Joanna’s story of overcoming obesity, a story of willpower, hope and trust

{:en}The number of overweight and obese people in Europe and  worldwide is constantly growing. Obesity is a disease, and it increases the risk of cardiovascular, orthopedic and metabolic diseases, and the quality of life deteriorates significantly.

According to the guideline of obesity management the most important are nutrition and physical activity, since in recent years obesity has gained a pandemic scope not only among the adult population, but also among children in Europe.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, in most European countries between 30 and 80% of people are overweight. An average of 20% of children are overweight, with 1/4 of them obese, meaning 3 million children are obese and 14 million are overweight.

In Bulgaria, 2 million of the adult population are overweight – 1 million of them are obese. Among children, 200,000 are overweight and 67,000 of them are obese.

Our inspiration this week: Joanna, who succeeded in  overcoming obesity.

Joanna is 30 years old and her story is about fighting obesity with the help of willpower, hope and confidence.

„I would like to share the story of my struggle with being overweight. Extremely difficult and long… The struggle to face yourself is difficult, but not impossible. You just need enough motivation, drive and desire to change.

For almost my entire conscious life, I have fought with extra pounds in every way – sports, fasting, all kinds of diets, but it just didn’t work.

A turning point in my life was a trip to Spain. My girlfriends and I went into a clothing store with so many beautiful things BUT I couldn’t fit into any of them. I went into another store where I managed to find a pair of jeans that fit, only to realize they were a size 48 in European sizing. I was horrified…

I realized that the constant fatigue, painful and irregular periods, pain and swelling in the legs, as well as the lack of tone were caused precisely by these many extra pounds. As soon as I got back to Bulgaria, I made an appointment with Dr. Kalinkova. I was desperate and pessimistic, BUT, this huge BUT changed my life!

Already during the examination, she gave me confidence that I would succeed if I was consistent in my exercise and diet.

As I weighed 120 kg, my sport was extremely difficult and I started by walking – 10,000 steps every day. I ate a variety of foods, but kept sugary and pasta foods to a minimum, as well as sodas. Over time, I began to lose weight, increase the intensity and difficulty of the exercises. Almost 2 1/2 years later, now I  weigh 72 kilos, feel full of energy, confident and have no pain in my legs.

I advise every person who is overweight to make this change for themselves! It will make you healthier, more energetic and more confident!”{:}