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Life and Work with Christina Jordan

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Christina Jordan.

Christina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
What is your Breaking Point?

Normally, the idea of cooling off from Phoenix’s blistering, triple-digit heat in a refreshing pool, sipping an iced tea and watching as my children splash and play, would sound lovely. So, of all the scary, intimidating, most frightful things in this world, who would have ever thought that a Mommy and Me pool party among friends would have caused me to cower in fear? Swimsuit season has the ability to strike fear into the hearts of many women. To more than a few, summertime brings dread as we are on full display in arm-revealing tank tops, leg-displaying shorts, and body-hugging swimsuits. At one point in time, that included me.

I used to be that poor woman who wore the heavy-clad cover-ups year round, even when the temperatures reached scorching levels beyond 115 degrees. Black was my color of choice. Not because I liked it, but simply because I thought it would camouflage the extra 100 plus pounds that I was lugging around. Summers were miserable for me as I watched my family and friends slip into their cool summer clothes, ready to enjoy the sunshine and summertime fun. Family vacations were especially stressful toting around all the extra weight. And no way would you ever catch me at the beach or in a public pool! The truly sad thing was, the worse I felt about my weight, the more I would binge on unhealthy food and then the bigger I got. It was truly a vicious cycle that had me imprisoned by food and my weight.

Unfortunately, being overweight was nothing new for me. I grew up in a family were being sick, tired and overweight was the norm. Struggling with obesity was a generational stronghold passed down from my grandparents to my parents, to me. Even our pets struggled with being overweight, according to our veterinarian! I was submerged in a culture that taught me that obesity and sickness was a way of life. Growing up as an overweight teenage girl is rough. The world can be so mean. Making friends was difficult, mainly because I was never like the other popular girls. I wasn’t boy crazy. I actually liked reading. I was your classic, smart, opinionated bookworm nerd. I hated parties and was definitely not one to be seen at the weekend keg party. In fact, a little secret, I never once attended a high school party, got drunk, took an illegal drug or hung out with the cool crowd and I’m strangely totally okay with that.

But let’s be honest, our quirky insecure teen years are hard enough without adding the cherry on top of being obese. Every single day welcomes new cruel experiences. Like many overweight children, I endured countless occasions of being called demeaning, hurtful names, like, “Fatty”, “Lazy”, “Ugly”, “Thunder-Thighs” and “Boulder Legs.” Once in high school, I was told by a boy that I had a crush on, “I would probably like you if you lost a lot of weight, but until then, I don’t date ugly, fat chicks.” Another time, a different crush and his friends played a cruel joke on me when he asked me to our school’s Homecoming dance and then stood me up. He went with a different girl, the poster child for 90’s stick thin skinny. Poor girl was probably starving. Me, I was devastated! I sat at home all night in my beautiful new dress, gulping down Taco Bell tacos trying to drown out my disappointment. To add insult to injury, the following Monday I had to endure all the embarrassing looks from him and his band of jocks as they pointed and made oinking noises behind my back in science class.

When I entered college, I thought my weight wouldn’t matter as much. But I was absolutely mortified when I entered the classroom to be greeted with rows upon rows of tiny, tight desks and chairs that my robust size would not fit. I was too embarrassed to say anything and it took a few agonizing months of shoving myself into those tin-can sized chairs before I ran out that door and never looked back. Sadly, it would be years until I returned to my studies.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
This is why I am so passionate about speaking into the lives of young women. They need as much encouragement and support from their tribe as they can get! I lived through decades filled with stares, taunts, and jeers from my peers and even complete strangers. I even endured abusive treatment from teachers who would purposefully antagonize me for my size. Before smartphones and their built-in cameras, teachers could get away with so much more than they can today. There were times I was overlooked for class projects or public speaking opportunities due to the teacher’s personal prejudices against me. Even well-meaning adults would frequently tell me, “Christina, if you only lost weight, you would be such a pretty girl.”

Just for the record, I don’t believe a person’s weight has anything to do with their ability to be productive, successful, beautiful or attractive. It is downright ignorant to assume that someone is lazy because of an issue with obesity. I know plenty of successful, smart, beautiful women who struggle with their weight, not out of laziness but simply because they are trying to be Wonder Woman. Oftentimes the woman with a weight issue is the one who has given all she has to others and is now an empty shell with nothing left to give to herself. But more on that later.

Every comment, opinion, and snide remark broke my heart and will to do anything about my weight. For a time, I believed the words that were being spoken to me and over me. I forgot my value and worth. I self-medicated with food — lots and lots of food. I felt so alone with nobody by my side to help extract me from this pit of despair that I had fallen into. Over those years, I had learned to live within my prison of weight and allowed unhealthy food to control me. I bought into the lie and little by little, I allowed my true self, who I was created to be, to slip away and take a backseat to who the world said I was: Fat, ugly, undesired, friendless, lazy and worthless. There were so many nights I cried myself to sleep, praying that in the morning I would somehow wake up and be normal. I so desperately wanted to live like a normal person, be able to wear normal clothes, dine at a restaurant without people staring or even be able to cross my legs and touch my toes.

Please tell us about Fit Body Weight Loss.
Today, I know the truth, that no matter how much I weigh, I am loved. I am valuable. And I have greatness inside me that will allow me to accomplish anything I set my mind to. These truths have set me free! It no longer matters what other people think of me, as long as I know that regardless of my size, I am an amazing, one-of-a-kind, beautiful human being — and so are you my friend!

As I am sure you can see, today, I’m no longer just “living with the weight”… So what changed?

Everyone has a breaking point, that specific moment where you are no longer willing to believe the lie and you say, “Enough is enough!” For me, I found the spark I needed to get myself going in the right direction towards physical freedom on a family vacation to the happiest place on Earth: Disneyland!

Disneyland is an overweight person’s dream! Delicious sugar and fat-ladened food carts as far as the eye can see! You can only take a few steps before crossing paths with the next vendor of scrumptiously sweet goodies and savory snacks. It was all so heavenly until the unspeakable happened. Perhaps it was one too many churros? Or maybe the chocolate covered frozen banana and the white chocolate covered caramel apple I’d eaten that morning? It could have been the three slices of cheesy pepperoni pizza with the basket of greasy french fries and large soda that I’d gulped down for lunch. It’s hard to know for certain, but that is the one day that I will never forget. It pounced on me like a hungry girl, I mean lion, and it left me dizzy with regret, embarrassment, and shame!

As my family and I loaded onto our favorite ride, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, I discovered that for some reason my safety belt would not fit around my bulging stomach and thighs. I cleared my mind and thought reasonably, “There’s a logical explanation for this, my safety belt is obviously cut short.” My sweet husband had noticed my dilemma. With concern in his eyes of what could come next, he quickly came to my rescue by kindly offering to trade seats. As we swapped places, I prayed and I’m sure my poor husband was praying too, that this would be the answer. Except for this safety belt was cut short too! What in the world was going on?! It was then, at that moment, that the pure horror and embarrassment flooded me! Oh no, how could I have gotten this big?! When did it get so bad?! I quickly realized the safety belt was not too short, but rather I was too big! The young man working the ride looked at me and with his face reddened with embarrassment he said, “I’m so sorry ma’am, but you are too large to ride this ride.” I bolted out of that “Temple of Doom” as fast as I could, with my poor family in quick pursuit, only to find that my robust hips would not fit between the spinning people counter! A second young man had to open the gate and let me out, like a cow being led to the slaughterhouse. This was truly one of the most embarrassing days of my adult life in what was supposed to be the happiest place on Earth!

When you are trapped in a prison of weight, there is no place, no person, no amount of things or bank account big enough to make you happy when you are so desperately unhappy with yourself! Being the person that I am though, I wiped away the tears and put on a “happy face” for my family. I’ve always had the attitude that a smile can fix anything and I spent the rest of our family vacation trying my best to hide that deep down inside I was secretly depressed and disgusted that I had let myself slip so far away in health. I made sure to avoid any more rides that required those pesky safety belts and vowed that when I returned home I would get my weight back on track!

I would love to tell you that when I returned home from that horrible “Temple of Doom” trip that I immediately found the perfect plan and I instantly began losing weight. If only I could say that I lost several pounds that first month… but I can’t, that would be a lie! For the year following that horrific Disneyland experience, I found myself stuck in a rut with diets, diet pills, weight loss doctors, expensive personal chefs and a personal trainer that left me thousands of dollars short and up in weight by another 22 pounds! I tried everything and nothing helped. In fact, my health by the end of the year had plummeted. I was diagnosed as borderline type 2 diabetic with severe hypoglycemia. I also had severe joint and arthritic pain and I began to have breathing problems from all the extra weight I was lugging around. Things were not looking good! It seemed like the harder I tried, the more mountains popped up to prevent me from reaching my weight loss goals!

By the end of the year, I had gained even more weight, outgrew every item of clothes in my closet and my personal trainer had fired me! She presumed that I must have been sneaking junk food behind her back. I promise I was not sneaking food. I was literally starving all the time! Can you believe that I was actually fired by my own paid personal trainer?! Now, this makes me laugh now, but at the time, it was a little discouraging, as I’m sure you can imagine. I also tried several different weight loss doctors. You know the kind. They operate out of those run-down, dirty office buildings and act more like an infomercial salesman (no offense if you are an infomercial salesman) than an actual medical provider. They offered me grand promises and then told me to eat almost nothing and take different diet pills, which I only took a short time because they left me feeling like my heart was going to burst out of my chest! It was not healthy and very expensive! One doctor even charged me nearly $450 just to tell me, “Yes Christina, you are overweight and it doesn’t appear to have a cause.” A word to the wise, seriously do your research if you decide to go this route. Be sure to partner with a well-respected medical provider who has adequate experience with weight loss. Many times, it never works out and you could be placing yourself in harm’s way.

Needless to say, nothing worked for me that first year! The only slimming that happened was with my wallet. I found myself physically bankrupt. I was over 100 pounds overweight, sick, tired and now facing a diagnosis of life-threatening illnesses. I’d hit rock bottom! I’d tried and failed over and over again, spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars with nothing to show for it. I was even farther from my goals of reaching a healthy weight. I was tipping the scale at 271 pounds, heavier than Mike Tyson, the once Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the world! I was even pondering my options of trying risky surgeries — until I heard the sad news of one of my close friend’s father who bleeds to death during the exact surgery that I was contemplating. I was a desperate woman, who so desperately needed to lose weight.

The morning finally came when I opened my closet and found that absolutely nothing fit, not even my size 22W jeans! Yet again, I was at my breaking point. I had enough of this weight telling me what I could do, what I could wear and how I was going to feel! I could not understand why this was happening. I had done the diets. I had taken the diet pills. I had worked for hours a day with a personal trainer. Nothing was working! I was ready to book my surgical appointment, when my best friend stepped, who also happens to be my husband, stepped in and offered me the encouragement I needed in my darkest hour. He found me sobbing at our kitchen counter and laid his hand on my back and began whispering encouraging words in my ear. Over my sobs, he said, “Christina, before you go and get cut up, why don’t you give it one last try at losing the weight naturally.” I thought about it and decided he was right. With the encouragement from my husband, I decided I would give myself one last try and see what happens at the end of one month.

By the end of my first month, I was already down 37 pounds! I felt great! I continued to seek out wisdom from top experts on weight loss by reading as many books I could get my hands on, spent hundreds of hours personally researching and finally creating the ONLY weight loss plan that ever worked for me. Thank you, God! I was like a sponge, soaking up all the health, fitness, hormones, wellness, herbal remedies and longevity books I could find. Even today I read everything I can get my hands on about living healthy, longevity, anti-aging, weight loss and fitness. I submerged myself into seeing this one mountain in my life move! It was on my journey that I finally realized that I had to stop looking for other people and outside circumstances to help me lose weight and start looking at myself to create my own plan! You are responsible to take care of your own health. No one can change your life but you.

In one year, I took control of my health and shed over 130 pounds and 18 dress sizes and have kept it off for many years now! If you have never been over 100 pounds overweight then let me tell you, it’s literally like cutting yourself in half. Losing 130 plus pounds was equal to me carrying around a 5th grader on my back and then finally they hop off and I’m free to run, jump, dance and live my life. It was liberating! My transformation was so dramatic that even my own family members did not recognize me. I will never forget the time my own grandmother walked by me at a family wedding because she did not recognize the much slimmer and healthier granddaughter that stood before her.

Losing weight and taking control of my health has been one of my greatest accomplishments. Not because it made me a different person, but because it allowed the real me to feel like the strong, energized woman I know that I was born to be. My life is totally transformed from the inside out! I feel wonderful! I have the energy to run my race in all that I am called to do and I feel alive!

The old me hated wearing anything that showed my body. I hated swimming in front of others and if forced I would sport a massive T-shirt and thick knee-length shorts. I never strayed from layer upon layer of black clothes that tented over my body. The old me was not really me – but rather a shadow of me hiding under all the weight. I now love swimming with my family and courageously sport a bikini! Something I never dreamed possible when I first began my journey. I love wearing little sundresses on date nights with my husband, going on vacations to the beach is my absolute favorite and I thoroughly enjoy wearing a variety of colorful clothes in celebration of my freedom!

Not just my physical appearance has changed though. I’ve also had an emotional and mental transformation. I used to be fearful of what others thought, afraid to voice my own opinions. After years of being rejected and ignored because of my size, I often allowed myself to be treated like a servant or doormat. I now have the confidence to boldly speak in front of large crowds without fear or worry. I’m also not afraid to say no if I don’t want to do something or feel like someone might be trying to take advantage of me. I speak and share my thoughts, ideas, and tips for healthy living in front of millions on a regular basis. Transforming my body and taking control of my health has given me the courage and confidence to find my voice in this world!

In addition to my personal transformation, I’ve been able to completely makeover my life and discover my passion for helping others. My own struggles have empowered me to go back to school and become a Board Certified Master Nutritionist and open my own successful and thriving weight loss clinic, Fit Body Weight Loss. For the last three years, I’ve been ranked as a top 10 nutrition clinic in America by professional associations. Patients fly in from all over the nation and even other countries to get nutritional help from myself and my team. Celebrities, CEOs, pop stars, famous athletes and even my own mayor seek out my weight loss wisdom. Sometimes I have to pinch myself because a little over a decade ago I was a depressed, morbidly obese, stay-at-home mom with diabetes and no hope that I’d ever break free. Every single day is truly a dream come true! Losing the weight has given me a brand new future where I love what I do and look forward to waking up every single day. I’ve discovered my hope.

I believe that our trials can become our greatest triumphs. My intense battle with weight loss has actually helped me create one of America’s leading weight loss brands. My struggle and victory over obesity has propelled me to be featured on a national and worldwide level in renowned media outlets such as Good Morning America, The Doctors, Insider, Extra, Inside Edition, E! News, ABC, NBC and on the cover of publications such as Women’s World, First for Women, Oxygen and many others. In 2017, I was on the cover of People Magazine with the incredible Oprah Winfrey, sharing my weight loss wisdom with the world.

I lived most of my life in fear of what other people thought about me, wondering if they judged me because of my size. Honestly, today I could care less. I’ve found my tribe of like-minded people who love and accept me for me. But most importantly, I’ve learned to love myself, just as I am, regardless of my size. Now when my sweet husband tells me how beautiful I am, I believe him. I’ve found value and identity as an overcomer!

Often it feels as if the media, by and large, is only focused on the obstacles faced by women, but we feel it’s important to also look for the opportunities. In your view, are there opportunities that you see that women are particularly well positioned for?
From overcoming my struggles, I discovered my value and from that, I discovered my strength. I’m a conqueror and I know you my friend are too! I have discovered that life is so much more pleasant, exciting and enjoyable without the extra weight of self-doubt holding me back. It took me losing half my size, half of me, to discover and uncover the real me. I was not the shy, quiet, scared and weak little girl that let people bully me. I was a strong, courageous and fearless warrior chick who was ready to take on the world. My greatest obstacle in life, my weight, turned out to be my doorway to becoming who I am today. I used my painful problem to propel me towards what would later become my life’s passion as a Master Nutritionist. My life will never be the same and I am never going to settle and buy into that lie of hopelessness again. It took me finally realizing that the only way the outside was going to change, was first the inside had to change. If I can do it, I promise you can too!

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Image Credit:
Derek Jordan

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