of Panama City, Florida went from a size 32 to size 16 with determination, desire and discipline to get the weight off and become FIT!

"After the birth of my now 8-year-old twins I was more than 400 pounds. I assumed that my weight was just too far gone, so I hid behind makeup and colorful clothes and hoped nobody had noticed I gained more than 150 pounds since their arrival," says Natasha.

Her life changing moment to lose weight came after a vacation from Mexico in April 2010. After returning home she reflected on her trip and how she had to go through getting a seat belt extender around her waist on the airplane and thought to herself that she has to do something NOW about her health before REAL health issues began to develop!

"Up to this point, my blood pressure and lab results have always been good, but I knew that would not last if I continued to live the life I was living of not exercising or watching the things I was eating," says Natasha.

Here's how she lost the weight...She started her lifestyle change by putting herself on a pretty tough and strict very low calorie diet. She lost 40 pounds, but realized that she could never live her life eating cabbage and baked chicken alone. It was just not realistic for her. She began to incorporate different foods back into her diet, but still sticking to limited eating out opportunities. She ate nothing fried, cut out diet sodas, bread, pasta and rice. Natasha's weight loss did slow down and she realized that with proper dieting and exercising she could begin to feel better about herself. Natasha began walking on the weekends and taking Zumba classes four days a week.

"I have always hated exercising but Zumba is more like dancing. Walking on the treadmill could get very boring, but Zumba is fun and it makes me feel like I am getting a great workout since I burn a lot of calories and sweat," says Natasha.

She has since gone back to the gym doing 45 minutes on the elliptical and light weightlifting. She still attends her Zumba class at least two days a week. She has made exercise part of her daily routine.

"I have a growing family and I know they can’t do much without me -- if I don’t take care of myself, who will take care of my family? They now understand and support my new lifestyle," says Natasha.

She is currently down 141 pounds and would like to lose an additional 60 pounds to finally get to her long term goal. She went from a super-size plus 36 to a normal size 16. A size 16 may still be too big for most, but she is very comfortable at this size and is looking forward to reaching her final goal.

"I know with the proper diet and daily exercising, I will make it there! I thank God every day for how far I have come and for how far I am going to go," says Natasha.

We know it too that's why we've asked Natasha Coleman to contribute to our new P.I.N.K. Diamonds Fitness Club on Facebook her progression towards her goal of a size 12! Welcome aboard, Natasha and we wish you continued success on your weight loss and management goals!